Internship Program Reports
Date of this Version
2014
Abstract
This project’s goal was to develop an actionable three year strategic plan for Morris Arboretum’s Urban Forestry Consultants and the School of Arboriculture. The strategic plan explores ways to increase net revenue and raise the profile of both entities in the region as a resource for urban forestry and arboriculture and considers Morris Arboretum’s vision and mission and how the entities support it. The methodology included reviewing three years of historical time and billing data to establish a baseline from which trends could be derived.
Analysis of the past three fiscal years for the Urban Forestry Consultants reveals that revenue has been supported by grant funding from the William Penn Foundation which came to an end in Fiscal Year 14, the current fiscal year. Therefore, next year there will be a gap in revenue which will need to be addressed either with new grant funding or increased billable time for contracted projects. Large-scale projects like the Princeton Borough tree inventory completed in FY13 produced the most net revenue for project hours invested. Pursuing more large-scale projects will be integral for maintaining revenue streams for the Urban Forestry Consultants as well as ensuring that hourly billing rates remain competitive.
On average the School of Arboriculture has been breaking even for the last three fiscal years, unless indirect expenses are considered. When indirect expenses, salary and benefits expenses for support from the education department are factored into calculating performance, the picture begins to change; trends show that the school has been operating on a small deficit. The deficit increases when the loss of Tree Risk Assessment Certification (TRACE) training is factored in for coming years. The School of Arboriculture needs to consider the true costs of operations when planning future course offerings to ensure that expenses balance with gross revenue.
Disciplines
Forest Management | Horticulture
Date Posted: 06 May 2019
Comments
An independent study project report by The Martha S. Miller Endowed Urban Forestry Intern (2013-2014)