WOOLMAN LAND SALE FAQ’S

1. How did this happen?

There are many interwoven and complicated factors. The short answer is that we were unable to change Woolman’s decades-long condition of not raising enough money to meet its running expenses.

The fire insurance money was incredibly helpful but not nearly enough to pay back all our debts and rebuild the campus. Costs associated with running educational programs have skyrocketed, i.e., cost of insurance tripled due to the fire; new rules for safety also significantly increased costs; the cabins and the bathhouse had burned. To create places for student groups and campers to stay, required a significant fundraising effort to build tent platforms and large cash outlays to replace the burned showers/bathrooms.

We were closed for two years due to the fire and the pandemic. When we reopened, we were essentially in start-up mode and couldn’t count on our prior constituents to return. We have recently learned that overall camp attendance nationwide was lower. Our participating schools from the past were still reeling from the effects of the pandemic. Many of our campers had aged out or found new ways to spend their summers. We had to pilot new programs. Elemental After School, many art programs, and sessions supporting activism and non-violence were beginning to build a reputation and following, but the numbers of participants were still small.

The nation went through a financial crisis with banks failing, the stock market crashing, and inflation rising. This country-wide financial condition impacted us directly in that many donors were not able to be as generous, and our own savings took a hit. Many of our numerous grant applications were rejected with the feedback that because we did not have a track record implementing grants, the granting entities were reluctant to award one to us.

By June, it was clear that the rate that we were burning through our reserves would deplete them in a few months, and dramatic action was needed. We didn’t want to cancel camp and leave campers and their families in the lurch. We sent an appeal and called historic donors to support camp, and seven generous donors enabled us to keep that commitment.

2. Why didn’t you ask for help sooner, if you knew in June that things were falling apart?

We did ask for help with every email, US mail, and phone outreach campaign. We were also hopeful we could find a solution as in times past.

In response to our appeal, we were approached by a couple of different groups with proposals to either buy or run the organization. We spent time with each proposal seriously considering the possibility. The potential buyers/partners determined that moving forward with us would not work for them; so, we were then forced to the extreme option of outright sale of the land.

At the same time, we waited with an announcement because camp was starting and then ongoing. We didn’t want the news to alarm campers and their families, and we believed that additional fundraising efforts would bear more fruit than they did.

3. Why didn’t you anticipate this problem sooner?

After the pandemic, we staffed up to rebuild capacity and restart programs. We had some cash from the fire insurance to fund the organization. But as we went through this major organizational transition, it took longer to attract the needed revenue than we could manage. We ran a lean organization, but the costs mentioned above, and our aging physical infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs overtook us. We began serious cost cutting earlier this year and further increased fundraising activities. None of these measures were enough to sustain us.

4. What did we do with the fire insurance money?

We paid off almost all our debt. We had quite a few loans from friendly lenders, and in fulfilling both our fiduciary responsibility and what we felt was a moral imperative, we paid these generous people while we had the cash.

We cleared acres of burned trees and planted six thousand saplings under the guidance of a local, internationally known forester, Kevin Whitlock. This fuel reduction was across the campus, and together with irrigation improvements and other fire suppression water infrastructure measures, lessened the wildfire hazard for Woolman and its neighbors. The Mel’s Pond dam was repaired, and seven buildings received major upgrades making them more functional and safer: Arbor House, Ranch House, Cypress House, Dining Hall, Meeting House, the office, and A-Frames. We purchased a truck and tractor to manage land and building maintenance more efficiently and effectively.

We have just obtained a permit to build an emergency exit road, an issue that has haunted Woolman for 60 years. As part of our conditional use permit, this mitigation is the minimum required due to our high severity fire designation. The need for this egress is even more widely felt after the Jones Fire and will benefit all our near neighbors. We are also rebuilding the circle drive, so that people can move around campus without blocking each other, again a fire safety issue. This project requires the removal of Fern House and a nearby shed which have black mold and are structurally unsound. These improvements will be paid for by insurance.

5. What did we lose in the fire?

A third of our buildings – including Madrone Hall which had been remodeled and rented out to Sierra Streams Institute for offices and labs, most of the cabins, the barn, Cedar House, the farm and farm green house, and acres and acres of woods. Getting the campus back into shape was an arduous job requiring FEMA to come and remove toxic waste from several locations, negotiating with insurance adjusters, county inspectors and contractors.

6. What buyers are you considering in selling?

The Woolman Board is delighted to announce that we are working toward an agreement with the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, via its tribally-guided non-profit organization, CHIRP (California Heritage Indigenous Research Project). Our talks are productive and full of good will on both sides. Should we not reach an agreement, our plan is to move forward with placing the property on the market. The sale could then be pursued with another non-profit organization or private entity.

7. Why didn’t you seek another Quaker group to take on the land?

As the Woolman Board began to see beneath the surface of constant budget woes and understand the impact of our financial state on staff, vendors, and our viability, we asked ourselves what the land was calling for in this moment. We came to consensus that the land called for righting the injustices done to the local indigenous tribe on the land now called Sierra Friends Center beginning about 180 years ago with the local gold rush.

For us, this decision honors John Woolman; the founders, students and staff of John Woolman School; Friends; and Quakerism. We also honor our educational mission toward peace, justice, and environmental sustainability. The significant loss of Woolman at Sierra Friends Center is balanced by the benefit of passing a small piece of Nevada County land illegally taken in the past to the descendants of those people. The Woolman Board sees this path as fulfilling the higher purpose that is being called for and may be within our power to make happen.

8. There are many questions regarding specific decisions that we made.

Our committees continue to study many options by consulting with various experts: non-profit, real estate, and insurance lawyers, and financial advisers as well as the state water board, county inspectors, to land planners and community groups, most of whom were eager to share their expertise pro bono.

Decisions about remaining funds following a sale and the fulfillment of our liabilities are still to be determined. One friendly lender did not want to be paid back at the time we offered to do so with fire insurance money, and during the COVID shut down, we took out a small business loan to cover operations with a small staff, but no income except tenant rents. We have a bridge loan, and we may need another one to cover operations until the sale is completed. These are current debts that will be paid from the proceeds of the sale.

9. How can you be so cold-hearted about losing this beautiful piece of property?

The members of this Board have worked unceasingly for years to make Woolman viable, and during the last several months the current Board members have done little else but work on Woolman, including sleepless nights, endless hours spent in meetings and in personal prayer, research, and reflection.

Our decision to let go of the property was not an easy one or one that was taken lightly. We regret that others view our decisions as cold-hearted, since we have made them with clear thinking and hearts full of love.

10. What happens to tenants?

We are in the process of collecting information from current tenants to advocate for them during the sale.

11. How do you know that CHIRP has the funds to run the land?

We are still very early in the negotiation process, and as we approach a Purchase Agreement, there is a vetting period that we will be going through on both sides.

At this point, we know that CHIRP has a strong staff and board, with much wisdom and fundraising acumen. As in any land sale, as we negotiate the Purchase Agreement together, we will gain a more comprehensive view of their current standing and capacity.

We also know that in the last two years, the financial landscape has shifted significantly to support rematriation efforts, and there are many new resources available to indigenous groups for land acquisition and use. One example here in California is the California Natural Resources Agency created by Governor Newsom with $101 million dollars in grants for tribal nature-based solutions.

12. Who do I contact if I have a comment or a question?

Please submit your comment(s) and/or question(s) to the Board via this link.