The unofficial Wildlife Fundraising Index (WFI) has faired better over the last twelve months than the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Unfortunately, the WFI is still closed to outside investors and, due to the secrecy involved in the accounts of its members, the value to individual beneficiaries is impossible to quantify.

The market leader is still the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with an annual revenue of $329 million. The last two months have seen a branding conflict with U.S. wrestlers resolved in the group’s favor and an award from HSBC Bank of $50 million to a WWF-led Joint Venture.

WWF’s association with controversial auditors Arthur Andersen has not dimmed earnings, although some observers have raised questions about the integrity of the figures. Other sponsors include Canon, Lafarge and Ogilvy and Mather.

Unlike other share indexes, the suspicion with the WFI is that earnings get understated and costs enlarged to boost fundraising potential and supplement staff benefits.

Greenpeace, once the darling of the WFI, is maintaining steady income of around $164 million, although analysts continue to ponder the direction the organization is taking.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) declared incomes of $58 million and $69 million respectively. Their income plateaus over the last few years have led analysts to speculate about future growth potential. The groups continue to spar in South Africa where they are trying to establish preeminence in the wildlife arena and then exploit the commercial rewards.

Analysts have questioned the significant investment in IFAW’s new headquarters, drawing negative comparisons with Greenpeace’s spending in previous years. IFAW’s bogus campaign to save Laguno San Ignacio in Mexico was also exposed by the Ruxton newspaper group but this does not seem to have negatively impacted earnings.

Last year, IFAW also scored an own goal when it inadvertently revealed that only 15% of Americans are aware that Japan is engaged in whaling. The U.S. is a key market for IFAW fundraising.

The annual meeting of the IWC at Shimoneseki will be used to bolster the visibility of WFI groups and attract donations. The "save the whale" campaign has been a lucrative marketing platform for over twenty years.