There are design projects that feel important the moment you take them on, and the annual impact report for Families First (familiesfirst.org) is always one of them. This is a piece with real stakes: it goes into the hands of donors and prospective donors who want to understand exactly where their support goes and what difference it makes. Every design decision — the layout, the hierarchy, the way a statistic is framed or a client story is presented — has to serve that purpose. It has to make a compelling, credible, human case for continued investment in an organization that has been strengthening Georgia families for 135 years.
The 2025-2026 Annual Impact Report is the finished result, and I’m proud of how it came together.
A Report Built Around People
What sets this report apart from a traditional annual report is its focus. While the financial data is here (Families First has earned both Platinum Transparency recognition from Candid and a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator, the highest standards of charity excellence) numbers aren’t the heart of the piece. The heart of it is people.
The report opens with a message from CEO Paula M. Moody, LCSW, MS, who sets the tone: an organization navigating real challenges in a changing environment, responding with focus and determination, and remaining deeply committed to the families it serves. From there, the report walks through Families First’s three core impact areas, grounding each one in both data and lived experience.
The Impact by the Numbers
In 2025-2026, Families First supported 12,977 children, youth, and adults across Georgia — two-thirds of them women, nearly half identifying as Black, and 64% from low-income households.
Lucy C. Vance Center for Behavioral Health delivered 1,748 behavioral health counseling sessions, with 76% of clients showing measurable progress toward their treatment goals. The Center expanded its reach through community partnerships with Grady Health System, the Latin American Association, Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries, Morehouse School of Medicine, and others, bringing behavioral health services directly into the communities where families already live and seek care.
Parenting & Adoption Support Services had a year of significant milestones. The Partners in Parenting co-parenting program reached 918 parents, impacting 1,279 children — and Families First secured a contract with Cobb County Superior Court to facilitate the curriculum three times per month. The Georgia Center for Resources and Support (GACARS) delivered 24,808 services to adoptive, guardianship, kinship, and foster families. And the NTDC Hub successfully trained 800 individuals to care for children who have experienced trauma, loss, and separation.
Navigator Services continued its wraparound, individualized approach, providing 462 households with comprehensive Navigator care. Among participants, 96% maintained safe housing and 100% of teens in the program avoided an open Division of Family and Children Services case while enrolled. The Teenage Pregnant and Parenting Program (TAPP) and Chispa — the Spanish-language program serving parents of children ages 0-5 — extended the reach of Navigator Services into the communities that need them most.
Events That Bring the Community Together
The report also captures the community life of Families First — the events that connect donors, families, staff, and advocates to the mission in person.
Loving the Legacy, the cornerstone annual benefit celebrating Families First’s 135th anniversary, was held March 19, 2026 at the Atlanta History Center. The evening raised $328,940 and featured powerful stories from clients including Deona, a 22-year-old law student and mother whose journey through the Vance Center and Navigator program is one of the report’s most moving testimonials: “Families First didn’t erase my past. They helped me process it while building my future.”
The Back-to-School Bash welcomed 1,012 attendees and distributed 792 filled backpacks plus 104 individual supply kits, 300 bags of groceries sponsored by Kroger, and 81 free haircuts — alongside 35 community partner organizations providing vital resources on-site.
Gift-A-Family ensured that every single one of 221 enrolled families had a holiday sponsor this year, delivering gifts and essential items to 830 children across metro Atlanta.
The Jean Childs Young Resilience Fund hosted a forum on Empowering Single Moms, raising $13,000 in sponsorships and assembling 30 New Mom Kits for families in the Navigator program.
The Endowed Scholarship Awards
Among the most moving pages in the report are the scholarship stories. Victoria, a mother who returned to school after a financial hardship interrupted her education, completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration in May 2026,supported by the Carol Dunlap Reiser Scholarship. And Deona, whose story anchors the Loving the Legacy section, received the Jean Childs Young Scholarship, affirming the future she is building in law. These stories do what the best donor communications do: they connect a gift to a life.
Fiscal Year 2026 at a Glance
Total revenue for FY2026 was $7,418,993, with total expenses of $5,110,237. The largest revenue source was investment income (42%), followed by contributions including special events and the Navigating the Future major gifts campaign (30%), and government grants (20%). On the expense side, spending was focused squarely on mission: Behavioral Health Services (23%), Navigator Services (23%), and Parenting & Adoption Support Services (18%) together account for the majority of expenditures.
Print and Digital, Designed to Work in Both
The report was produced in two versions: a print edition for direct distribution to donors and community partners, and a digital edition for broader sharing online. Designing for both formats requires careful thought — layouts, typography, and image treatments that read beautifully on paper and translate cleanly to screen. The vibrant Families First green, the warm photography, the bold statistical callouts — all of it had to hold up in both contexts, and I’m glad to say it does.
This report represents everything Families First is: 135 years of mission, a team of extraordinary people showing up every day, and a community of donors and partners who believe that strengthening families changes everything. It was an honor to design a piece worthy of that story.
