Annual Financial Report of the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council (ESC)

Transcription

1 Annual Financial Report of the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council (ESC) June 2015 Introduction Fiscal Year 2014 (January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014) Written by ESC Executive Director Joshua Wickerham This report represents the ESC s commitment to good governance practices, including transparent and accessible communication about our work and finances. The report highlights how we have used donor resources to begin work toward achieving our founding mission of assuring the sustainability and safe use of traditional plants. The ESC is registered in the United States as a limited liability corporation pending approval of its 501(c)3 (not for profit) status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is the process by which not for profit organizations are registered in the United States. The ESC has transitioned from registration under a social enterprise charter (low profit limited liability corporation, L3C) to its current status. In 2014, we received donations from our fiscal sponsors, MAPS in the United States and ICEERS in the Netherlands. Total 2014 payments from MAPS were $34,111. A total of $250 from ICEERS 1

2 was delayed until 2015 and is included as part of pledges receivable in this report. IRS approval of the ESC s tax-deductible status is expected within nine months was the ESC s first complete financial year. This is the ESC s first public financial report. Our board members and financial advisors have had access to all ESC financial data and have reviewed this report. We also received advice from the finance advisor of our fiscal sponsor MAPS. We are grateful to our professional accounting team at Altruic Advisors for their advice and independent reconciliation of our accounts. We are also grateful to board treasurer and Operations Director Jonathan Thompson for his dedicated bookkeeping and ESC volunteer Lu Wei for reviewing incoming invoices and expense reports from the ESC s approximately two dozen paid collaborators. The ESC s financial information can be found at If you have any questions, please us at info [at] ethnobotanicalcouncil.org. Overview The ESC s net income in fiscal year 2014 (January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014) totaled $57,939 and expenses were $42,949. Our year-end assets, including accounts payable and other current assets, were $16,003, of which $2,433 was allocated for Peyote research and accounts payable of approximately $450 for outstanding 2014 administration expenses, $4,700 for education & communications, and $6,867 for research & engagement, leaving $3,986. Revenue A young chacruna (Psychotria viridis) plant at the medicinal garden site in Peru where the ESC partnered with a local cooperative to plant and care for hundreds of ayahuasca admixture plants. We are grateful to all of our donors, who surpassed our expectations for our first year of fundraising. Total contributions to the ESC in 2014 were $59,285. Approximately 79.5% ($46,071) of this came from individual contributions, including $15,000 from Robert Barnhart for ayahuasca and peyote work and $10,000 from David Bronner for Amazonian ayahuasca field 2

3 research (The Ayahuasca Dialogues). Our Ayahuasca Dialogues Indiegogo campaign raised $21,850, of which $5,000 came from foundation matching grants. Foundation grants accounted for approximately 19% of overall revenue ($11,000), including two grants from the RiverStyx Foundation, first for $6,000 toward ayahuasca work generally and then an additional $4,000 toward our Ayahuasca Dialogues Indiegogo campaign. An additional anonymous $1,000 family foundation grant went toward Indiegogo matching. Ticket sales for educational/fundraising events in Chicago and Los Angeles (Venice) accounted for approximately 3.8% of revenue ($2,214). Standardized financial reporting methodology Our initial web-based fundraising reporting included approximations of in-kind contributions that were based on market rates of volunteer activity. This report includes more conservative estimates than those previously report in-kind estimates on the ESC website. This report separates monetary donations from in-kind donations and standardizes our in-kind donations according to Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) conventions. At the advice of financial experts, the report also uses standard IRS nonprofit expenses categories of programs, fundraising, and administrative. Thus, this report combines previously reported expenses categories of communication and development and education into education and separates development costs as fundraising in its own category. Chart 1. STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES Revenue Individual contributions $46,071 Foundation grants $11,000 Event ticket sales $2,214 Total Revenue $59,285 Cost of Goods Sold $1,346 Net Revenue $57,939 Expenses Education $18,707 Research $15,862 Programs total $34,569 Fundraising $5,126 Administrative $3,254 Total Expenses $42,949 3

4 Chart 2. Statement of Financial Position Assets Cash and Equivalents: $14,990 Pledges Receivable: $250 Other Current Assets: $610 Total Assets $16,003 Liabilities Accounts Payable & Accrued Expenses: $12,017 Total Liabilities: $12,017 Net Assets Unrestricted: $1,553 Board Restricted: none Temporarily Restricted: $2,433 for Peyote Dialogues Total Net Assets: $3,986 Total Liabilities and Net Assets: $16,003 Chart 3. FY2014 Revenue 3.8% 19.0% Individual contributions Foundation grants Event ticket sales 79.5% 4

5 In-Kind Contributions in FY 2014 In addition to the generous monetary donations of many supporters, we estimate the following in-kind contributions according to Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) conventions. These are not included in the official ESC financial statement, but are estimated and broken down here to show the level of support for the ESC s work. Chart 4. Estimated 2014 In-Kind Contributions Item Research and Engagement: Ayahuasca Dialogues Research Committee volunteers, research support, advisors time, and the time of the Executive Director and Operations Director Estimated inkind value $40,000 Communications & Development: social media, video editing, website design, donor relations, contact management; $10,000 Administrative: legals, accounting, strategy; Education: time donation at educational events, conferences, etc. $5,000 $5,000 Total in-kind value estimate $60,000 5

6 ESC 2014 Donors These donations were made between January 1, 2014 and December 31, We are extremely grateful for all of those who have made the ESC s work possible during our inaugural year. We share this list of donors not only to thank those who have made contributions, but also to show the degree to which a community of people support the work that the ESC is doing and that together we are making a difference. $10,000-49,999: Robert Barnhart $15,000 David Bronner $10,000 Riverstyx Foundation $10,000 $1,000-$9,999: Anonymous individual donation $2,000 Anonymous family foundation $1,000 Anonymous individual donation $1,000 $120-$999: Giancarlo Canavesio Erik Castro Kayla Clark Nick Costanzo Steve Curtis Seth Fitzgerald William Freimuth Tomas Gurvicius Seth Kreider Erin O Keefe Letty Ringman Laurent Rivier Richard Seglenieks Katherine Sheridan David Stevens Nicholas Thomson Scott Vineburg Lynn Wasser Kathy Wickerham Esteban Yepes Montoya Jake Zien Over 250 other donors contributed under $120 to the Indiegogo campaign or to the ESC directly or through our fiscal sponsors. Numerous anonymous donors also contributed. If your name is not here and you like it to appear here, or you have questions, please contact us at info [at] ethnobotanicalcouncil.org. 6

7 Expenses The following is a breakdown of 2014 expenses. Director level expenses reimbursements and remuneration: As a portion of total ESC net revenue, 88% went toward fees and expenses of the ESC s approximately two dozen independent contractors and partners involved in research, engagement, administration, education, communications, and fundraising. The ESC Executive Director, working in a full time equivalent capacity with the organization, received a total of $3,873 as reimbursement for expenses related to education and research and $750 as remuneration for research work. The ESC Operations Director, also working the equivalent of full time, received $2,248 in reimbursement for education and administration related expenses. Administration costs accounted for approximately 7.6% of our budget, which included banking fees, legal fees for incorporation, government incorporation fees, and miscellaneous office expenses. Research & Engagement accounted for 36.9% of the ESC s overall expenditures. The bulk of this was spent on Ayahuasca Dialogues research and engagement in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, which was spent on researchers, with payments of $9,000 for remuneration, $4,100 for travel expenses, and just over $1,300 for additional expenses. Additional researcher time was spent on the Ayahuasca Health Guide and preliminary scoping research on peyote sustainability. Education & Communications made up the bulk of our expenses, accounting for 43.6% overall. Of this, approximately $1,000 went to website upkeep, $2,500 for publication costs, $3,700 for communications contractor payments (video, print design, and translations), $2,900 for expenses and fees for educational events and meetings in Chicago and Los Angeles, and $6,500 for some expenses associated with attending and speaking at the Second International Congress on Traditional Medicine and Public Health, Psymposia, FauxMirage, and the World Ayahuasca Conference. All other 2014 conference participation costs were covered by personal donations from ESC participants and/or by conference organizers. Fundraising: Fundraising costs associated with the Ayahuasca Dialogues Indiegogo campaign included expenses associated with shipping, Indiegogo fees, and Indiegogo team remuneration, accounting for approximately 11.9% of overall expenses. 7

8 Chart 5: FY 2014 Expenses 7.6% 11.9% 43.6% Education & Communications Research & Engagement Fundraising Administration 36.9% Donor Diversification Strategy While many of the expenses associated with running the organization have been covered by volunteers, individuals, or foundations interested directly in plants like ayahuasca, the ESC is working to increase the size of available resources to work toward the sustainability of traditional plants more broadly by appealing to donors in the fields of indigenous rights, agronomy/horticulture, sustainability standards, multi-stakeholder governance, community empowerment, sustainability, drug policy, sustainable tourism, and ethnobotany, and others. If you have any questions, please contact us at:, 503 Mall Court #285, Lansing, MI or: info [at] ethnobotanicalcouncil [dot] org 8

9 Other 2014 numbers 2015 is the international Year of Evaluation. The ESC is committed to monitoring and evaluating our work as we develop. Here s a quick look at some of the other numbers reflecting our work during our first year: 1 of 6 things to know about ayahuasca, according to CNN; 3 formal roundtables to discuss ayahuasca sustainability (two in Peru, one in Ecuador); 5 countries in South America where the ESC conducted interviews; 10 Ayahuasca Dialogues researchers; 94 formal Ayahuasca Dialogues interviews; 339 ayahuasca vines and chacruna bushes planted with partners in Peru; 1,092 list subscribers; Over 1,000 Twitter followers; Over 1,000 Facebook likes; 9

10 Thank you for your interest and your support! 10