Annual Review Template

An annual review done well serves three purposes:

  • It helps your leadership team understand what actually happened this year
  • It gives you something concrete to share with your executive sponsor and organizational leadership
  • It creates institutional memory that survives leadership transitions

Fill this out as a leadership team, not individually. The conversations that happen while completing it are often more valuable than the document itself.

📄 Download Annual Review Template

Resource Group Information

Resource Group Name:
Review Period:
Prepared By:
Leadership Team Members:
Executive Sponsor:
Date Completed:

Year in Review

Three to five sentences summarizing the year. What defined it? What were you most proud of? What was harder than expected? Be honest — this document is most useful when it reflects what actually happened, not what you’d put in a press release.

Goals and Outcomes

Review the goals you set at the start of the year. If you didn’t set formal goals, document what you were working toward.

Goal Status What Happened
☐ Achieved ☐ Partial ☐ Not Achieved
☐ Achieved ☐ Partial ☐ Not Achieved
☐ Achieved ☐ Partial ☐ Not Achieved
☐ Achieved ☐ Partial ☐ Not Achieved
☐ Achieved ☐ Partial ☐ Not Achieved

For goals not achieved, note whether they should carry forward to next year or be dropped.

Membership and Participation

Membership

Number Notes
Members at start of year
Members at end of year
Net change
Active members (engaged at least once)
New members recruited
Members lost / inactive

Events and Programming

Number Notes
Total events held
Total attendance across all events
Average attendance per event
Highest-attended event
Most common event type

Volunteers

Number Notes
Active volunteers
Volunteers who joined this year
Volunteers who stepped back
Leadership roles filled

Key Achievements

List four to six significant accomplishments from the year. Be specific — “hosted six events” is an activity. “Launched a mentoring program that connected 18 pairs and sustained 80% of those relationships through year-end” is an achievement.

Achievement 1:

 

Achievement 2:

 

Achievement 3:

 

Achievement 4:

 

Achievement 5: (optional)

 

Achievement 6: (optional)

 

Member Feedback and Insights

  • What did members say this year — in surveys, conversations, and informal feedback?
  • What themes came up repeatedly?
  • What did members ask for that the group didn’t deliver?
  • What surprised you about what members responded to?

If you ran member surveys, attach results or summarize key findings here.

Volunteer and Leadership Recognition

Name individuals and teams who made significant contributions this year. Be specific about what they did — generic recognition lands flat.

Name Role Contribution

This section should be specific enough that someone reading it next year understands who these people were and what they built.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

  • What was harder than expected this year?
  • What didn’t work, and why?
  • What would you do differently?
  • What does the next leadership team need to know that isn’t obvious from the achievement list?

This is the most valuable section for leadership continuity. Be direct.

Executive Sponsor Engagement

How was your executive sponsor involved this year?

  • Attended events – which ones:
  • Provided strategic guidance – on what:
  • Advocated for the group with leadership – how:
  • Supported specific initiatives – which ones:
  • Other:

Was the sponsorship relationship what you needed it to be this year?

 

What would you want from a sponsor next year that you didn’t have this year?

 

Looking Ahead

  • What worked well enough this year that it should continue or expand?
  • What should the group stop doing or do differently?
  • What opportunities did you identify this year that weren’t pursued?
  • What does the group need, in terms of resources, support, or organizational commitment, to be more effective next year?

Top Priorities for Next Year

Three priorities maximum. If you have more than three, you don’t have priorities — you have a list.

Final Reflection

What impact did this group have on members this year?

 

What impact did it have on the organization?

 

What’s the most important thing you want the next leadership team to carry forward?

 

When complete, share this document with your executive sponsor and store it somewhere accessible to future leadership teams. A review that lives only in someone’s email is not institutional memory.