2015ANNUAL REPORT

EDUCATION & RETREAT CENTER

EXECUTIVE LETTER

Dearest Friends,

Thank you for all of your support and love of Ghost Ranch! While we saw more than our usual share of challenges in 2015 includ-ing losses of friends and Ghost Ranch family members and a major flood that devastated property (but thankfully no loss of life), we also experienced the very generous hearts of so many, including over 400 new donors to the Ranch.

• Our scholarship support and community outreach is far-reaching and extensive, including the addition of Holding Courage retreats for regional women with cancer. • Our staff, at all levels, have highly professional experience in their fields. • We experienced for the first time in 2015, very high Trip Advisor ratings. • We served more guests in our programs, group retreats, day education and overnight stays. • We are improving the grounds, facilities and infrastructure in all areas of the Ranch.• We are gearing up for the long-overdue implementation of a new software system for guest registration and property management.

Debra HeplerExecutive Director

Bill Ireland Chair, Governing Board

Tom ArenbergChair, National Ghost Ranch Foundation

• We are setting up temporary structures and space for the buildings lost in the flood, and have completed a soil study and are in the midst of planning for the flood rebuild and new guest lodging.• We are reviewing new ways forward in governance to operate as efficiently as possible and to balance the budget to eradicate annual deficits.

This is a very exciting time to be involved in the legacy of Ghost Ranch. Transitions, growth, generosity and enthusiasm abound and we THANK YOU for being such an integral part of this legacy!

In service and gratitude,

After the Flood

On July 7, 2015, a sudden storm raged through Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center resulting in a flash flood that caused over $500,000 in damages. There were no injuries or fatalities. Losses included the Box Canyon aqueduct, the arts and craft buildings of Pot Hollow, Short House, the Pole Barn, the equipment shed, the Low Ropes Course, and the brand new Fiber Arts Studio.

Executive Director, Debra Hepler stated that even with the losses, she is grateful beyond words. “While the devastation and loss were extensive, we are blessed with wonderful guests, donors, friends and staff. We’ve received an outpouring of generous offers of financial assistance and help in our recovery from the destruction,” she stat-ed. About the future, Hepler said, “It may seem obvious, but it needs to be said—we will not rebuild in the same area. But we will rebuild and plans are underway.”

Pottery Equipment Donation

Thanks to the New Mexico Potters and Clay Artists Association, ceramics and pottery programs will return to Ghost Ranch stronger than ever in 2016 after Pot Hollow was destroyed by last July’s flash flood.

So far, the 250-plus-member NMPCA has raised $3,500 of its $10,000 goal for construction after an article about the disaster appeared in Sliptrail, the NMPCA magazine. In addition, NMPCA member Katy Sheridan donated nearly her entire

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• New mattresses and bedding for all lodging • New roofs on Aspen and Poplar• Casa del Sol stabilized and bathrooms

renovated• Bathrooms renovations in Lower Pavilion,

Dining Hall, Cottages and Staff House• New vans for guest transportation, new

trucks for maintenance, new vans for housekeeping, new bus for tours, new van for food service equipped for catering

• Lower level Cottage renovations• Additional golf carts• IT Network Components• Additional Heaters• New commercial stove and other culinary

equipment in Dining Hall• Swimming Pool renovation and

equipment• Convocation Hall foundation reinforced

2015 Program Participant Testimonials

“I’ve definitely seen improvements in most all aspects of operations of the Ranch over the last 4-5 years in particular, which improves the guest’s experience.”

“Continued inprovements to the infrastructure makes for an improved value.”

Additionally... 8,000 lbs. of stained glass as well as equipment, work-tables and other supplies were donated to replace the equipment and supplies lost in the flood.

Infrastructure Improvements

pottery studio to Ghost Ranch, and NMPCA member Cricket Appel gave the Ranch a gently used electric kiln.

Enrichment through the renewal of faith and relationship with God, from the beauty and expansiveness of the

landscape as well as from rich and diverse course offerings; courses designed to expand minds, hearts, creativity

and awareness of how to live life more fully and authentically.

Holding Courage Retreat for Women with Recent Cancer

Last fall, Ghost Ranch introduced Holding Courage, the first-of-its-kind retreat for women who have recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Seven attendees gathered for six rewarding days of sharing, discussion, guided meditation, massage, body and breath work, yoga, and art and music therapy.

The program was created and led by Ranch volunteers Deena Talbot and Maureen Fitz-gibbon, R.N., who aimed to provide attendees a respite from stress and anxiety and help them maintain self-esteem, stamina and balance during their cancer treatment.

Focusing on the 51,000 women with cancer in northern New Mexico, they sought grants, created posters and contacted clinics, hospitals and cancer support groups. Attendees paid on a sliding scale.

ENRICHING LIVES

Youth Service Corp

Some 101 students from seventh through 12th grades learned the meaning of service work and team building by participating in Youth Service Corps at Ghost Ranch in 2015.

Teens and pre-teens from six states built a fence, repaired trails and constructed native bee habitats at Ghost Ranch. They also worked at 12 off-ranch sites, including the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Cen-ter, the El Rito Library, the Owl Peak Farm in La Madera and the Wildlife Center at Arroyo Seco.

They capped off their week with hiking, kayaking, campfires and more. In tallying 1,717 collective hours of community service, they made lengthy leaps in personal growth.

“I have learned to value the resources around me and notice the Spirit working around me,” one participant wrote. Said another, “I went further outside my comfort zone than I ever had before.”

”We provided a safe, nurturing environment with love and care to women facing the ultimate challenge – the choice for life,” Talbot, who has led similar programs in her native North Carolina, said. Fitzgibbon has worked with cancer patients at hospitals in the Midwest.

Massage therapist Terry Martin donated her services to the women, adding another level of therapy to the experience.

Afterward, one attendee wrote, “I now feel that cancer is not the end of the road for me, but a springboard to a more meaning-ful life.”

Ghost Ranch will repeat the program in August 2016.

2015

37%

23%

12%

11%

10%6%

6%8%

11%

12%

20%

43%

2014

PROGRAMREVENUE

GROUPS &MEETINGS

ANNUALFUND DONATIONS

RETAILOPERATIONS

TOURS &WRANGLERS

OVERNIGHTSTAYS

19,521 VOLUNTEER HOURS CONTRIBUTED TO OUR SUCCESS

EDUCATIONAL TOURS REVENUE: 7,965 PARTICIPANTS

2010

TOURS 44.4K

WRANGLER 8.1K

2011

TOURS 97.6K

WRANGLER 20.5K

2012

TOURS 132.9K

WRANGLER 18.5K

2013

TOURS 147.1K

WRANGLER 55.9K

2014

TOURS 170.3K

WRANGLER 131.5K

2015

TOURS 175.5K

WRANGLER 216.7K

52.6K

118.1K

151.4K

203K

301.8K

392.2K

REVENUE BREAKDOWN

415 NEW DONORS TO GHOST RANCH

72 JAN TERM STUDENTS 63% INCREASE FROM 2014

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

• Abiquiu Boys and Girls Club• Abiquiu Elementary School• Abiquiu Fire Department• Abiquiu and Tierra Amarilla Health Clinics• Abiquiu and El Rito Libraries• Abiquiu and El Rito Studio Tours• Abiquiu Northern Youth Project• Alcoholics Anonymous• Aldo Leopold Foundation• Amigos Bravos• Archeology Scholarships for Pueblo graduate

school students• Arroyo Seco Wildlife Center• Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Northern

New Mexico• Bosque School• Catholic Church Confirmation Class Retreats• Center for Restorative Programs• Community Youth Day Camp at Ghost Ranch• Community Youth Swim Lessons at Ghost Ranch

60 local organizations, schools, clinics, churches, pueblos, associations, and agencies received monetary or in-kind donations from Ghost Ranch in 2015.

PARTNERSHIP: Rocky Mountain Youth Corp

When the flash flood washed out Ghost Ranch trails to Box Canyon and the Hayden Quarry last July, a crew from the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps quickly rebuilt them, cementing the four-year partnership between the RMYC, Ghost Ranch and the Army Corps of Engineers at Abiquiu Lake.

The crew, made up of eight young men aged 17-25, had just built the Hayden Quar-ry trail earlier in the summer, but they were undaunted. “For many, it is their first employment. The chance to work in and around Ghost Ranch is special,” Leon Natker, RMYC crew coordinator, said.

The Ghost Ranch partnership with RMYC was envisioned in 2010. Fund-raising began in 2011, when the College Staff raised funds for trail maintenance to honor Willie Picaro, then ranch’s retiring safety director. In 2012, Ghost Ranch, ACE and RMYC won a grant for trail work from the Youth Conservation Corps.

Since then, a joint Ghost Ranch/ACE crew has re-built the lower section of the popular Chimney Rock Trail. RMYC crews have renovated Matrimonial Mesa Trail and re-opened access to the Hayden Quarry via Canjilon Creek.

This coming summer, RMYC crews will create a 6.3-mile trail from Box Canyon east to the Continental Divide Trail and build a kiosk near the trailhead. Brandon Wert, the grant writer and former College Staff coordinator, said, “Ghost Ranch hiking trails are a primary way guests reconnect with the land, their Creator and one another.”

• Concerts (Bluegrass, Chorale, Mens’ Ensemble, Gospel), 4th of July Fireworks and Lectures at Ghost Ranch, all free to the community

• Dar al Islam• El Mogote Co-op in Canones• Escalante High School• Espanola High School• Espanola Farmer’s Market• Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center• 4-H of Rio Arriba• Food Banks in Northern NM• Grazing Program for local ranchers, Espanola to Chama• La Madera Owl Peak Farm• La Mesa Presbyterian Church• Luciente-Abiquiu Studio Tour• Luciente-El Rito Studio Tour• MATCH New Mexico (Mentoring and Tutoring Creates Hope)• Mercado at Ghost Ranch (with local artisans) and Consignment

works in Trading Post• Monastery of Christ in the Desert• Monastery of Our Lady of the Desert• Moving Arts Espanola• New Mexico Conference of Churches• New Mexico Hospitality Association• New Mexico Natural Helpers (Student Leadership Program)• New Mexico Tourism Department Reading Challenge• Ohkay Owinge• Pajarito Environmental Education Center• Rio Arriba County Fair• Rio Arriba County Holiday Party

• Rio Arriba County Planning and Zoning/New Mexico League of Zoning Officials

• Rio Grande Restoration• Rising Stars of the Southwest• Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Partnership• San Ildefonso Pueblo• Santa Clara Pueblo• Scholarships for those in financial need and discounts for all Rio

Arriba County residents for Ghost Ranch workshops• Science Education Programs for 1,400+ Rio Arriba County

children at Ghost Ranch museums, and curriculum for off -site school program

• Silver Bullet Productions (educational film projects)• Teens on the Mend and the Little Free Library• Tewa Women United• Tierra Amarilla American Cancer Relay for Life• Tierra Amarilla Elementary School• Walnut Acres Elementary School

60 local organizations, schools, clinics, churches, pueblos, associations, and agencies received monetary or in-kind donations from Ghost Ranch in 2015.

1,429 STUDENTS VISITED THE MUSEUMS

260 SCHOLARSHIPS

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

135 LOCAL KIDS JOINED COMMUNITY DAY CAMP

WAYS TO SUPPORT:

Each person who visits has a ripple effect around the world. Person by person, Ghost Ranch is making a difference as people take their experiences and build upon them in their own lives and communities. We know you will find Ghost Ranch worthy of your annual support, as we strive to be good stewards of the gifts we receive. Any amount is appreciated.

• To those who have already given, thank you! Please consider an increase in your annual contribution or begin a recurring gift program where the amount you designate will be billed to your credit card monthly.

• Bequests - Include Ghost Ranch in your estate plans

• Income Producing Plans - Charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.

• Give a gift of appreciated stock or mutual fund.

• Life Insurance - Name Ghost Ranch as the beneficiary in your life insurance.

• Employer Matching Gifts - Many employers will match a charitable gifts to qualified organizations.

• Go online and view our Special Project Donations.

GOVERNING BOARD

Diane Arenberg - Santa Fe, NM

David Burpee - Lincolndale, NY

Dietmar Fritsch - Denver, CO

Jon Hall - Alexandria, MN

George “Skip” Herbert - Longmont, CO

Mark Hostetter - New York, NY

Bill Ireland - Venice, CA

Charles Jaynes - Albuquerque, NM

Bill Major - Tulsa, OK

Geoffrey Mather - Albuquerque, NM

Carl Schlich - St. Simon’s Island, GA

Donald Serrano - Santa Fe, NM

Leah Swearingen - San Diego, CA

Lawrence Willis - Newport News, VA

By Virtue of Office

Tom Arenberg - Milwaukee, WI:

National Ghost Ranch Foundation Chair

Glen Snider - Safford, AZ & Marci Glass - Boise, ID:

Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Members

Ex-Officio

Debra Hepler - Abiquiu, NM

Mike Kirk - Louisville, KY

Brian Frick - Parkville, MO

Emily Andrews Jubelt - Pacific Palisades, CA: Board Intern

GHOST RANCH STATEMENT OF INCOME - Preliminary and Subject to Audit

2015 2014Operating Revenue Programs $ 1,684,455 $ 1,816,753 Groups & Overnight Stays 1,321,960 1,093,982 All Other Operating Income 1,345,651 1,140,025Total Operating Revenue 4,352,066 4,050,760 Operating Expenses Facilities, Operations and Guest Services 1,764,027 1,564,604 Food Service & Housekeeping 1,197,514 1,105,474 Programs & Events 954,530 917,225 Other Operating Expenses 585,819 595,265Total Operating Expenses 4,501,890 4,182,567

Total Gross Operating Margin (149,824) (131,807)

Other Operating & Administrative Expenses 1,033,963 1,010,023

Net Margin (Loss) from Operations (1,183,787) (1,141,830)

Non-Operating Support Annual Fund Contributions 520,087 506,321 NGRF - Chimney Rock & Facilities Support 169,194 148,790Total Non-Operating Support 689,281 655,111

Total Net Margin $ (494,505) $ (486,719)

Abiquiu Operations $ (463,492) $ (436,123)Santa Fe Carrying Costs (31,013) (50,596)

Total Net Margin $ (494,505) $ (486,719)

2015 FIN

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GHOST RANCH BALANCE SHEET - Preliminary and Subject to Audit

December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014Assets Cash Cash & Money Market Funds $154,903 $125,671 Petty Cash and Cash in Process 124, 956 150,017 Total Cash $279,860 $275,689

Investments Long-term Investments 420,068 455,470 held by the Foundation Other Assets Accounts Receivable 607 64,406 Inventory and other current assets 271,101 222,584 Total Other Assets 271,708 286,990

Fixed Assets 6,603,873 5,833,426

Total Assets $ 7,575,508 $ 6,851,575

Liabilities Amounts due to the Presbyterian Church $ 3,025,717 $ 2,881,146 Other accounts and notes payable 139,078 71,578 Deferred Revenue 429,359 208,563 Total Liabilities 3,594,155 3,161,288Net Assets Unrestricted Net Assets and Plant Fund 3,183,388 3,041,933 Temporarily Restricted 377,897 192,884 Temporarily Restricted-La Bruzza (112,582) (77,180) Permanently Restricted-La Bruzza 532,650 532,650 Total Net Assets 3,981,353 3,690,287

Total Liabilities & Net Assets $ 7,575,508 $ 6,851,575

NOTES TO 2015 FINANCIALS

Included in the $4.8 million annual budget at the Ranch, and the $494,000 deficit, are the following:

1) Successfully grew our operating revenues in 2015 by 7.4% over 2014 as we continue to focus on new sources of revenue

and better ways to attract new guests.

2) Continued investment in new positions in Operations, Front Desk and other guest-oriented positions along with focused

hospitality training for all staff.

3) Higher food costs per meal as we added new menu items to accommodate guest preferences along with increased meal counts;

we served over 104,000 meals in 2015.

4) Incurred higher than expected carrying costs and maintenance of the Santa Fe property.

5) Invested in major capital improvements in 2015 including roofing, improvements to rooms, vehicles and golf carts, wetlands

improvements to meet code, and other infrastructure improvements.

6) Incurred severance liability for staff layoffs made in 2015 to balance the 2016 budget.

NGRF IN 2015

NGRF 2015 - Another Year of GrowthThe mission of the National Ghost Ranch Foundation is to drive fundraising to support current activities, facilities and future needs of

Ghost Ranch. Monetary support is a critical element for the long-term sustainability of Ghost Ranch. 2015 was a very successful year.

• We exceeded our 2014 results for the Annual Fund as well as long term giving.

• We supported operations of the Ranch through the Annual Fund and a portion of the Chimney Rock Fund.

• We were able to support the flood relief efforts.

• We continued the success of Ghost Ranch raising over $13,000 at the annual auction.

How to support NGRF -• NGRF provides many ways to support the Ranch.

• Join the Compadres Program with a minimum donation

of $250,

• Make a significant contribution to the Annual Fund, a

Program or Facility Fund and the Endowment Fund,

• Join a NGRF committee to support our donor steward-

ship activities,

• Donate collectibles, art or other items for the Auction.

NGRF Officers -Tom Arenberg - President

Manley Olson - Vice President

Michael Crockett - Treasurer

Connie Burkhart - Secretary

Connie Brakebill - Member at Large

If you are interested in supporting any of these activities, contact Mary Martinez at marym@ghostranch.org or at 505.685.1005.

Y O U R T R U E N AT U R E

Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center

280 Private Drive 1708

Abiquiu, New Mexico