An easy way to show your Optimist Club is accountable

Does your Optimist Club brag about the great projects that you do throughout the year to make you community a better place to live? It's okay to do so. Really it is.

When we speak to others about the accomplishments of our Optimist Clubs, we recharge our enthusiasm and excite those with whom we are speaking with the promise of potential projects yet to come. Demonstrating that we have led successfully in the past makes it possible for potential volunteers and sponsors to envision more success. People want to associate with winners and that is okay too. It's human nature to want to be among the best - the in-crowd - the movers and shakers. After all, those who get things done are just more fun than others who merely talk about doing something; not to mention, that when I make a donation, I like to know that it is being used appropriately.

One of the age-old ways that corporations tell us about their accomplishments is through the use of an annual report. If you own stock or have invested in a mutual fund, you have probably received an annual report loaded with numbers and fine print too small to read. Not to fret! That is not the way your Optimist Club annual report should look.  Your Optimist Club Annual Report should touch on the highlights of the year, the goals for the coming year, discuss who is involved and give a brief look at how your money is spent. And the reader should be able to finish it in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Serving as the Governor of the Pacific Northwest District last year, I decided to create an annual report for our district. It is an example of what your club can do at home using Publisher.

The accompanying presentation was given to those who attended our second quarter meeting when all recognition for the previous year was distributed. Take a look and see just how easy it is to share the state of the organization with your constituents.

Annual Report 2009-10 - PNW District - Optimist International

I know your stakeholders will appreciate learning and they will thank you for not being bored.