Finances
Sources of support. Big Cat Rescue has been a 501(c)(3)
non profit entity since 1995. The two primary sources of revenue to
support the cats and the educational activities are the revenue from the
educational tours and donations from caring individuals, corporations and
foundations. Donations to the sanctuary are tax deductible. The
sanctuary receives no government funding and relies totally on private support,
primarily from individuals. We pay no fund raising solicitors and the
Founder and her husband, who devote time to the sanctuary, receive no
compensation from the sanctuary for their work. As a result, our management,
general and fund raising expenses together account for less than 10% of total
expenses. Because tour revenue more than covers those expenses, 100%
of your donations go directly to save the cats. For ways in which
you can donate or other ways you can help, please click here.
Deficits through 2002. If donations made by the
Founder, her former husband and his estate, and related entities are deducted,
the sanctuary operated at a deficit for all of the years through 2002. In
addition to covering cash deficits, the Founders donated income producing
real estate to the sanctuary to provide investment income and begin to accumulate
assets that could support the sanctuary in future years. During those
years of deficits, the primary source of revenue to cover the shortfalls
was a family business. That business has declined significantly in
recent years. Fortunately, educational tour revenue and donations
have filled that void.
Audited Financial Statements. In addition the IRS Form
990 that it has filed since 1995, the sanctuary has produced Audited Financial
Statements since 2003. In 2004 the sanctuary had positive
cash flow, and in 2005 we were able for the first time to generate enough revenue
to set aside a reserve of about 3 months of expenses. Accumulating reserves
to weather downturns in the economy, and eventually building an endowment,
will be critical to the long term survival of the sanctuary.
Below is a summary of the audited statements. The links below the summary lead to pdf files of the complete Form 990 and Audited Statements for 2004 - 2009.
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
| Revenues and Support | ||||
| Contributions and Grants | 490,834 | 619,528 | 741,961 | 745,222 |
| Educational Tours and Activities | 494,496 | 531,590 | 566,136 | 585,764 |
| In-kind Donations | 84,510 | 34,786 | 5,830 | 3,400 |
| Special Events | 61,869 | 119,332 | 108,747 | 89,236 |
| Rental Income from Operations | 12,749 | 9,188 | 10,376 | 9,970 |
| Investment Income | 85,079 | 104,552 | 111,539 | 163,124 |
| Gift Shop | 95,431 | 90,308 | 97,431 | 111,209 |
| Total Revenues and Support | 1,324,968 | 1,509,284 | 1,642,020 | 1,707,925 |
| Expenses | ||||
| Program Expense | 726,774 | 800,511 | 848,255 | 894,238 |
| Management & General | 31,460 | 90,521 | 115,290 | 127,795 |
| Fund Raising | 34,883 | 35,587 | 57,484 | 83,304 |
| Total Expenses | 793,117 | 926,619 | 1,021,029 | 1,105,337 |
| Change in Net Assets | 531,851 | 582,665 | 620,991 | 602,588 |
| Amount Set Aside for Reserves | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 |
| Amount Set Aside for Wall Fund | 206,765 | 236,625 | 124,312 | 129,688 |
| Endowment at Community Foundation | 191,079 | 238,340 |
IRS 501 c 3 Determination letter
Click here for 2009 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Click here for 2008 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Click here for 2007 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Click here for 2006 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Click here for 2005 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Click here for 2004 IRS form 990 and audited financial statement and annual report.
Visitors. While the sanctuary started having a few
visitors as early as 1995, the efforts to expand that as a way to educate
the public began in 1998. We can only take in a small number of cats
each year. We believe we can save far more cats by educating people
about not getting them as pets and not supporting activities that they may
not realize lead to abuse. So attracting visitors to our educational
tours has become a major part of our mission. The growth in visitors
over the years, heavily due to word of mouth, is evidence that we are fulfilling
that mission. If you have not visited the sanctuary, we hope to see
you soon!
Year |
Visitors |
% |
1995 |
43 |
|
1996 |
85 |
98% |
1997 |
398 |
368% |
1998 |
4,208 |
957% |
1999 |
8,913 |
112% |
2000 |
10,678 |
20% |
2001 |
12,455 |
17% |
2002 |
10,955 |
-12% |
2003 |
11,875 |
8% |
2004 |
17,891 |
51% |
2005 |
22,442 |
25% |
2006 |
26,497 |
18% |
2007 |
24,664 |
-7% |
2008 |
24,734 |
1% |
| 2009 | 26,154 | 1% |
Questions. If you have any questions about our finances, please feel free to email Finance@bigcatrescue.org.
Donations and Other Ways to Help. For ways in which you can donate or other ways you can help, please click here.
Florida law requires that all charities soliciting donations disclose their registration number and the percentage of your donation that goes to the cause and the amount that goes to the solicitor. Our registration number is CH-11409 and 0% of your donation goes to a solicitor.