2009 was an incredibly busy year for the Wilderness Workshop, and that is reflected in its finances.
As shown in the bar chart at right (click to expand), general operating expenditures grew by 16% - from $445,000 in 2008 to $516,000 in 2009. Most of the increase was due to the Hidden Gems Campaign, to which WW committed a growing amount of staff time last year. In addition, WW spent an extra $16,000 on wilderness monitoring in 2009, to complete a one-time analysis of decades' worth of monitoring data.
Income grew even faster than expenditures, to $487,000, thanks to a very successful yearend fundraiser. This helped cut the projected deficit in half, to about $28,000. Given the importance of the Hidden Gems Campaign to WW's mission, and the finite political window for its passage, WW has elected to draw from its reserves to cover shortfalls arising directly or indirectly from its work on the campaign.
In 2009, 50% of our income came from individual and corporate donations, and 9% from grants. Another 34% came indirectly from donations and grants, via the Hidden Gems Campaign. Most of the remainder was income from events.
Payroll is always our largest single expense, as it is for most nonprofits. Payroll accounted for 71% of the 2009 budget, the vast majority of which was in direct service of programs. Conservation program hard costs accounted for an additional 13.5%. Administration and fundraising made up the remaining 15.5%.
WW's general operations budget does not include pass-through funding for joint Hidden Gems Campaign activities and for the Thompson Divide Coalition (TDC). WW is the fiscal agent for the joint Hidden Gems account, and it served as TDC's fiscal agent until late 2009.
WW is incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the state of Colorado. Its federal tax ID number is 74-1900412.