38 AMC OUTDOORS || JULY/AUGUST 2016

IT IS A PLEASURE to report that 2015 was another year with strong results and financial performance across AMC. Team effort has again allowed AMC to succeed in so many areas, re-flecting the many thousands of volunteers, members, support-ers, staff, and partners who collectively advance the AMC mis-sion. We thank you all. Highlights from 2015 include:

Operating revenues and funding sources for all of AMC’s staff-, volunteer-, and chapter-managed activities reached a record high of more than $26 million, up more than $1 mil-lion over 2014.

Outstanding performance in the Annual Fund, for which $3.2 million was raised. Concurrently, AMC’s membership grew by almost 3 percent, with revenues of $3.1 million.

Occupancy for AMC’s huts, lodges, volunteer-managed camps and cabins, and remote campsites reached historic highs for a third consecutive year, generating close to $10 million in revenue.

AMC’s endowment, which ended the year at $58 million, provided $2.5 million in operating support to AMC’s mission. While investment returns were slightly negative at -1.8 per-cent due to challenging markets worldwide, they compared favorably with the 2015 performance of similar endowments.

The Leadership Giving Initiative has made strong progress toward its $24 million fundraising goal. In 2015 we began deploying those resources, breaking ground on construc-tion projects at Harriman Outdoor Center in New York and Medawisla Lodge and Cabins in Maine, while also making seed investments in other strategic program areas, including expanding the trail network on AMC’s conservation and rec-reation land in Maine.

AMC expended $4.7 million for capital projects in 2015. Of particular note was January’s $2.2 million acquisition of more

than 4,000 acres of forestland surrounding Baker Moun-tain—part of our Maine Woods Initiative and substantially funded by new donors.

We completed our third New Markets Tax Credit financing to support our economic investment in the Maine Woods and surrounding communities. The net benefit of approx-imately $2 million to AMC from this transaction will sup-port the construction of the Medawisla Lodge and Cabins, as well as the further development of trails, infrastructure, and youth programming in Piscataquis County. AMC continues its tradition of careful, prudent, and conser-

vative financial management. The 2015 financial year closed with a surplus from operations of $300,000, approximately 1 percent of our operating budget. This amount has been allocated to reserve funds, which will be distributed by our Board of Directors to support key projects and initiatives.

Financial progress on all fronts enabled us to sustain and strengthen program support in all areas of AMC’s mission, and as you’ll read in the pages that follow, much progress has been made towards achieving our Vision 2020 goals.

It is the support of all of you—tens of thousands of AMC members, volunteers, advocates, and supporters, as well as the collaboration of our many partner organizations—that has en-abled the Appalachian Mountain Club to build an important set of assets we will deploy in pursuit of our mission: monetary, organizational, strategic, and human. You have our ongoing commitment that we will manage these resources responsibly in the coming years to advance AMC’s mission and to build a stronger organization for the future.

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB SUMMARY OF

2015 ANNUAL REPORT

Cliff Krauss TREASURER

39OUTDOORS.ORG

178,4648,0001,405

guest overnight experiences at lodges, huts, shelters, camps, and cabins

volunteer-led activities, including chapter and Adventure Travel programs

leaders trained

Advancing Excellence in Outdoor Recreation and Leadership Training

200,000 constituents, including members, guests, advocates, and supporters

Expanding the Breadth and Strength of the AMC Community

87,036 experienced the outdoors through AMC programs and destinations

days of youth experiences provided

Getting Kids Outdoors

Leading on Regional Conservation Action

1,81733,631

5,985

miles of trails maintained

volunteer trail hours

acres of land protected, working with partners

2015 Progress Toward Vision 2020

at work

your

SUPPORT

Realizing the Larger Opportunity in the Maine Woods

70,000130

acres permanently protected under AMC ownership

miles of trails open for hiking and skiing

miles of trout streams restored18

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40 AMC OUTDOORS || JULY/AUGUST 2016

FUNDING SOURCES (IN $1,000s)

2015 2014 2013

Contributions, Gifts, and Grants 5,166 5,168 4,761

Membership Dues 3,124 3,094 3,091

Outdoor Centers 11,947 11,018 10,253

Programs* 2,487 2,272 2,040

Publications 773 654 677

Endowment Spending Allocation 2,505 2,347 2,381

Special Project Funding** 880 864 793

OPERATING FUNDING SOURCES 26,882 25,416 23,995

EXPENSES

2015 2014 2013

Outdoor Centers 11,475 11,171 10,723

Programs* 8,186 7,456 6,595

Publications 689 597 627

Member Services 2,742 2,737 2,674

Fundraising 1,256 1,230 1,261

Administrative 2,231 2,073 1,963

OPERATING EXPENSES 26,579 25,264 23,843

OPERATING SURPLUS 303 151 152

Non-Operating Contributions, Investment,and Other Activity

750 8,123 5,598

TOTAL CHANGE IN NET ASSETS 1,053 8,274 5,750

NET ASSETS, BEGINNING OF YEAR 113,423 105,149 99,399

NET ASSETS, END OF YEAR 114,476 113,423 105,149

Additional Information: Capital Spending (Property & Equipment)

4,798 2,237 1,610

2015 OPERATING EXPENSES

2015 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS For a detailed financial statement, see outdoors.org/about/financial-information.cfm.

61,930

2014

ENDOWMENT (in$1,000s)

$55,000

$65,000

$45,000

$35,0002013

60,505

2015

58,418

* Programs include Conservation, Outdoor Engagement, Leadership Training, Trails, and Research** Special Project Funding is provided by capital campaign receipts and other reserves

for Vision 2020 initiatives

2015 OPERATING FUNDING SOURCES

Outdoor Centers 45%

Membership Dues 12%

Contributions, Gifts, and Grants 19%

Publications 3%

Programs* 9%

Special Project Funding** 3%

Endowment Spending Allocation 9%

Member and donor supportProgram fees

Special project funding

Outdoor Centers 43%

Programs* 31%

Fundraising 5%

Publications 3%

Member Services 10%

Administrative 8%

AdministrativeProgram delivery

Fundraising

41OUTDOORS.ORG

Building AMC’s Community: AMC membership reaches highest point in 14 years. AMC and the Boston Globe host a “Hike the Whites” bracket competition, driving significant traffic to AMC’s website and social media platforms. Nearly 50 people attend a Young Members (YM) event in the Adirondacks for a Labor Day weekend full of hiking, camping, stargazing, and connecting with new friends from all over the Northeast. Two hundred people attend Fall Gathering in Lake George, N.Y., hosted by the Mohawk Hudson Chapter. Members submit more than 2,000 photos for our “48 Hours of AMC” project, published in our magazine and as an interactive timeline on our website.

Conservation Policy and Research: AMC plays a pivotal role in writing and successfully moving forward changes to rules for the permitting of energy generation and transmission projects in New Hampshire by the NH Site Evaluation Committee, increasing protection for the environment and public interest. AMC continues its opposition to the controversial Northern Pass high voltage transmission line in New Hampshire. With its partners, AMC is successful in petitioning the Department of Energy to issue a supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that considers a new “preferred alternative” route. AMC works to protect critical lands and trails from unnecessary impacts of energy infrastructure, including the proposed Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline in Massachusetts and PennEast Pipeline in Pennsylvania. AMC invests significant effort in the reauthorization and permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which Congress allowed to lapse in 2015, despite a 50-year history of supporting significant federal and state land conservation projects.

Trails: AMC Professional Trail Crews work 8,375 hours on projects in the White Mountains. Work includes a 40-foot glue-lam bridge constructed on the Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail and significant rock work and erosion control on the Fishin’ Jimmy, Mount Osceola, Champney Falls, and Lonesome Lake trails. North Country trails volunteers, 659 in total, contribute an additional 16,318 hours to maintaining the trail network in the WMNF and at Mount Cardigan. AMC completes contract trail projects, including a network of accessible trails for the town of North Providence, R.I. Berkshire volunteer teen trail crews spend 26 weeks and more than 8,500 hours on trail projects, including new construction, rehabilitation of overgrown trail, and installation of drainage structures. In Maine, AMC volunteers complete 6,359 hours of trail work in the northern Mahoosuc Range, AMC’s Maine Woods property, Baxter State Park, Acadia National Park, and Evans Notch. AMC volunteers complete 1,118 hours of trail work in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area with 66 volunteers.

2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Outdoor Learning and Leadership: AMC’s Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) serves more than 37,000 youth in 2015, an increase of 5 percent, through 2,100 outdoors adventures and 55,000 field days. AMC’s A Mountain Classroom program serves 8,400 students with more than 14,000 field days of environmental and outdoor education programming. The Teen Wilderness Adventures program reaches 350 participants. In collaboration with the health care providers MassGeneral Hospital for Children and Boston Medical Center, Outdoors Rx® serves nearly 2,000 youth and families across our three focal areas of MetroWest, Chelsea/Revere, and Boston. Leadership Training and Risk Management concludes a record year with the facilitation of 52 outdoor leadership trainings and more than 900 participants. Adventure Travel finishes the year with 37 domestic and international trips, and more than 500 participants.

Maine Woods Initiative: AMC permanently protects 4,311 acres of scenic and ecologically significant lands on and around Baker Mountain in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness, with assistance from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). AMC receives the 2015 Maine Governor’s Conference on Tourism Award for promoting nature-based tourism in the state. A busy year for the trails and land management teams sees the trail crew building five miles of new trails on AMC and nearby land, including a new trail up Shaw Mountain with views of Second Roach Pond and Katahdin. AMC crews also replace three road culverts with bridges and remove a fourth culvert, opening up four miles of brook trout habitat. AMC receives Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of its forest management operations in Maine. A Mountain Classroom wraps up its first year of community-based education programming in Jackman, Maine.

Outdoor Program Centers: 2015 is a strong year for lodge and hut occupancy, and program participation rises by 7 percent. AMC and Plymouth State University release an economic impact study showing White Mountain Huts and Lodges contribute $17.9 million to the New Hampshire economy each year. AMC receives a Community Partnership Award from White Mountains Community College for collaboration in the design of a new hospitality and outdoor recreation academic program. AMC announces plans for a new outdoor program center at Harriman State Park in New York to open July 1, 2016. Three Mile Island Camp and Cardigan Lodge join forces on a solar panel installation that will provide electricity for both locations.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The“48Hours”project,enthusiasticallysupportedbymembers;theNorthernPasstransmissioncorridor;YOPparticipantsonMountCardigan;AMountainClassroominaction;thenewAMC-builtbridgeonNineteen-MileBrookTrail;CardiganLodge’snewsolararray.

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