Treasurer’ s Report
Our fiscal year ended with the market value of our endowment at $ 187 million and Total Net Assets at $ 210.5 million, compared to $ 174.2 million and $ 194.5 million respectively a year ago. Of the Total Assets, $ 161.4 million was in the Permanently Restricted category.
Total Support and Revenue during FY2018 was $ 15.9 million, with the major components being Investment Return Designated for Current Operations($ 8.4 million), Services Fees($ 2.7 million), Net Sales($ 3 million), and Contributed Support($ 1.8 million). Services Fees revenue— interment and cremation fees, chapel rentals, and fees for other Cemetery-related services— saw an 8 % decrease over the past fiscal year, due mainly to the closure of our Crematory during the Bigelow Chapel renovation project and the loss of cremation revenue for nine months of the year. Countering the loss in service fees, the Cemetery surpassed its annual goal of new interment sales by 17 %, with gross sales of interment sales generating $ 4.1 million, compared to its goal of $ 3.5 million. In keeping with our allocation policy, 22 % of the annual sales revenue was allocated to current operations while 78 % was transferred to the endowment.
Also reflected in the Cemetery’ s financial statements is $ 1.8 million in Contributed Support. This sum reflects funds transferred to the Cemetery from the Friends of Mount Auburn to cover expenses for a variety of preservation, landscape, and education projects undertaken during the fiscal year for which this money was raised. A significant portion of this transfer was allocated for the renovation of Asa Gray Garden, for which the Friends committed to raising two-thirds of the $ 3 million project. While the total amount of Contributed Support transferred to the Cemetery this year reflects another successful year of fundraising, the transfer is only part of what was raised by the Friends over the past year. A more complete view of the total support raised through the Friends of Mount Auburn can be found on the following pages of this report.
Total Expenses during FY2018 were $ 11.3 million, an increase of $ 1.3 million over the previous fiscal year. Total Expenses included Labor($ 4.5 million), Employee Benefits($ 1.9 million), Contracted Work and Materials($ 1.1 million), Depreciation($ 800,000), and Other Expenses($ 3 million). This year’ s increase in expenses, included here as“ Other Expenses,” mainly reflect the construction-related expenses for the various major projects currently underway at the Cemetery. The details of these projects are outlined in the previous sections of this report. The staff has worked strategically and responsibly to contain costs of its special projects and general operations while being sure to maintain the highest standards at the campus, including both new capital projects and the maintenance and service for which Mount Auburn is known.
Sean McDonnell Treasurer
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