Yellowstone Forever, which provided nearly $6 million for projects in Yellowstone National Park last year, is offering large discounts on summer programs in the park just weeks after reportedly laying off some staff.
Megan Boyle, the nonprofit's vice president for marketing and communications, did not return a phone call Thursday seeking information on the two moves, which seem to indicate revenue problems.
The discounts -- 30-40 percent off all Yellowstone Forever Institute field seminars -- were announced Thursday, less than three weeks before the first classes are to begin. The three-day Fly Fishing For Beginners course, for example, is being discounted from $468 to $281, and the three-day History of Bears and Humans course is being cut from $439 to $263.
The sale on courses comes in the wake of layoffs that claimed six employees last month, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The newspaper cited unnamed employees who said the layoffs were related to internal problems with the organiziation.
Boyle told the newspaper that the layoffs were "for several reasons, primarily job redundancies." Yellowstone Forever employs 68 year-round, and hires another 77 seasonal workers and volunteers, she said.
The moves come less than three years after the Yellowstone Association and the Yellowstone Foundation merged to create Yellowstone Forever.
"I’m thrilled about what we’re creating together—a powerful force for education and philanthropy to protect this wonderland that we love so much," said Heather White, the entity's CEO and president, said at the time in announcing the merger. "We’ll connect the next generation to Yellowstone National Park and all its grandeur and majesty, and ultimately help people connect with something larger than themselves.
According to Yellowstone Forever's latest available financial disclosures, the organization reported net assets of $20,194,417 and liabilities of $1.52 million. The documents also point to losses incurred in both FY2017 and FY2018 in the organization's operating budget, of $185,432 and $269,762, respectively. Forever Yellowstone's board of directors had authorized budget deficits of $250,000 for each year, and the organization ended up with a cumulative deficit of $455,194 by the end of FY2018.
Going into FY2019, the organization's president (White) and chief financial officer (Roger Keaton) planned on ending with a surplus of $100,000.
"Strategically, FY2019 is forecasted to see the beginning of the replenishment of operating reserves and the beginning of a long-term intentional plan to build out the organization's endowments to provide for the future operations of Yellowstone Forever," they wrote in their FY2017-2018 financial statements and audit.
White is the highest paid employee for Yellowstone Forever, with a salary and other compensation, such as retirement and deferred compensation, totalling more than $286,000, according to the nonprofit's 2017 990 form. Total compensation for "officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and highest compensated employees" for that period was $1,037,385. Other salaries for Fiscal 2017 totaled $5.42 million.
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It is disheartening and disgusting that these officers and CEOs are making these giant salaries while they're laying off employees who have a passion for the job that they're doing. I believe these people have lost sight of what their goal is all about is to protect Yellowstone forever. it seems to me that they're just protecting themselves and lining their pockets at the expense of America's first national park. And if the board doesn't do something to change this Yellowstone is what is going to suffer. I live in Bozeman and I go to Yellowstone as much as I can probably 8 to 10 times a year and I see how we struggle with maintaining a park with very little resources from our government and then you read the story about people who are supposed to be protecting Yellowstone and from your story that is simply not the case. Again I hope the board picks a new leader that will follow with the vision of what Yellowstone needs and I hope they do it quickly. I will not stop going to Yellowstone!
Those salaries are high for a nonprofit. I suppose one thing that can be done is to withhold funding until the board takes control of the problem or start replacing the board members.
Yes, Mr. Engstrom, the CEO's over $250K in total annual compensation is high for this sort of nonprofit and I would agree that an initial impulse would be to hope the board takes control of the problem, but not in this case. In this case, most of the board members have been willing accomplices, enablers, or simply useful poseurs from the start. The leadership of the board has been fully aware of and involved in everything that has been happening the entire time, including the accounting questions; they just never thought anybody would speak up and got surprised when a few parts of the story came out. And, where was the famous charity watchdog organization? Did they dig into and uncover the accounting questions and ask what might be driving them? Apparently not, since they gave the nonprofit four stars. And, the whole story is still not out. In an effort to contain disclosure, the CEO, with the support of the leadership of the board, brought in a smiling hatchet crew to use the employment process and every available excuse to ever so politely eliminate employees who knew what was going on and might feel obligated to disclose it. Unfortunately, this is not just a story of one bad park nonprofit. It apparently stretches into park management, fits the agenda of concessionaires, and matches problems now rampant in other parts of the DOI.
It was announced today that the CEO is "resigning" effective this week.
Almost 2 years ago 6 people resigned from the board of YF because of the actions of the CEO and the board chair. They stonewalled efforts to introduce good governance practices, eschewed transparency in many of their actions, and hired an outside development consultant at an exorbitant monthly rate who demonstrated scant non-profit fund raising skills. It is definitely time for change.
Yes, they "announced today that the CEO is 'resigning' effective this week" and the board chair, who same one who has been at the center of the trouble from the start, named another member of that same board, the same board that "stonewalled efforts to introduce good governance" and "eschewed transparency" in the first place, as interim CEO. Raise your hand if you can both spell "incestuous" and not see the irony here. All they've done so far is jettison the CEO in the hopes that, by tossing a sacrificial bone into the weeds, they can fool everyone into thinking the problems are being addressed. The problems in that organization will not even begin to be addressed until the board has been replaced and that smiling hatchet crew that the now ousted CEO brought in to politely retaliate against and silence the employees is sent packing. And, the furniture bought for the housing for that fancy "outside development consultant" needs to be returned for a refund or sold as used so whatever money is left can go to the park where it should have gone to begin with. Let us all remember that this is an organization that, based on its relationship with the NPS, was given the privilege of operating in federally owned facilities, on federal property, in a prestigious national park, and had annual access to millions of dollars in well-intentioned public donations as a result.
As a long time member and supporter of the Yellowstone Association I had taken a number of their classes and enjoyed every one of them. The teaching staff was incredibly devoted and passionate and the logistics were handled perfectly. When I heard that negotiations were going on between YA and YPF I was concerned since these two organizations operated in rather different worlds. YA - a membership group and YPF - dancing with the big donors, spending $$$ on fund raising at places like Silver Tip Ranch.
I was very surprised and quite disappointed when YA did not have the courtesy of asking their members to vote on the merger. I have no doubt that a majority of the members would have voted NO. But the board ignored taking that step and decided on behalf of the members (who were the backbone of YA) to go ahead with the merger, membership desires and major organizational cultural differences be damned.
When newly annointed YF leader Heather White spoke at the NPS 100th Anniversary celebration at Arch Park I was not impressed and got a very bad feeling about the future of YF. When you look at the total budget and net worth of this organization, common sense says that you should not be spending over $1 million on top staff salaries. I agree that the board has been AWOL on managing and providing oversight for this merged creation. Frankly I think it would be best for YF to split back into two independent organizations.