The Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) has recently released its 2011/12 Annual Report and 2012 Report to Residents which outline its financial performance and the activities it supports through its programs. Although the impact of a slowed economy was felt in the Trust’s investment program, the CBT was still able to deliver $18.2 million in funding to the Basin area.
The theme of both reports, “Foundation for Growth,” reflects CBT’s focus on strengthening its foundation to better serve Basin residents. It is doing so by working with partners and communities to build collective capacity, and by implementing solid systems that can address the growth in CBT’s ability to deliver benefits to the Basin.
The Annual Report reflects CBT’s performance for the year ending March 31, 2012, and details its financial investments, spending and program and initiative activities. Report to Residents contains a condensed version of the above plus highlights recent CBT-supported projects and initiatives, offering a reader-friendly and informative glimpse at CBT and its role in the Basin.
“Over the past year, we significantly increased our ability to deliver benefits to the Basin by leveraging and expanding our strategic partnerships, implementing new programs and initiatives and continuing to work collaboratively with residents and communities around key issues,” said Garry Merkel, CBT Board Chair. “We’ve also been identifying potential new roles and opportunities to work with Basin communities, and will further explore some of those opportunities and their implications for CBT over the coming year.”
In 2011/12, CBT returned a record $18.2 million in direct funding benefits to Basin communities, up from $11.2 million in 2009/10. CBT had a deficit of $1.4 million, partly due to making more funds available to deliver benefits in the Basin, and partly due to a decrease in total revenues, which were $22.9 million in 2011/12, down from $29.5 million in 2010/11. However, CBT’s earnings have increased over the past several years, resulting in surpluses. As such, CBT is in a strong cash position to fund future increases to its delivery of benefits.
“Due to deliberate and prudent planning, we were able to deliver a record $18.2 million in direct funding benefits to the region in 2011/12—60 per cent more than in the previous year,” said Neil Muth, CBT President and CEO. “We’re excited by a positive financial outlook moving into the new fiscal year and beyond, and plan to deliver $20 million in benefits in 2012/13.”
The Annual Report is posted online at www.cbt.org/annualreport. Report to Residents is being distributed Basin-wide or can be found at any CBT office or online at www.cbt.org/r2r.