2011 Annual Report

Steven C. Markoff, Chairman

Dear ProCon.org readers,

2011 was another successful year for us. Some of our major accomplishments and events for the year were:

1. Our websites received 14,419,041 sessions in 2011 compared to 10,322,703 sessions in 2010 – a 40% increase (see I. below).
2. We added five new issue websites (in alphabetical order): 2012 Election, Churches and Taxes, Standardized Testing, Teacher Tenure, and Vegetarian (see II. below).
3. We expanded the number of schools that use ProCon.org from 1,502 at the end of 2010 to 2,250 at the end of 2011 (see III. below).
4. We started the year with 25,830 email subscribers and ended 2011 with 57,821 (see IV. below).
5. We received over 1,326 responses to our ProCon.org User Survey of teachers and librarians, and learned that 98.5% of surveyed teachers who use ProCon.org reported an improvement in their students critical thinking skills (see V. below).
6. A division of the American Library Association (ALA) voted ProCon.org as one the Top 25 Free Reference Websites of 2011 (see VI. below).
7. We were referenced in the mainstream media 162 times in 2011 compared to 120 times in 2010 – a 35% increase (see VII. below).
8. On Apr. 7, 2011, President Kamy Akhavan represented ProCon.org at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education’s (NCRE) annual conference as an expert panelist on medical marijuana (see VIII. below).
9. On Apr. 29, 2011, ProCon.org added an interactive comments feature allowing readers to share their pro and con opinions about ProCon.org issues (see IX. below).
10. On May 19, 2011, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, California’s highest elected education official, sent us a wonderful testimonial and offered to notify educators throughout the state about ProCon.org (see X. below).
11. On July 6, 2011,ProCon.org was highlighted in the Congressional Record when Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) honored ProCon.org on the floor of the US House of Representatives (see XI. below).
12. On July 26, 2011, ProCon.org gave a 90-minute workshop at UCLA about immigration (see XII. below).
13. On Aug. 26, 2011, ProCon.org launched a “Headlines” feature allowing visitors to read short articles about major news events which relate to ProCon.org research (see XIII. below).
14. On Sep. 25, 2011, ProCon.org was selected as “Website of the Week” by Booklist, a 100-year old monthly publication of the American Library Association (see XIV. below).
15. We corresponded with hundreds of VIPs who helped improve our content (see XV. below)
16. Our organization began and ended 2011 with a full-time staff of seven in-house employees (see XVI. below)
17. We received charitable contributions from 136 donors in 2011 – a 15% decrease from our 157 donors in 2010 (see XVII. below)

Thank you for your continued interest in the information we supply, and thanks to our talented researchers, IT Manager, President/Managing Editor, Board Members, interns, and volunteers.

Thanks as well to our expert sources, the media who referenced us, the tens of thousands of times teachers have used our content in the classroom, and to the millions of ProCon.org readers who helped our organization become so popular. And a big thanks to all our supporters for your helping us continue our good work.

Sincerely,

Steven Markoff
Chairman, ProCon.org

P.S. If you like our sites, please tell your friends about us, and make a tax-deductible contribution to help us continue to offer our information without cost.

1. Traffic
2. 5 New Issue Websites
3. ProCon.org for Teachers
4. Email Updates & Reader Response
5. ProCon.org Teacher Survey
6. ProCon.org Named Top 25 Free Reference Website
7. ProCon.org In the News
8. ProCon.org at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education
9. Interactive Comments Feature

10. CA Supt. of Public Inst. Recommends ProCon.org
11. ProCon.org Honored in Congressional Record
12. ProCon.org Workshop for Students at UCLA
13. Launched “Headlines” Feature
14. Selected as “Website of the Week” by Booklist
15. VIP Correspondence
16. Staff
17. Financials

1. Traffic:

1. ProCon.org websites received 14,419,041 sessions in 2011 compared to 10,322,703 sessions in 2010 – a 40% increase.In 2011, according to Google Analytics, roughly 68% of our traffic came from search engines, 10% from sites linking to ProCon.org, 20% from direct traffic (bookmarks, typing procon.org directly into the browser, using ProCon.org as the default homepage, clicking to ProCon.org from an email, etc.), 1.5% from Google search engine keywords acquired using our $10,000 monthly grant from Google, and 0.5% from paid keywords on Yahoo, Bing, and MSN.

2. ProCon.org ranks a theoretical #142 in web traffic out of the Top 400 largest US nonprofits. On Oct. 16, 2011, the Chronicle of Philanthropy released its list of the Top 400 largest US nonprofits in 2010 based on private support. #1 (United Way Worldwide) had $3.86 billion in private support. #400 (Church World Service) had $43 million in private support. ProCon.org with its $606,000 of funding was clearly not on the list. However, when comparing US web traffic using Alexa.com, ProCon.org would have ranked #142 out of the Top 400 nonprofits.

3. Here’s a summary of our cumulative web traffic from 2004 to 2011:

Source: /traffic/#III.

2. Five New Issue Websites: In 2011 we added five new websites, listed below in the order in which they became publicly available:

1. On Jan. 13, 2011, ProCon.org launched the website Teacher Tenure ProCon.org to explore the question “Should teachers get tenure?” The site received 82,648 sessions in 2011.Teacher tenure is the increasingly controversial form of job protection that public school teachers in all states receive after 1-7 years on the job. Proponents of tenure argue that it protects teachers from being fired for personal or political reasons, and prevents the firing of experienced teachers to hire less expensive new teachers. Opponents argue that this job protection makes the removal of poorly performing teachers so difficult and costly that most schools end up retaining their bad teachers, and that tenure is no longer needed given current laws against job discrimination.
2. On Apr. 21, 2011, we launched the website Vegetarian ProCon.org to explore the core question “Should people become vegetarian?” The site received 60,643 sessions in 2011.In 2010, people in the US ate an average of 57.5 pounds of beef, 46.5 pounds of pork, and 82 pounds of chicken. Vegetarians, about 3.2% of the US population, do not eat meat (including poultry and seafood). Many proponents of vegetarianism say that the meatless diet is healthier and better for the environment, and that killing animals for food is wrong. Many opponents of vegetarianism say that eating meat is natural, healthful, humane, and that people have done it for millions of years.
3. On June 22, 2011, we launched the website Standardized Tests ProCon.org to explore the question “Is the use of standardized tests improving education in America?” The site received 49,778 sessions in 2011.Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states. Proponents say standardized tests are a fair and objective measure of student achievement, and that they ensure teachers and schools are accountable. Opponents say the tests are neither fair nor objective, and that their use narrows the curriculum and promotes “teaching to the test.”
4. On Oct. 24, 2011, we launched the website 2012 Election ProCon.org to explore the question “Which candidate should be US president in 2012?” The site received 121,585 sessions in 2011.ProCon.org has researched the US presidential candidates and their views on 25 issues ranging from abortion to global warming to medical marijuana to waterboarding. Our 43rd website also features resources on US presidential election history, debate transcripts, a step-by-step guide on how to become president, and more. We will add at least 50 more issues and several new resources over the coming months to help Americans decide who should be the next president of the United States.
5. On Nov. 11, 2011, we launched the website Churches and Taxes ProCon.org to explore the question “Should churches (defined as churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, etc.) remain tax-exempt?” The site received 6,558 sessions in 2011.US churches have been exempt from paying income and property taxes since the country’s founding. Debate continues over whether or not these tax benefits should be retained, especially during our tough economic times. Proponents argue that a tax exemption keeps the government out of church finances, and that churches deserve a tax break because they provide crucial social services. Opponents argue that giving churches special tax exemptions violates the separation of church and state, and that the government cannot afford what amounts to a subsidy worth billions of dollars every year.

3. ProCon.org for Teachers: ProCon.org expanded the list of schools that use ProCon.org from 1,502 schools at the end of 2010 to 2,250 schools at the end of 2011 – an increase of 748 schools (50%). We add schools to this list when we see that an educator (not a student) from that school has referenced ProCon.org online, usually in a lesson plan or suggested resources list. We include a PDF of the lesson plan so that other educators can get ideas and draw inspiration from each other.Those schools were from 44 different countries including (in alphabetical order): Austria, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Columbia, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macedona, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

   The breakdown of schools by level is as follows: 450 elementary and middle schools (20%), 1,148 high schools (51%), and 652 colleges and universities (29%).

   In 2012, we will continue to make our extensive resources available at no charge to teachers, librarians, administrators, and other educators. We believe that most of the approximate 100,000 schools in America would love ProCon.org if only they knew about it. We would appreciate it if you would tell all the teachers, librarians, administrators, other educators, and students you know about us and our work.

4. Email Updates & Reader Response: We started the year with 25,830 email subscribers and ended 2011 with 57,821. Some respones from our email updates and our “contact us” tabs are provided below. Over 99% of the feedback we received was favorable or neutral to our overall efforts.

5. ProCon.org Teacher Survey: We started a ProCon.org Teacher Survey on Mar. 25, 2009, to get input from teachers and librarians so we could understand how they use ProCon.org and to learn their views on whether or not using ProCon.org improves their students’ critical thinking skills. The survey had 1,326 respondents from Mar. 25, 2009 – May 12, 2011 – 1,326.
   
   1. 98.5% of teachers using ProCon.org reported that ProCon.org improved their students’ critical thinking skills.
   2. 98.1% of teachers using ProCon.org reported that their students found ProCon.org useful.
   3. 98.0% of respondents said they would recommend ProCon.org to teachers and librarians.

    

6. ProCon.org Named Top 25 Free Reference Website: On June 17, 2011, a division of the American Library Association (ALA) voted ProCon.org as one the Top 25 Free Reference Websites of 2011. Other winners included TED, Wikileaks, and Google Translate. The Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of ALA recognized outstanding reference sites on the World Wide Web. ProCon.org thanks the reference librarians who voted and who have supported our work over the years.

7. ProCon.org In the News: ProCon.org received 162 media references in 2011 compared to 120 in 2010. The 2011 references started on Jan. 4, 2011 with the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. President and Managing Editor Kamy Akhavan was interviewed six times on radio stations and 10 times for print publications across the country.Notable 2011 media references included ABC, PBS, NBC, CNN, Associated Press, Education Week, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bloomberg, Daily Beast, Mother Jones, The Week, Huffington Post, Discover Magazine, The Atlantic, Yahoo! Sports, Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC, The Economist, Forbes, and Washington Times.

   The Los Angeles Times wrote about and linked to Health Care Reform ProCon.org in an article by Tami Dennis on the newspaper’s health blog, “Booster Shots.” Dennis wrote “If you’re a consumer just trying to figure things out, try ProCon.org’s take on health reform.”

   The Los Angeles Times referenced and linked to Medical Marijuana ProCon.org in an article by Mary Forgione titled “Rare Disease or Not, Colorado Teen Can’t Have Medical Pot at School, Not Even a Lozenge.” The article stated “If you don’t have a position on medical marijuana, fine. But check out ProCon.org’s exercise in rational exploration of the topic. It’s enlightening.”

8. ProCon.org at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education: On Apr. 7, 2011, President Kamy Akhavan represented ProCon.org at the National Council on Rehabilitation Education’s (NCRE) annual conference as an expert panelist on medical marijuana. Dr. Ilana Lehman of the University of Massachusetts at Boston led the panel discussion.

9. Interactive Comments Feature: On Apr. 29, 2011, ProCon.org added an interactive comments feature allowing readers to share their pro and con opinions about ProCon.org issues with millions of other people, and vote on, reply to, or read already posted comments. We received thousands of comments, and spurred an increase in repeat visitors to our websites.

10. California Supt. of Public Instruction Recommends ProCon.org: On May 19, 2011, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, California’s highest elected education official, sent us a wonderful testimonial and offered to notify educators throughout the state about ProCon.org. He wrote:”I’m pleased to encourage California educators to add www.procon.org to the tools they use to help students learn more about important issues and develop their critical thinking skills. I have used www.procon.org personally and recommend that California teachers and librarians take advantage of this great – and free -educational resource.”

11. ProCon.org Honored in Congressional Record: On July 6, 2011,ProCon.org was highlighted in the Congressional Record when Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) honored ProCon.org by reading a glowing statement about the organization on the floor of the US House of Representatives. His statement said in part: “It is my distinct pleasure to honor the staff of ProCon.org and wish them continued successes in their service to the American public. Their unbiased and truthful presentation makes a tremendous contribution to the political system.” Read the entire statement here.

12. ProCon.org Workshop for Students at UCLA: On July 26, 2011, ProCon.org gave a 90-minute workshop titled “Using ProCon.org for Critical Thinking about Illegal Immigration” to about 75 Junior Statesmen of America (JSA) high school students attending JSA’s “Gene A. Burd Symposium on Los Angeles Media and Politics” on the UCLA campus.

13. Launched “Headlines” Feature: On Aug. 26, 2011, ProCon.org launched a “Headlines” feature allowing visitors to read short articles about major news events which relate to ProCon.org research. We wrote 37 articles, and became an official news provider to Google.

14. Selected as “Website of the Week” by Booklist: On Sep. 25, 2011, ProCon.org was selected as “Website of the Week” by Booklist, a 100-year old monthly publication of the American Library Association.Academic reference librarian Christine Bulson wrote in the review: “Do librarians still use [Taking Sides] books or do they find ProCon.org?… Similar to Taking Sides, topics such as Sex and Gender, Sports, and Media and Entertainment have at least one pro con issue. A current, popular topic is ‘Social Networking…’ No more jotting down footnotes or bibliography items and finding them in the card catalog and in bound volumes of periodicals.”

15. VIP Correspondence: We’ve received beneficial feedback and/or content from many VIPs. Here’s a random sample (in alphabetical order):
    • Tami Abdollah, Correspondent for the Associated Press (Oregon)
    • Ernest Abel, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychology at Wayne State University
    • Robert Andrews, US Congressman (D-NJ)
    • Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
    • Stephanie Armour, Reporter for Bloomberg News
    • Richard Baum, Chief of the International Policy Branch at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
    • Dave Brian, Editor of The 420 Times
    • Scott Brown, US Senator (R-MA)
    • Albert Carnesale, UCLA Chancellor Emeritus and Professor
    • Teresa S. Collett, Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law
    • William A. Cook, Professor of English at the University of LaVerne
    • Robert Cottrell, Professor of History and American Studies at California State University at Chico
    • John E. Deasy, Superintendent of Schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District
    • Siobhan DeLancey, Team Leader for Food, Veterinary and Cosmetic Products in the FDA Office of Public Affairs
    • Marshall Forstein, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
    • Alicia Gallegos, Staff Writer for American Medical News
    • Lisa Hardaway, Communications Director for Lambda Legal
    • Gilbert Herdt, Executive Director of the National Centers on Sexuality at San Francisco State University
    • Joe Hunter, Communications Manager for Governor Gary Johnson (R-New Mexico)
    • Ryan Jaslow, Associate Producer and Health Blogger, CBS News
    • Michael Kraft, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
    • Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief of MediaPost
    • Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
    • Clayton James Mosher, Associate Professor & Chair of the Department of Sociology at Washington State University
    • Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of Drug Policy Alliance
    • Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies at the Marijuana Policy Project
    • Chris J. Preimesberger, Senior Writer at eWEEK at Associated Press Correspondent (San Francisco)
    • Harry Reid, US Senator (D-NV) and Majority Leader
    • Craig Reinarman, Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz
    • Allen Rostron, William R. Jacques Constitutional Law Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
    • Wade Roush, Chief Correspondent and San Francisco Editor, Xconomy
    • Stephen G. Scholle, General Counsel of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
    • Cathy Schuchart, Staff Vice President in the Child Nutrition and Policy Center at the School Nutrition Association
    • John Schwartz, National Legal Correspondent for the New York Times
    • Peter Schweizer, William J. Casey Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution
    • Carlos Sierra, Campaign Manager for Governor Buddy Roemer (R-Louisiana)
    • Margaret Somerville, Founding Director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law
    • Tim Walz, US Congressman (D-MN)
    • Debra Weiss, Senior Writer for the ABA Journal
    • Byron Williams, Pastor of the Resurrection Community Church

16. Staff: Our organization ended 2011 with a full-time staff of seven in-house employees, the same number we had at the end of 2010. Our 2011 end-of-year staff included five researchers, one IT Manager, one President & Managing Editor, and me, our Chairman (unpaid).

17. Financials: We received charitable contributions from 136 donors in 2011 – a 15% decrease from our 157 donors in 2010.
    

    1.2011 Financial Summary 2.2011 vs. 2005 – 2010 Expenses: A Graphical Breakdown 3.Detailed Chart of Financial Data, 2005 – 2011 4. Definitions of Terms Used

     

In 2011 ProCon.org received total gross income from unrestricted donations of $837,352 up from $776,119 in 2010. We also received $650,000 in restricted donations. Of our $784,670 in 2011 expenses, $692,841 (88.3%) was spent on program services, $64,669 (8.2%) on management and general expenses, and $27,160 (3.5%) on fundraising expenses. ProCon.org operates with such a high percentage of its expenditures in program services for several reasons, including: we spend small amounts to yield large amounts of funds raised, our operation is remarkably efficient, our Chairman has refused a salary since we started, we have an all volunteer Board of Directors, and we have received in-kind donations to offset expenses such as keyword advertising, rent, and accounting services.

Program services are mainly those activities that the reporting organization was created to conduct and which, along with any activities commenced subsequently, form the basis of the organization’s current exemption from tax.

Overall management expenses usually include the salaries and expenses of the chief officer of the organization and that officer’s staff. General expenses include those for meetings of the board of directors or similar group; committee and staff meetings (unless held in connection with specific program services or fundraising activities); general legal services; accounting (including patient accounting and billing); general liability insurance; office management; auditing, personnel, and other centralized services; preparation, publication, and distribution of an annual report; and investment expenses.

Fundraising expenses are the total expenses incurred in soliciting contributions, gifts, grants, etc.