Financial Sustainability and Success
Wellington Zoo is operated by a charitable trust, governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by Wellington City Council, which provides the principal funding for the operation of the Zoo each year. The Zoo is located on Town Belt land and its property assets are owned by the Council.
In December 2006, the City Council endorsed the Zoo Trust’s $21 million plan to redevelop the Zoo over the next 10 years. Council will fund three-quarters of the Zoo Capital Programme and the Trust will raise the remaining funds from corporate entities, trusts and the public by way of grants, sponsorships and donations. This is a big ask for a young charity but Trustees and Senior Management are committed to achieving this important goal.
In 2006/07, the Zoo’s operating costs were $4.6 million in total. The Zoo faces a high level of fixed costs – whether visitors come or not, we must feed and care for our animals, and maintain our facilities.
Zoo based activities currently generate just over 42% of our operating revenue (a 13.5% increase from the time the Trust was established in 2003). Wellington City Council’s grant covers the remaining 58%.
The Wellington Zoo Trust is committed to increasing its fundraising, and reducing its dependence on the Council for operational activities of the Zoo. In 2006/07 we earned almost $1.5 million from admissions to the Zoo and a further $237,000 from sales of commercial products such as Close Encounters and functions in the Zoo. This was a 14% increase over our 2005/06 visitor and related revenue. Our retail shop earned us $237,000 (an increase of 4.6% on the previous year). In addition to $274,254 raised for capital projects, operational sponsorships and grants accounted for $74,000 in the year under review.
As an outdoor venue, the Zoo’s income is always vulnerable to bad weather, although the Zoo Capital Programme will attempt to address this by creating more spaces for visitors to take shelter and more indoor venues.
The Zoo will make modest increases to Zoo entry prices when the visitor experience is enhanced by new exhibits, in order to obtain a return on the capital cost invested. We always seek to keep entry to the Zoo as accessible as possible through offerings such as $1 entry for children on Children’s Day and discounted entry on Wednesdays in winter. Students, seniors and those with YHA backpacker cards also enjoy reduced entry to the Zoo and there are discount packages for families.
The year ahead will see an increased focus on fundraising at Wellington Zoo with the launch of our ‘$5 million in 5 years’ capital campaign as well as an added focus on driving commercial product returns. The fundraising effort will focus on the capital campaign but will also seek the support of the Wellington community for operational funding.