Why Charities Should Make Their Annual Reports Accessible

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Why Charities Should Make Their Annual Reports Accessible
Pointers to keep in mind
Documents to make accessible

Why Charities Should Make Their Annual Reports Accessible

We all know that the annual report is more than just a profit and loss statement. Annual reports are typically filled with important and often critical information about the charities finances, its performance, and its goals for the future. But if they’re not accessible, then this information can’t be used by everyone who needs it. This is especially important if the purpose of the charity is to support people with disabilities, being authentic to purpose of the organisation is critical to its values and mission.

Additionally, annual reports are often used by corporate donors and other stakeholders to gauge the health and performance of the organisation. If these reports are not accessible, they can exclude people with disabilities from participating in this important process.

Finally, accessible annual reports can help charities and their supporters show their commitment to inclusivity and social responsibility.

The international standard is the Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAG) and the most up to date version is 2.1 AA. This is recognised in EU and Irish legislation and will be further reinforced by the forthcoming European Accessibility Act which comes into effect in June 2025. The current legislation states that any PDF produced after 2018 has to be digitally accessible.

Pointers to keep in mind

An annual report is generally in PDF format and the first thing to remember is to design your annual report keeping accessibility in your mind right from the beginning. Think accessibility right from the beginning to avoid retrofitting costs.
PDF accessibility is much more than tagging and just because a document is available as a downloadable PDF does not mean that it is an accessible PDF. One of the biggest challenges faced by people with disabilities while accessing PDF is that the document scanned and published online is as an image PDF.
When creating a PDF, there are a few things you can do to ensure it is accessible to all users. Here are some tips:
- Use a tool that can create tagged PDFs. This will ensure that the PDF can be read by screen readers and other assistive technologies.
- Use simple, easy-to-read fonts.
- Avoid using graphics or images wherever possible. If they are necessary, make sure to include alternative text descriptions.
- Use clear and concise language throughout the PDF.
- Ensure that the PDF has a logical structure and is easy to navigate.

Documents to make accessible

Along with your annual report, there are a variety of documents that charities should make accessible. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Whitepapers
Proxy Statements
eBooks & Viewbooks
Infographics
ESG & Sustainability Reports
Donor and Corporate communications
e-Brochures
Interactive PDFs
Brand Toolkits and other marketing collaterals.

Making these documents accessible to clients ensures that they are well informed about the work that you are doing on their behalf. It also helps to build trust and confidence in your charity.

By considering inclusion as part of your Annual Report, by making your PDF accessible and compliant you are baking inclusion into your publication. No one in our sector is actively looking to exclude our community but we must make ourselves aware what accessibility is really all about. Digital Accessible and digitally accessible annual reports are the same as a ramp into your building, you wouldn’t think of saying we don’t need a ramp for access, digital accessibility is the same thing.

Think digital accessibility as you are putting your annual reports together, if you need help and support please contact www.vially.io

Chris White

Group CEO

Vision Ireland

Vially