Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association

What it reported doing in 2024

Background: hawk mountain sanctuary was founded in 1934 by pioneer conservationist rosalie edge as the world's first refuge for birds of prey. The sanctuary's founding was a turning point in reversing their widespread persecution. Today the association, incorporated in 1938, continues its pioneering work to protect birds of prey through education and public engagement, science-based conservation programs, including monitoring of raptor and other migrant populations, conducting scientific research, and through information sharing and providing professional conservation training.continued on schedule o.seven biologists and educators serve on its program staff, including three ph.d.-level scientists. In the last decade, the sanctuary has been at the forefront of globally important scientific efforts to monitor raptor populations and to study the dynamics of raptor migration and ecology. The sanctuary has emerged as a leader in global raptor conservation. Its acopian center for conservation learning serves as a hub for global raptor information, professional training, and studies, and its acclaimed international traineeship program has trained more than 500 young people from 76 countries on six continents. Programs areas:1) nature discovery - wildlife watching, hiking, eco-tourism: hawk mountain sanctuary is a world-class observation site for birds of prey and is a federally designated national natural landmark, and more recently listed on the national register of historic places for its legacy to conservation and women's history. The annual autumn spectacle of thousands of wild hawks, eagles and falcons in flight, combined with its scenic mountain views, appeal to a wide audience. Each year hawk mountain hosts an average of 70,000 visitors. Free nature interpretation is practiced at its lookouts during spring and fall migration. The sanctuary visitor center, which is open daily and free to the public, houses a museum on birds of prey and nature bookstore. A "wings of wonder" gallery features 19 hand-carved and painted, life-size models of raptors in flight. Trails are open dawn to dusk year-round. In 2020 the sanctuary opened a fully accessible amphitheater featuring universal accessibility, covered stage with lighting, and generous seating, a portion of which is covered. This facility allowed for socially distanced programming during the covid pandemic and recovery periods and also includes an accessible trail that links the facility to the visitor center and on to south lookout. Eight miles of trails are maintained year-round leading to scenic overlooks and three raptor viewing areas. In 2020, the sanctuary completed major upgrades to its back-country golden eagle trail to improve visitor safety and better protect the forest by installing water retention basins, planting native plant and tree species, and adding switchbacks to reduce storm water runoff and erosion. In 2021, it constructed a spur trail to the east rocks overlook to better protect sensitive habitat. For its outstanding and model work practices, a Pennsylvania department of conservation and natural resources forester nominated the stewardship department which received an award for its exceptional practices in forest, trail, and facilities management. The department continues a ground-breaking and long-term invasive plant remediation project that requires the use of a dedicated small team to tackle invasives each summer for consistent and persistent remediation. Last year, the stewards constructed an impressive deer enclosure and several smaller enclosures to remediate the effects of white-tailed deer upon native species. The summer steward team also helped to manage a newly created pollinator meadow in a parcel acquired contiguous to its acopian center for conservation learning, which this year has attracted incredible numbers of butterflies, bees, and beneficial insects. A strategic planning process was completed and outlines top goals for the organization as wel

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 46%; rating input score 46
• Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $12.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 53.5%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.35; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings