Each year our staff works hard to earn the support, belief, and encouragement of nearly 9,000 GYC members across the country who write letters, sign petitions, attend public meetings, correspond with their elected officials, host fundraising events, fund our programs, and pay attention to the issues that threaten the way of life, the land, and the wildness of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Together we’ve achieved some significant victories.

Your support — both financially and on the ground — gives GYC a strong and viable base on which to stand to continue to protect the health and well-being of this remarkable place; rare, awe-inspiring, and unparalleled.

Last August, The New York Times wrote an editorial remarking on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Park Service. It stated, “We set aside these places because they are extraordinary, because they enlarge our ideas of nature and ourselves. Year by year our understanding of how to protect the national parks changes because our understanding of nature itself changes. The one thing that must not change is our commitment to the principles signed into law 90 years ago.”

In 2008, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition will celebrate our 25th anniversary. As Board, staff, and supporters consider how to celebrate and mark the occasion, we have noticed how, over the decades, our programs, goals, and benchmarks for success have evolved in concert with the needs of the special place you charge us with protecting.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is our dedication to preserving the core values of a place that has been called “the wild heart of America” — its lands, waters, and wildlife. With your continued dedication to these same ideals, we can’t help but be successful as we face the challenges and opportunities of the next 25 years.

On behalf of all of us, thank you for making 2006 another inspiring, successful year.

Sincerely,

Net Assets – We maintain a healthy cash balance, with over $4 million that is either unrestricted or temporarily restricted and available for specific purposes. In addition, over $2 million is held in permanently restricted endowment funds that generate earned income, a portion of which is applied toward annual operations.

Funding – In 2006, Greater Yellowstone Coalition revenues totaled $3,123,778, with $1,706,587 or 55% coming from generous individual supporters. Foundation grants of $828,518 represented 27% of the revenue supporting our conservation programs. The remaining 18% came from other sources, including special events and investment earnings. A list of supporting foundations and major donors is included in this report.

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, revenue is recognized in the year a promise to give is made, even though the funds may be received and the related expenses incurred in future years.

Conservation Program Expenses – $2,030,905, or 77% of total expenses, was applied toward our direct conservation and education programs to protect the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s wildlands, wildlife, and rivers, and to build broad public support for conservation that is sustainable over time within ecosystem communities.

Support Service Expenses – General administrative and fundraising expenses, which support GYC’s conservation mission, totaled $594,101 or 23% of total expenses.