Friends of Edgewood Natural Preserve is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 corporation funded yearly by membership dues, donations, and grants. Our total revenue also includes the proceeds from medium and longer-term investments. Friends of Edgewood’s federal EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-3188191.
Program Efficiency
A very high percentage of funds are spent on programs supporting native plant and wildlife preservation, nature education, and habitat restoration at Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve, San Mateo County’s only natural preserve. Friends of Edgewood is an all-volunteer organization, and we endeavor to keep our management and overhead expenses low.
2023 Treasurer’s Report
Friends of Edgewood Natural Preserve is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization with the mission to protect Edgewood’s extraordinary biodiversity and foster lasting connections with Edgewood and the larger natural world. Our volunteers participate in 27 programs which we group into three broad categories: land and wildlife stewardship, nature education, and interpretive programs. Additionally, there are 13 on-going activities related to governance and organizational infrastructure.
- Land & Wildlife Stewardship. We protect and restore the animal and plant habitat of Edgewood County Natural Preserve, engaging volunteers and professional habitat restoration ecologists. Activities include habitat restoration, seed amplification, showcase sites, social trails repair, weeding of non-native plants, plant mapping, bluebird box monitoring, camera trapping, adopt-a-highway volunteers, and county weed management area liaison.
- Nature Education. We provide volunteers to staff the Bill and Jean Lane Education Center at Edgewood, update exhibits, and maintain the office. We provide a quarterly newsletter for all members. Additional activities include a California native plant garden, wildflower surveys, maintaining a display of plants in flower, and an online field guide of plants and animals found at Edgewood.
- Interpretive Programs. We conduct free, docent-led hikes for the public in Edgewood, which is supported by trainings and enrichment sessions for new and continuing docents each year. Additional activities include trail ambassadors and trail signage.
Our largest expenditure in 2023 was land and wildlife stewardship (managed as “Project 467”), including the Green Grass initiative, Edgewood Farms (seed propagation), and San Mateo thornmint and Pentachaeta restorations. We held several meetings for members, including our 30th anniversary celebration combined with the annual general meeting where members exchanged valuable knowledge, ideas, and native seeds from their private gardens. For the convenience of preserve visitors, including those on our docent-led hikes, we rented a portable toilet, which was located near the Sunset Gate during the busiest months. Educational posters were created for the 30th anniversary celebration and were used as part of special outreach activities at the San Carlos Hometown Days, the Redwood City July 4th festival, and the San Mateo County Parks SummerFest.
2023 was another great year for revenue, allowing us to pay land and wildlife stewardship expenses without running a deficit. Membership dues and other gifts amounted to 92% of (non- investment) revenue. We also received generous grants to support our programs. Donations increasingly include donations from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs).
In 2023, the majority (73%) of our expense budget was for land and wildlife stewardship. Our nature education programs, including the Bill and Jean Lane Education Center, and printing and mailing the quarterly newsletter, accounted for 6%. Another 2% went to our interpretive programs, which included free docent-led walks. We also granted 4% to our strategic nonprofit partners. The remaining expenses were related to administration of incoming donations, insurance, and other general operating activities.
As a mature, all-volunteer run non-profit, the Friends of Edgewood Natural Preserve endeavors to use our financial resources wisely; to spend our yearly funding within our means and to invest for the longer term, to support the continuation and growth of our programs.
Thank you again to our volunteers, members, donors, and friends for your generous support. We appreciate your contributions of money and time to ensure that Edgewood be a resilient place of extraordinary biodiversity that is appreciated and protected forever.
Angela Mallett
Treasurer
2023 Annual Report Recap*
| Annual report | |
|---|---|
| 2023 | |
| Assets | $714,123 |
| Change in assets | $201,795 |
| Revenue, unrestricted | $133,021 |
| Revenue, restricted | $79,138 |
| Investment profit/loss (net unrealized) | $72,901 |
| Liabilities | $0 |
| Change in liabilities | $0 |
| Expenses, general | $21,966 |
| Expenses, restricted | $61,298 |
*2023: Includes $25k for endowment fund
*Financial numbers are preliminary and subject to change up to IRS deadlines in May 2024.
If you have questions about Friends of Edgewood financials, please email [email protected].