Report of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Working Group - Friday, May 30, 2008
This final report summarizes a meeting of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Working Group held in Bethesda, Maryland on Monday, May 5, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to provide expert input to the National Advisory Research Resources Council on specific issues related to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) oversight of the federally supported National Chimpanzee Sanctuary.
Welcome and Introductions
The participants received welcoming remarks from the Deputy Director, NCRR and the Director, Division of Comparative Medicine, NCRR. All participants introduced themselves by providing a brief summary of their background and experience.
Working Group Charge
The charge of the working group is to provide expert input, upon request, on specific issues that might arise in regards to the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Such input may address the following areas:
- Business management practices and strategies to fulfill fiscal requirements
- Maintenance and promotion of liaison with interested stakeholders, such as academia, accrediting organizations, animal welfare groups, Congress, the pharmaceutical industry, and taxpayers
Background Information and Current Status
The NCRR staff reviewed the history of the development of the sanctuary, since the passage of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act of 2000 and the awarding of the contract to Chimp Haven, Inc. in September, 2002.
The staff of the contracting branch at NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute summarized the contract funding and expenditures. Specifically, the CHIMP Act included a funding cap of $30 million, of which approximately 40% was spent on construction, leaving 60% for the care and maintenance of sanctuary chimpanzees. The sanctuary is now in the 7th year (as of September 30, 2008) of its 10-year funding contract, which was awarded September 30, 2002. It was reported that sufficient funds should be available to fund the sanctuary until the contract expires in 2012. A total of 138 chimpanzees were at the sanctuary as of April 30, 2008 — of which 127 are government-owned or supported, and 11 are non-government owned and not supported by the contract. Additional housing space is limited.
Fund-raising Discussion
Under the current contract, as required by the CHIMP Act, the government provides 75% of the funding for operations, and the contractor provides 25% through fund-raising. Previously, people may have been hesitant to contribute to the sanctuary due to the possibility that animals could be removed and again housed at research facilities. However, the 2007 amendment to the CHIMP Act removed the possibility that chimpanzees housed in the sanctuary could be returned to research facilities, which may influence (in a positive way) the sanctuary's fund-raising potential. The Working Group identified appropriate fund-raising potential as a key issue for the financial stability of the sanctuary, because federal funding might not be available after the cap is reached. The annual budget for operations in the future — given the current estimated capacity at the facility — could be about $2-3 million. Working Group members discussed several options for fulfilling the fiscal requirements in regards to the sanctuary.
Discussion points included:
- A model for increasing the level of fund-raising is needed for the near-term fiscal operation of the sanctuary, as well as for the time when the sanctuary will have responsibility for 100% of its expenses. It was pointed out that fund-raising may be more difficult at the time when no federal funds are available, because the public relations selling points of a public-private partnership will no longer exist.
- The possibility for named endowments at the sanctuary was discussed. One member described several examples in which endowments have been obtained for publicly owned facilities, such as buildings at state universities or zoos.
- The Working Group estimated that the size of an endowment required would be approximately $10-20 million. The Working Group will provide advice for an ambitious fund-raising campaign that considers corporate and branding options to attract large gifts in addition to other more traditional means (e.g., letter-writing campaigns).
- Individuals with association links to additional sources for fundraising might be added to the Board of Directors of the sanctuary.
- The sanctuary should assess the public's opinion of its management team and Board of Directors, not just among animal protection groups, but also among the broader public. It was noted that a project to assess the organization's reputation using structured interviews could be performed by a consultant or by a nonprofit organization's own public relations experts.
- The group listed a number of organizations that might serve as productive partners for the sanctuary. Examples mentioned included humane and animal welfare groups. The relationships among such groups and other major primate sanctuaries in raising funds were discussed.
- A system of management that reaches out to the community is needed for effective public relations.
Strategic Planning
It was pointed out that Working Group's interaction with the sanctuary represents an opportunity to establish a high standard for a model of a federally supported sanctuary facility. Working Group members agreed that understanding the organization's vision and aspirations/goals is critical. When articulating the vision and aspirations, it is understood that the sanctuary has multiple stakeholders, and all stakeholders need to be represented in the sanctuary's vision. To that end, the Working Group suggested that a Strategic Plan would be very helpful and offered the following recommendations:
- Recommended that the sanctuary seeks consultation from people who have experience in setting up a facility of this type (i.e., not-for-profit animal sanctuary).
- Recommended that a national, experienced strategic planning/consulting organization should be sought, and all stakeholders, including the government, should be included.
- Recognized that organizations that perform strategic planning without the important step of finding out how stakeholders, especially donors, view them, is less likely to succeed. A positive view of the sanctuary management and operation is likely to increase fundraising capability.
The consensus of the group was that action should be taken now to develop a vision and strategic plan for the sanctuary. A national, experienced strategic planning or consulting organization should be sought. During the strategic planning process, all stakeholders — including the government — should be brought to the table. As deemed appropriate, the Working Group could provide expert input to NCRR on how the recommendations can likely be accomplished.
Visit to the Federally Supported Chimpanzee Sanctuary
The Working Group members suggested that a visit to the sanctuary would enhance their understanding of the unique circumstances of its management and operation. The Working Group suggested organizing the visit with focus on getting acquainted, information discovery, and education aimed at allowing everyone involved to see the full scope of the operation. This approach would be mutually agreed upon by the interested parties and include a meeting with the sanctuary's Board of Directors. Information gained from this visit will be valuable to the Working Group members in developing a strategy for NCRR/NIH for future support of the sanctuary. The sanctuary Board of Directors might also benefit from the input provided this group.
In summary, the Working Group members strongly suggest that a dialogue be further established with the sanctuary about its vision and goals, as it is important in planning the future course of the sanctuary. This dialogue could be best started with a visit by the Working Group to the current sanctuary site. Prior to the visit, NCRR would provide the Working Group members with briefing materials that can be provided under the terms of the contract. In addition, NCRR will communicate to the sanctuary the purpose of the visit and the value of such a visit to the sanctuary.
The meeting was adjourned with the major action item to focus on the proposed visit to the sanctuary in the near future.
