Arizona Deer Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860796796
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Mesa, AZ, USA
Phone
4808548950
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Wildlife Preservation, Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$113,006
Expenses
$116,162
Assets
$321,327
Liabilities
$7,827

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Bruns (President)
  • Gil Mills (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • David Bruns (President)
  • Steve Sutherland (Treasurer)
  • John Tuter (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Conserve deer and deer habitats in the State of Arizona, fund deer research projects, and work with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to ensure that Arizona's deer herds are healthy and thriving.

What it reported doing in 2025

Habitat projects. The ADA conducted several projects in 2025 that brought water sources to deer and other wildlife in Arizona. These projects included converting power sources to solar, repairing or replacing wells and pumps, and building spreader dams.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 73% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.6%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.8%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.77; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.6% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $77K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.