Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation successfully completed phase one of our For Future Generations capital campaign during fiscal 2019 and in July 2019 launched the public part of the campaign. We also received several generous gifts of land during the year, including the magnificent Champ property on Chappaquiddick. With these contributions, along with the continued generous support of our annual donors, we strengthened our resources significantly and finished the year in a strong financial position.
During the fiscal year our activities focussed on acquiring and rationalizing our land interests, as well as expanding and improving our trail system, with a long-term goal of creating an Island-wide interconnected trail network. We also invested in improvements on our properties, such as the restoration of wet meadows and the removal of invasive plants at Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary. And of course we carried on our regular property stewardship and program activities, which expand in scope as our properties increase.
The following discussion highlights certain financial information about our fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. Our complete audited financial statements are available on request.
Assets and Liabilities
Our total assets at June 30, 2019 were $72.03 million, compared with $67.07 million at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, an increase of $4.96 million.
The largest components of our assets are the land and land improvements we hold. These totalled $59.58 million at the end of fiscal 2019, an increase of $3.63 million since the end of fiscal 2018. The increase reflects the Champ donation and other land interest contributions, offset by the sale of a property in which we retained a conservation easement. Our land holdings are reflected on our financial statements at their fair value at their acquisition date. Over time the value of our land has appreciated significantly, so that the current value of the land significantly exceeds its balance sheet valuation.
Our investments are the second largest component of our assets. Cash and cash equivalents and investments as of the end of fiscal 2019 were $9.47 million, compared with $8.45 million at fiscal year-end 2018. The increase of $1.02 million reflects both favorable securities markets and strong support from our donors during the 2019 period. Our current endowment distribution policy provides for the withdrawal of about 4.5% of our average available investment balances each year to support our program activities. Our finance committee reviews our distribution policy at least annually in the light of earnings expectations and cash needs.
Our total liabilities at fiscal year-end were $0.65 million, compared with $0.56 million at the end of the previous fiscal year. We have no outstanding borrowings.
Revenue and Expenses
Our total support and revenue in fiscal 2019 was $7.08 million, compared with $2.49 million during fiscal 2018.
Donations of land and conservation restrictions totalled $4.12 million during fiscal 2019. We had no contributions of land interests in fiscal 2018.
We received other donations (including support for our summer benefit and donated services) of $2.05 million in fiscal 2019 and $1.94 million in fiscal 2018 (a portion of which in each year were restricted as to use). Approximately $1.48 million of our non-land donations in fiscal 2019 were unrestricted. Unrestricted cash contributions are critical for meeting our land acquisition, stewardship and on-going program needs. We depend heavily on the President’s Circle, our annual fund appeal and the summer benefit to provide our funding, and we continue to look for ways to broaden our support.
The other major component of our revenue was income on our investments, which was $0.49 million in fiscal 2019 and $0.42 million in fiscal 2018. Our endowment provides support to supplement annual giving. During fiscal 2019 we completed the private phase of a campaign to increase our endowment, and in July 2019 launched the public phase of the campaign. We anticipate that an enhanced endowment will provide additional long-term strength and flexibility to our operations, but we will continue to rely heavily on our annual donors.
Our expenses in fiscal 2019 were $2.21 million, compared with $1.49 million in the preceding fiscal year. The components of our expenses are:
Functional Expenses
2019 2018
Land acquisition $ 557,096 $ 23,713
Land stewardship 842,793 718,521
Education and Advocacy 33,836 28,671
Administration and general 531,517 481,121
Fundraising 246,266 236,794
During fiscal 2019 the costs of acquiring new land interests, disposing of one property, re-negotiating existing easements and preparing for possible future land transactions resulted in higher land acquisition and general and administrative expenses. Our trail work and other improvement projects, among other activities, as well as our growing land portfolio resulted in higher stewardship costs. Although we carefully control our expenses, we expect stewardship costs will increase in the future as we maintain and enhance more land, restore the ecological values of certain properties, improve accessibility, build trails, and strive to provide exceptional management for our properties.
We are enormously grateful to the more than 2,000 donors and volunteers who support Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted,
Walt Looney
Treasurer