Year of the Butterfly
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2018 Year of the Butterfly Thanksgiving Point Annual Report FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO Dear Friends and Supporters, the Museum. Each year we strive to provide excellent opportunities for the community I’m pleased to share Thanksgiving Point’s to come and see what’s inside this amazing 2018-19 annual report with you. The mission place. The Museum of Natural Curiosity and of Thanksgiving Point Institute as a 501(c)(3) the Butterfly Biosphere joins Farm Country, nonprofit farm, garden, and museum complex Museum of Ancient Life, and Ashton Gardens is to draw upon the natural world to cultivate as the places of Thanksgiving Point uses to help transformative family learning. Last fiscal year make an impact on lives. The Gardens are home we attracted 2,621,662 guests to a wide vari- to our two biggest signature experiences, the ety of venues, events, and activities across the Tulip Festival and Luminaria and has become a property. We truly are fulfilling our mission staple in the community due to its unique and and its incredible to think of the growth over incredible landscape and space. the last decade. More than 30 million visitors have come to Thanksgiving Point since the We thank you for your continued support. year 2003. We’re humbled and so proud to be Sincerely, part of the area’s continued growth. 2018-19 was another tremendous year for Thanksgiving Point. We welcomed a new venue to our family with the addition of the Butterfly Mike L Washburn Biosphere which opened in January 2019. This interactive “bug zoo” has already created a wonderful following with guests of all ages and, like our other locations, helps create a little bit of awe in every thing you see and do. More than a thousand butterflies reside in the Conservatory and hail from all corners of the world. It’s a wonderful place that meshes perfectly with our other venues. The Museum of Natural Curiosity remains our top attended attraction with its more than 400 interactive exhibits for children of all ages and abilities. During the last year, almost half a million visitors came to visit, play, and learn together inside Thanksgiving Point is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit farm, garden, and museum complex Mike L Washburn that draws upon the natural world to cultivate transformative family learning Left: Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) President and CEO Butterfly Biosphere, March 9, 2019 2 3 STORIES FROM 2018 FOOD SERVICE THANKSGIVING POINT KEY NUMBERS 327,378 GUESTS during the 2018 fiscal year there were TOTAL VENUE GUESTS EVENTS ATTENDEES many bright stories. Our guests are the pride and joy 1,144,421 197,204 Museum of of our operations and we’re thrilled to have millions Natural Curiosity 446,240 SOME OF THE HIGHEST ATTENDED Museum of of visitors each year on our property. Not only do we Ancient Life 279,634 TULIP FESTIVAL 104,845 have our fantastic venues, but signature events each Ashton Gardens 270,722 month including the Tulip Festival, Luminaria, Break- LUMINARIA Farm Country 147,825 74,627 fast with Santa, Dia de los Muertos, and Jigglefest, SCARECROW FESTIVAL just to name a few. We’ve also blessed with great 17,732 neighbors like the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course and the Larry H. Miller Megaplex that bring thou- EDUCATIONAL CLASSES ART INSTITUTE 17,026 GUESTS sands of people to the property each year. 10,865 GUESTS FIELD TRIPS LARRY H. MILLER MEGAPLEX The Tulip Festival has become a staple at Thanks- 37,055 STUDENTS 815,636 GUESTS giving Point for a dozen years. Each spring more than TITLE ONE SCHOLARSHIPS 300,000 tulips are imported from Holland and plant- 4,705 STUDENTS THANKSGIVING POINT GOLF COURSE 23,281 ROUNDS PLAYED Above: Rick Hunter unveils Ruth the Gorgosaurus ed in the 55-acre Aston Gardens in unique displays Musuem of Ancient Life, June 22, 2018 and arrangements. There are more than 100 varieties of tulips and thousands of other plants and flowers as Transformative learning is part of Thanksgiving Point’s mission, which is offered through edu- well. What follows is nothing short of breathtaking. Our gardener’s work year-round ensuring this cational programs for all ages. Programs included field trips, adult classes, youth classes, summer event is one-of-a-kind and something every guest will remember. Nearly 105,000 guests enjoyed day camps, and signature experiences like the Tulip Festival, Luminaria, and the Labor Day Luau. the month-long event in 2018, an increase of almost 3,000 guests from 2017. After the Festival Each year, Thanksgiving Point hosts more than 50 signature events that help spread the word of is complete, we dig the bulbs and sell them to the public, which has become a fun and popular our mission. In addition to these signature events are annual music performances by the Utah Sym- event. We encourage our members and guests to create their own mini Tulip Festival all across the phony, the Lyceum Philharmonic, and the Timp Symphony. There truly is something for everyone, Wasatch Front at their homes. Additionally, the Ashton Gardens host Luminaria, a winter experi- each and every year. ence unlike anything in the state of Utah. Nearly 80,000 guests attended the event in its third year. Each winter guests continue to join and be amazed at the wonderland that is Luminaria. Thanksgiving Point’s impactful programs are offered in partnership with Utah State University Extension 4-H. Growing Leaders is a leadership and mentoring club for high school students, ECO With events like the Tulip Festival, Luminaria, and others, Thanksgiving Point encourages guest Challenge offers teenagers an environmental themed contest to engage with today’s most pressing interaction all the time, especially through social media channels. The growth of our social media environmental problems, and Tulips Journey North is an outreach program teaching elementary channels includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Our Facebook channel has more school students to become critical thinkers and citizen scientists. than 39,000 likes and is our strongest social avenue by the numbers. Our Instagram channel has 15,800 followers and our Twitter following boasts 5,200 followers. We strive to create an environ- Thanksgiving Point provides a myriad of educational opportunities for all ages for the community ment of transparency, openness, and fun throughout our social channels. to enjoy year-round. It is a place where families come together to learn, discover, grow and laugh. 4 5 YEAR OF THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT in the vast world we live it is often amazing that small and simple things can make such a huge impact. The phenomenon “Butterfly Effect” is just this—that the simple in life like wings flapping of a small butterfly can make a massive difference in our world. As the Butterfly Biosphere opened last January more and more small but significant guests are able to see these also small, but significant insects. Inside the Butterfly Biosphere guests meet butterflies from Costa Rica, the Congo, and more. Butterflies like the Blue Mor- pho and the amazing Great Mormon species are just a couple of the amazing species you’ll get to know! Beyond their natural beauty butterflies can make a huge difference in the world outside of this special venue. Everything that oc- curs at Thanksgiving Point is a result of something similar to the butterfly effect. The smallest visitors, the smallest contributions, the smallest critter—all have helped create the Thanksgiving Point we enjoy today. By small and significant “The things that change the world, according to events, the world truly does change around us. These events help the world and Chaos Theory, are the tiny things. A butterfly flaps its help our community. We invite you to join us at the Butterfly Biosphere, the Mu- wings in the Amazonian jungle, and subsequently a seum of Natural Curiosity, Farm Country, the Ashton Gardens, and the Museum of Ancient Life to see the living proof of the butterfly effect right here in Utah. storm ravages half of Europe.” Proof that the smallest things can have the biggest impacts. — from Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Josh Berndt Communications Director — Originally published in Spring 2019 Edition of Thanksgiving Point Gazette — Above Left: Butterfly Release, Museum of Natural Curiosity, 2015 This Page: Giant Owl Butterfly (Caligo Memnon), Butterfly Biosphere Ribbon-cutting, January 17, 2019 6 7 BY THE NUMBERS: FINANCIALS 4.16% GOVERNMENT (Grants) 2018-2019 10% INCOME COMMUNITY SUPPORT Sponsorships, and Corporate, Individual, 13.49% REVENUE & SUPPORT OPERATIONS .................................................. $20,142,657 and Foundation Support GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE SPONSORSHIPS ............................................................................................. $426,899 GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS ............................................................ $2,443,421 (with capital campaign included) 3.59% FUNDRAISING INTEREST AND DIVIDEND & OTHER ........................................................... $18,821 ADMISSIONS ............................................................................................... $4,871,484 MEMBERSHIP ............................................................................................. $4,245,798 85.84% SPECIAL FUNDRAISING EVENTS .............................................................. $483,906 EARNED INCOME Memberships, Restaurants, Catering, Retail, 82.93% EDUCATION $455,567 Rentals, Events, and Admission Fees PROGRAM COSTS (less grants) ............................................................................