Annual Report 2008-2009 - National Gallery of Canada

Revenues
The Gallery’s annual earned revenues are highly dependent
on attendance at its special exhibitions, particularly its primary
summer exhibition. Earned revenues decreased from
$10,548,000 in 2007–08 to $8,159,000 in 2008–09. The summer
exhibition The 1930s: The Making of “The New Man” brought in
62,000 visitors compared with the previous year’s exhibition
Renoir Landscapes, which attracted 172,000 visitors. As a
result, admission revenue decreased by $929,000 and revenues
linked directly to attendance, such as bookstore sales, also
showed a corresponding decrease from the previous year.
Contributions
The institution’s largest source of donations is the National
Gallery of Canada Foundation. The Foundation seeks endowment
funds and targeted contributions for specific projects
such as educational activities and purchases of art, and remits
these funds to the Gallery when the activities are fulfilled. In
2008–09, the Foundation contributed $1,676,000 compared
with $888,000 in 2007–08. The Foundation provides funding
for art purchases once the appropriate works of art, in accordance
with donors’ restrictions, are purchased by the National
Gallery. The Foundation generally funds art purchases from the
investment income earned on endowments. As investment
income suffered greatly from the economic downturn, only
$70,000 of the amount contributed was dedicated to purchases
of art.
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
The organization’s expenditures totalled $63,634,000 in 2008–09,
compared to $63,807,000 in the previous fiscal year.
Salaries and Benefits
Salary and benefit costs increased from $23,700,000 in 2007–08
to $24,331,000 in 2008–09. The major reason for the increase
was a one-time extraordinary charge for employee benefits.
There was an overall increase in the salary base due to the
recently completed job reclassification exercise. This increase
was offset by maintaining a pattern of vacancies through the
year as well as the sunsetting of funding, including salaries, for
the Canadian Memory Fund.
Other Operating Costs
Overall, non-salary costs remained largely unchanged although
individual cost elements showed some variation. Major
increases were incurred in travel and freight, but these were
largely offset by decreases in professional services (of $661,000),
in the cost of goods sold for the bookstore (of $568,000) and in
publications (of $418,000). The Gallery also benefited from a
reduction of rent and payment in lieu of taxes related to the
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography site, pursuant
to an agreement with the National Capital Commission.
Loss on Disposal of Leasehold Improvements
The lease for the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
was assumed by Public Works and Government Services Canada
effective 1 April 2009. As a result, the remaining leasehold
improvements of $1,716,000 were written off during the year.
The normal annual amortization expense for this would have
been $174,000.
Art Acquisitions
Art acquisitions totalled $7,653,000 compared with $7,901,000
in the previous year. The organization has a separate appropriation
of $8,000,000 fixed by Parliament for the acquisition
of art. The corporation accumulates these funds until the
appropriate works of art can be purchased; any balance in the
acquisitions budget at the end of the year is available for purchases
in subsequent years. As of 31 March 2009 the Gallery
had $1,784,000 available for acquisitions in future years.
72 Management Discussion and Analysis