CW Releases 2010 Report

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced Friday that it made solid financial progress in 2010, with an increase in key revenue streams such as visitation and endowment value, though the operating deficit was $27 million and revenues dipped $7 million.

Higher visitation led to increased admission revenues, hospitality revenue was up due to higher occupancy and gifts also grew, according to Friday’s president’s report. Operating revenues also increased, exclusive of catalog income and endowment support. CW discontinued catalog operations in 2010 and replaced the catalog with an online store, which improved financial results but trimmed revenues.

“I am especially pleased that the net assets of the Foundation have increased significantly during the past two years after experiencing a downturn with the rest of the economy in 2008,” said Campbell.

“Because we continue operating with a substantially smaller staff and are keeping expenses down - and we intend to maintain that discipline - we will be in a favorable leveraged position as the tourism economy improves. This is critical to achieving true financial equilibrium - a central responsibility of stewards of the future.”

Paid attendance increased almost 4 percent to 686,000 and the gate count was 1.7 million, in line with 2009 levels.

Total revenues including endowment support reached $185 million in 2010, a decrease of $7 million that includes a decline of $8 million in catalog revenues and decreased endowment support due to decline in the endowment market in 2007 and 2008.

Expenses were $212 million, a decrease of $4 million compared to 2009. Excluding catalog savings, expenses increased by $6 million due to higher interest expenses from taxable 2009 debt refinancing. The operating deficit was $27 million, $3 million more than 2009.

The endowment value increased by $52 million to $754 million and produced a 16 percent return. The Foundation’s investment performance is in the top ranks of endowments nationally.

Gifts to the Colonial Williamsburg Fund, which supports the operating budget, totaled $14.3 million, up 2 percent. In total giving, more than 108,000 households gave and pledged more than $31.6 million.

The Foundation’s net assets totaled $908 million, $59 million over the year previous. The most significant reason for the increase was the endowment performance.

The report also highlights results of recently launched programs and a strengthening of partnerships with various local, regional and national organizations.

Some new programs and initiatives included the first full year of operation Charlton’s Coffeehouse, which saw more than 100,000 guests in 2010; new programs that put Capitol and Palace guests in family-friendly “moments in history”; guest artists Mamie Gummer and Jesse Williams; as well as new exhibitions which made the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg among the most-visited in Virginia with 210,000 visitors, up from 2009.

Key partnerships in 2010 included those with the Chautauqua Institution for the conference “Storm on the Horizon: Slavery, Disunion, and the Roots of the Civil War”; the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture; and Preservation Virginia, a collaboration that helped bring together CW and Historic Jamestowne.

CW also further developed its partnership with the Virginia Arts Festival in 2010.

A new marketing campaign, titled “Be Part of the Story,” launched in 2010. Part of the initiative included a focus on social media and more internet presence, which increased CW’s virtual vists by 5 percent to 26.5 million.

Electronic field trips reached more than 2,000 registered schools and home-school families, for a total audience of six million.

“I am proud of all that Colonial Williamsburg achieved in 2010,” said Campbell. “Challenges remain, but the results show that the creative programming, special exhibits, attractive promotions and partnerships we pursued, the compelling experiences we provided, made a difference to our guests and supporters.

“Our success in engaging and attracting the public demonstrates the abiding interest and pride Americans have, when given the incentive and opportunity, in the story of our nation. It is a story a part of which we are privileged to tell, and to safeguard, as stewards of the future.”

The information on 2010 performance is detailed in the president’s report, titled “Stewards of the Future,” which is published in the current issue of the Colonial Williamsburg Journal.