2008 Annual Report

CI continues to strive to make every donor dollar count. We take pride in again receiving the top rating from Charity Navigator, America’s premier independent charity evaluator. Charity Navigator states:

“We are proud to announce Conservation International has earned our second consecutive 4-star rating for its ability to effectively manage and grow its finances. Only 16 percent of charities we’ve rated have received at least two consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Conservation International outperforms most charities in America in its efforts to operate in the most fiscally responsible way possible.”

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Net Assets

Despite challenging economic conditions that resulted in substantial investment losses in FY08, CI closed the year with a modest $631,000 unrestricted operating surplus that will be added to our reserves. CI’s temporarily restricted net assets, which represent funds earmarked for specific conservation programs to be implemented in future years, increased by almost $102 million.

During the year, CI received contributions totaling $51,000 to its endowment fund, bringing the total endowment to just over $13.1 million. Earnings from this endowment are used to fund environmental education and training, field programs and general operations.

While we enter FY09 with considerable restricted resources to support our core programs, we continue to strive to build our unrestricted reserves to provide us with flexible funding necessary to respond to urgent needs.

DOWNLOAD: Get the entire 2008 financial report (PDF - 587 KB).

Revenue

• CI raised $233 million in FY08, despite the challenging economic environment. This represents a 32 percent increase over FY07 levels and is the highest revenue reported in our history.
• CI received continued support in 2008 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for our regional programs and Centers for Biodiversity Conservation.
• The Global Environment Facility, through the World Bank, renewed its support for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund with a commitment of $20 million over five years.
• The Walton Family Foundation provided a multi-year grant of more than $40 million to support new strategic initiatives, including climate change mitigation and ecosystem services programs.
• CI was also fortunate to receive a $10 million gift from an individual to support the launch of our ambitious climate change strategy that employs nature as a solution to climate change.

Expenses

• CI invested more than $135 million in conservation in FY08, reflecting 15 percent growth over last year’s level of $118 million. CI invested 84 percent of each dollar spent in programmatic services.
• In FY08, CI invested almost $42 million, or 31 percent of total expenses, to support our partners in the field.
• Our Conservation Funding Division, regional programs and CBCs in the Neotropics, Africa and Madagascar and Asia-Pacific regions represent the core of our program delivery, with these programs accounting for 64 percent of our spending.
• Ten percent of our operating expenses supported the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science.

READ MORE: Download our 2008 Annual Report (PDF - 6.5 MB).