Resources for creating your 2026 Annual Report
Annual Reports help tell the Extension impact story. They provide a convenient historical archive of county Extension efforts for the year. Together, they demonstrate the positive impact Extension provides families, businesses, and communities across the state. By reflecting and evaluating a previous year's impact, annual reports provide assistance on forward-looking program planning. Annual reports are a legal requirement of the Extension system.
Final Input Due
| Final Input Due | Printed Report |
|---|---|
| February 5 | Mid-March |
| March 5 | Mid-to-Late April |
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Training Resources
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Training Resources
- Overview: Watch the 2023 recording of the annual report process overview.
- Writing: Watch the recording on how to gather the data to create impactful stories from Oct. 1, 2025.
- Design: Watch this video first, Using the Extension Annual Report in InDesign. Then, watch this recording of the Oct. 8, 2025, Annual Report Training - Design led by Art Director Matt Wiley, covering updates and common questions.
- Data: Watch the December 2025 training Unit Impact Dashboard: A Resource for Annual Reports.
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Timeline
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Timeline
October 2026 Training Schedule
Registration links for sessions will be shared through a staff email.
| Date | Time | Session |
|---|---|---|
| October 22 | 9 a.m. | Writing and Editing |
| October 29 | 9 a.m. | Design (watch pre-training tutorial in advance) |
| November 5 | 11 a.m. | Q&A Office Hours (optional) |
| December 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Data Dashboard |
Annual Report Timeline
- October 1, 2026:
- Submit the name of your report point person to Matt Wiley via email. Matt will provide a private link for each unit to submit their content.
- Get the Annual Report Toolkit: go.illinois.edu/AnnualReportToolkit
- October 29, 2026: Tentative report outline is due to MarCom, along with the deadline selection for submitting final input. Report outlines MUST be in 4-page increments. Final input deadline options include:
- Feb. 5: Input due for units wanting printed reports by mid-March
- March 5: Input due for units wanting printed reports by mid-April.
- January 15, 2027: Earliest date to submit reports for units that are not awaiting end-of-January data.
- January 29, 2027: Final data will be available in the data dashboard, provided by Emily Frillman and Caitlin Kownacki.
- Access the Unit Impact Dashboard at go.illinois.edu/UnitImpactDash.
- Some data sets may be available by mid-December, but volunteer data will not be available until January.
- Counties may choose which data points to feature in their report, highlighting the most successful areas in their counties.
- February 5, 2027: Final submission deadline for units who committed to this due date to receive printed reports by mid-March. Content must be complete.
- March 5, 2027: Final submission deadline for units that want printed reports by mid-April.
- May 27, 2027: Print Cost Coverage Deadline
- Report printing costs up to $1,000 will be paid by the state MarCom team, but only if using the state printing vendor.
- The appointed contact from each unit and Dylan Hamilton will receive the printing invoice. Dylan will make a direct payment of up to $1,000 to the printer. Note: This direct payment model is a change from previous years.
- If the total cost is over $1,000, the unit will provide a CFOP to Dylan to charge the remaining balance. Dylan will split the cost in Emburse Enterprise accordingly and will send a copy of the completed expense report to the unit for their records.
Report Submissions
Our goal is to return a final draft to each unit within 30 days of receiving final content. That timeline begins only after the final piece of any missing content is provided and ends with our submission of the draft copy to counties for review.
- Content must be reviewed by the county director, regional communications coordinator, and regional associate director prior to submission.
- Place all content (images, text, or design file) in your unique Box file provided by Matt.
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Toolkit Resources
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Toolkit Resources
The toolkit includes the following resources.
- Annual Report Overview: Provides deadlines and instructions for production and reimbursement.
- Annual Report Page Layout: Include this document when you submit your report at go.illinois.edu/SubmitReport.
- Annual Report Page Layout Options 2025: Pick a page type based on the story's length.
- Annual Report Page Styles and Content Options: Understand the options for building your pages.
- Annual Report Character Calculator: Use this Excel file to determine the number of characters allowed in each story.
- Annual Report Word Story Template: For units submitting text content, submit this page so the design team has all relevant information.
- Annual Report Story Checklist: Ensure every story submitted follows this style guide.
- Soybean Ink and Prevailing Wage Statement 2025
- InDesign Template with Link and Font Folders: Download to build your publication.
Other useful resources include:
- Strategic Priority Definitions: Use these statements in your local stories.
- Data Dashboard: Access to view your unit-specific data.
- To access through Extension website:
- Follow this link to the EWM login page https://go.illinois.edu/UnitImpactDash
- Login using the “University of Illinois” Login button
- Select the Dashboard icon in upper left corner (click Manage if you don’t see the Dashboards icon)
- Select Unit Impact Dashboard link
- To access through the myExtension portal:
- Go to the Illinois Extension main landing page
- Scroll to the bottom and click myExtension link
- Log in
- Scroll to the bottom left panel in the Intranet Quick Links – select Unit Impact Dashboard
- To access through Extension website: