Financial Report

FY 2017-18 Lighthouse Preservation Takes Center Stage

Financial Overview

After two years of planning, fundraising, grant writing, and waiting for the wheels of state and federal bureaucracy to turn, the St. Marks Lighthouse Preservation Project roared to life this past year! And the Friends budget ballooned to reflect this effort. The Friends overall revenue this year came to $657,552 while expenses totaled $613,167. For some perspective, 82% of the revenue and 85% of the expenses were due to the Lighthouse project making it the overwhelming financial project for the year. The beginning of major construction on the Keeper’s Quarters and the tower brought cash flow challenges to the Friends. In order to keep the project moving according schedule we had to secure a cash flow loan from Centennial Bank and draw from Friends reserves to tide things over until our state grants could be drawn down to settle our accounts. After the financial dust settled, the result was an absolutely spectacular renovation of the historic St. Marks Lighthouse.

What follows are summaries of our financial highlights for FY 2017-18. The first two segments of this report relate to the Lighthouse project, while the latter two detail our more typical projects supporting the mission of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

FY 2017-18 Lighthouse Preservation Revenue Highlights

As the chart at right shows putting together the cash flow puzzle to keep this project on-track required balancing a number of factors. The 3 major puzzle pieces were cash-on-hand from prior year grant payouts and fundraising, a state of Florida historic preservation grant, and a loan from Centennial Bank. The Friends want to thank Will Davis, Chief Lending Officer at Centennial, and his team for their extraordinary efforts to help make this loan possible. Being approached for a large loan by a small non-profit with few assets, no loan track record, and no collateral required a special commitment to the project by Centennial to make this happen.

FY 2017-18 Lighthouse Preservation Expense Highlights

While putting together the revenue streams to fund the Lighthouse was complicated, the expenses were very straightforward. Expenses were almost entirely for our general contractor, Rippee Construction. Working within budget constraints, historic preservation regulations, and up against state grant time deadlines, Carol Rippee and her company amazed everyone with historically accurate and beautiful work restoring the Lighthouse to its historic grandeur.

FY 2017-18 Friends Programs & Operations Revenue Highlights

This is the more typical picture of Friends revenue that goes to fund our ongoing support of Refuge projects: Visitor Services, Conservation, Environmental Education, and the Monarch/Milkweed Initiative. As has been true for a number of years, the largest revenue source is profits from the Nature Store followed closely by contributions in the form of memberships and other donations. Nature Store profits reached a new record of $58,750 in FY 2017-18. Combined membership and contribution revenue totaled over $46,500 another new high in support for the work of the Friends.

FY 2017-18 Friends Programs & Operations Expense Highlights

As shown in the chart at right, most Friends dollars are spent for program support and interns. Each year Refuge staff submit budget requests for review, first by Refuge management and then the Friends board. The Friends board holds an annual budget meeting to review Refuge priorities and make funding allocations to the programs based on anticipated revenues. The largest Friends administrative cost is for CPA assistance with financial and IRS reporting. This provides donors, grant makers, and, in the past year, lenders to the Lighthouse project assurance that Friends funds are managed and reported in compliance Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP to insure consistency in our financial statements which are available to the public.