Conservation Enhancement Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020746152
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Jefferson City, MO, USA
Phone
5734152224
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,372
Expenses
$790
Assets
$145,580
Liabilities
$73,096

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHANNON LOTT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SHANNON LOTT (PRESIDENT)
  • PETE HILDRETH (PAST PRESIDE)
  • CHRIS KENNEDY (1ST VICE PRE)

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

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

Overview

Mission

To protect wildlife resources.

What it reported doing in 2025

The conservation enhancement fund ("cef") is a Kansas not-for-profit corporation, organized for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes and to assist the midwest states in planning and hosting the annual midwest fish and wildlife conference ("conference"), a scientific/educational conference hosted on a rotating basis by state members of the midwest association of fish and wildlife agencies. The conference attracts up to 1,000 biologists and students from state, federal, and tribal natural resources agencies and universities from the midwest, great plains, and canadian provinces for the purposes of sharing technical presentations, poster displays, plenary sessions, and networking opportunities for wildlife professionals. Attendees include professionals in the field of fisheries and wildlife, including directors, assistant directors, program managers, and fisheries biologists, as well as college students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 13.7%; rating input score 14
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 85.3%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 184.28; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -21.6% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -47.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 13.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $790 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.