1. 1. Billion BabyTurtles 2014 Annual ReportBillionBaby Turtles
2. 2. Billion BabyTurtles 2014 Annual Report Key Numbers Total Baby turtles saved to date: 264,000 Baby turtles saved in 2014: 140,000 Turtle Projects Supported: 7 Species protected: 4 Dear Supporters, Partners, & Friends, As we wrap up our second full year of Billion Baby Turtles, we are more excited than ever about the impact we are having and the potential for dramatic growth in the support we provide going forward. This year, our individual donations, School Fundraising Contest, and product sales are all up significantly over 2013 though our sponsorship funding for 2013 has declined as initial start-up funds were spent. We expect an increase in sponsorships in 2015 as we grow existing partnerships and add in several new partners. Over this past year, we moved SEE Turtles and Billion Baby Turtles to the Oceanic Society, Americas first ocean conservation organization (founded in 1969). This change will help to generate more income for turtle hatchlings through our conservation tours and we expect to significantly grow our support from tours in 2015 and beyond. We want to thank all of the individuals, students, travelers, and sponsors that helped make the first year of Billion Baby Turtles a successful one. Only 9,999,736,000 more hatchlings till we reach our long-term goal! - Brad & J. Brad Nahill and Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, SEE Turtles Co-Founders Cover Photo & Above Right | Hal Brindley
3. 3. Turtle Project Locations Hatchlings Saved Detailed Summary Organization Hatchlings Saved Species Country University of Michoacan 53,000 Green Mexico Eastern Pacific Hawksbill 6,000 Hawksbill El Salvador, Nicaragua Initiative (ICAPO) Cuba Marine Research and 50,000 Green Cuba Conservation Latin American Sea Turtles 9,100 Leatherback Costa Rica Las Tortugas Research Station 11,000 Leatherback Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservancy 7,000 Leatherback Panama Flora, Fauna y Cultura 3,800 Green, Loggerhead Mexico TOTAL: 139,900 4 species 6 countries
4. 4. How Billion BabyTurtlesWorks Billion Baby Turtles supports sea turtle conservation organizations that work to protect sea turtle hatchlings across Latin America. The funds go towards paying local residents to patrol important turtle nesting beaches, protecting turtles that come up to nest, and ensuring that the eggs are protected. How Does Billion Baby Turtles Work? SEE Turtles raises funds for turtle hatchling conservation from individuals, school fundraisers, green businesses, and commissions from our sea turtle tours. The funds are used to cover the costs of hiring local residents to patrol turtle nesting beaches and protecting the turtles and their nests. At some projects, the cost to protect a hatchling is more than $1, in some places its less. We balance those costs so that the average comes out to $1 per hatchling saved. Where Do The Donations Go? This funding goes to community-based turtle organizations at key nesting beaches. In addition, the funds are used to build and maintain hatcheries where the eggs are protected until they hatch and are released to the ocean. We also use 10% of the funds to provide scholarships for students to visit turtle conservation projects near their homes. We have started with our current partners whose work we know intimately and we prioritize nesting beach projects that are newer (less than 5 years old) with less stable sources of funding and more immediate threats like poaching. Learn more about our partners here. Will You Really Save A Billion Hatchlings? A billion is a very big number. We will ever reach it? Who knows, but we feel that an ambitious goal is important and that the title will help to draw more attention - it already is doing so! We do know that we can save tens or even hundreds of thousands of turtles over the next year and grow that number every year. How Much Do You Keep For Administrative Costs? We send 90% of donations to our partners and our sponsor, Oceanic Society (and formerly The Ocean Foundation), keeps 10% for administrative purposes (basically what the costs for staff time tracking donations and expenses). The costs for product sales and donation gifts (primarily postage, office supplies, credit card fees, and merchandise costs) are deducted from individual donations and product sales. Photo Credit | Hal Brindley
5. 5. Organizations Supported Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative The hawksbill turtles of the Pacific coast of the Americas are one of the worlds most endangered sea turtle populations. Known by their Spanish acronym ICAPO, this organization is leading efforts to bring this turtle back from the brink in El Salvador and in Nicaragua in partnership with Fauna & Flora International. In 2014, we helped to save 6,000 hatchlings and to date, we have helped raise enough funds to protect a total of 36,000 hawksbill hatchlings! Visit their website for more information. Photo Credit | Hal Brindley Flora, Fauna y Cultura This community-based organization works to protect nesting sea turtles at 11 beaches along Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula. Our funding has helped to support a project that employs young Mayan adults to patrol the beach at Tulum National Park, protecting green and loggerhead turtles. This funding has helped to save roughly 3,800 hatchlings in 2014 and roughly 6,800 hatchlings total. Our Yucatan SEE Turtles tours also benefit their work. Visit their website for more information (in Spanish). Las Tortugas Research Station This leatherback turtle conservation project is based on the Central Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. For more than a decade, Costa Rican conservationist Stanley Rodriguez has worked to end egg poaching on a 3 mile stretch of beach. To date, our tours have provided roughly $10,000 in funds for this project, protecting roughly 15,000 hatchlings in two years, and have brought more than 100 volunteers to work along this beach. Learn more about Las Tortugas here.
6. 6. Photo Credit | Hal Brindley Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST) The mission of Latin American Sea Turtles is to improve the conservation status of the marine turtles in Costa Rica, with emphasis on the Caribbean region. Their projects include nesting beach conservation projects in the Osa Peninsula and elsewhere. To date, we have donated more than $10,000 to protect more than 18,000 leatherback turtle hatchlings along Costa Ricas Caribbean coast and sent dozens of volunteers to participate in their projects. Visit their website for more information. Cuba Marine Research & Conservation This project is part of The Ocean Foundation and works with Cuban researchers to support the conservation of green turtles at Guanahacabibes National Park. This park is the countrys second most important green turtle nesting beach. In 2014, our funding helped to save roughly 50,000 hatchlings at this project and 64,000 total. Visit their website for more information. Organizations Supported Sea Turtle Conservancy This project addresses a critical threat facing leatherbacks at Soropta Beach, Panama, while establishing a long-term, in-situ research and recovery program for this critically-endangered species that is staffed by locally trained and hired beach monitors. The 14-km Soropta Beach hosts 600 leatherback nests/year, making it one of the most densely nested beaches in the region. In 2014, we helped to protect roughly 7,000 nests and 13,500 hatchlings over the past 2 years.
7. 7. SchoolFundraisingContest20 schools including 500 students participated in our second annual school fundraising contest, which grew significantly since 2013! Here are the results: InstructorFunds RaisedSchool Natalia Poida 500 Gilkey International Middle School Tim Shortty 253 Worthington Hooker School Stacy Stapleton 390 Jefferson Elementary (MO) Karen Brown 175 LW Conder Elementary Michelle Aspinwall 170 Fusion Academy Melanie Jenkins 182 Deltona High School Catherine Schafer 25 Thurgood Marshall Elementary Kathy Kathy Kneebone 152 Swanton Elementary School Vanessa Gilley 100 Eufaula Elementary School Greyson Rudovsky 236 Delaware School for the Deaf Kim Lockett 1,352 Joaquin Moraga Intermediate Cindy Rathberger 190 Silverwood School Trish Healey 451 Jefferson Elementary (CA) Kristi Jones110McCormick Elementary Kimberly Williams 140 Smithtown High School Rhonda Gatewood 100 TEACH Homeschool Daniel Wood 450 Cincinnati Country Day School Andi Wong 150 Rooftop Alternative School Patricia Fogel 100 Deerfield Beach Middle School Total5,226 Photo|HalBrindley Key Numbers 20 schools; 500 participating students $5,226 raised + Natures Path $3,000 match Lead Sponsor Promotional Partners Koteli Bags, EcoLunchboxes, Wilde Animals
8. 8. Mexico: Baja Whale Watching & Turtle Research Baja Kayaking & Turtle Research Whale Sharks & Sea Turtles of the Yucatan Cuba: Cuba Sea Turtle Adventure SEE Turtles promotes sea turtle conservation tours and volunteer expeditions that generate income for community-based organizations that protect local turtle populations. Every tour benefits Billion Baby Turtles partners through both a donation to the local organization in the destination (at least 100 hatchlings save per traveler) as well as often including volunteer help from travelers, fees paid for turtle-based activities, and income spent in local communities. SEE Turtles Tours that benefit Billion Baby Turtles: SeaTurtleConservationTours Photo Credit | Hal Brindley Costa Rica: Leatherback Sea Turtle Volunteer Vacation Costa Rica Green Turtle Research Costa Rica Ocean Wildlife Expedition Nicaragua: Nicaragua Hawksbill Volunteer Trip
9. 9. Billion Baby Turtles is an initiative of SEE Turtles, a project of the Oceanic Society. Our goal is to raise funds for community-based sea turtle nesting beach conservation projects around the world. SEE Turtles is a non-profit organization that supports wildlife conservation through travel, volunteer programs, & educational programs. To date, we have generated more than $500,000 for wildlife and our volunteers have worked more than 2,000 work shifts to protect sea turtles. Photo Credit | Hal Brindley Click Here to Donate to Billion BabyTurtles BillionBaby Turtles BillionBaby Turtles AboutBillionBabyTurtles
10. 10. Sponsors Photo Credit | Hal Brindley Sarah Otterstrom Roni Yarnot Naomi Pollack Amanda Gilloti Robert Weiss Christina Yew Judy Karwacki Robert & Joyce Asher The Breen Family Nancy Chestek Maria Leonor Sardinha Ann Alspaugh Aaron Thomas Stephanie Mednansky John Wilson Conchy Bretos Deborah Joy Sarah Nichols* Jodie Remick* Patricia Mast* Helen Moraller* Amanda Livingston* Marisa Landsberg* Beverly Skinner Pete Schumacher Carroll Harrington Roseanne Shank * Monthly Donors Individual Donors (at least $100 donated in 2014) PuraKai Organic Clothing 10 forTurtles Slow Coast World Nomads/ Footprints Foundation PuraVida Bracelets
11. 11. 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Financial Report Income raised in 2014 Individuals: $7,558 Sponsors: $16,524 Schools: $7,149 Product sales: $1,785 Adoptions: $970 SEE Turtles Tours: $6,000 Total Raised: $50,542 Expenses Grants for Hatchling Protection: $31,700 Billion Baby Turtles Expenses: $4,227 Funds Carried Over to 2015: $5,215 Donations and Fees Paid to Partners from Tours: $6,000 Administrative Costs: $3,400 Total Expenses: $50,542 * Several sponsor contributions from 2014 are pending Individuals Other Schools Product Sales Adoptions Administrative Costs Grants for Hatchling Protection Donations and Fees Paid to Partners from Tours BBT Expenses Funds Carried Over to 2015 | | | | | | | | | Income Sponsors | | SEE Turtles Tours | 20.5% 15% 33% 14% 3.5% 2% 12% 62.7% 8.4% 10.3% 11.9% 6.7% Expenses
12. 12. Contact Information www.BillionBabyTurtles.org BillionBaby Turtles BillionBaby Turtles 800-215-0378 Photo Credit | Hal Brindley