National Deer Association

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule onational deer association ("nda") had 150,000 members during 2024. Founded in 1988, nda is a wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ensuring the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting. We do this by uniting hunters, managers, state agencies, the hunting industry, government officials and non-hunters to ensure welfare and sustainability of deer populations and their habitat, advocating for sustainable, science-based conservation of wild deer; serving as a leading provider of credible, responsible and timely information on deer hunting and management, educating hunters and non-hunters to better understand the role that deer hunting plays in wildlife conservation and increasing and diversifying participation and the societal acceptance of hunting. Since 2006, nda has contributed to deer research projects throughout the u.s.; conducted educational events, provided expert opinions on proposed policies, regulations and plans, certified hunters, landowners and biologists and mentored thousands of young and first-time hunters.founded in 1988, nda established in South Carolina and moved to Georgia in 1997. Nda encourages the protection of most, or all yearling (1 1/2-year-old) bucks combined with an appropriate harvest of does, when necessary, to maintain a healthy population in balance with habitat conditions and hunter desires. The following programs and supporting services are included in the accompanying statements of activities. Conservation & hunting heritage operations: conservation operations include nda's network of all hunters who share a passion for the wild deer. This department blends the art of hunting with the science of management to create better deer and better deer hunting. These efforts are accomplished using five key areas: research, education, advocacy, certification, and hunting. This department is involved in all areas of the wild deer research including ecology, management, hunting, diseases, and human dimensions. This department coordinates and funds practical research projects that increase knowledge and management. Volunteer operations and chapter support: volunteer operation is the department responsible for coordinating the activities of chapter operations, provide leadership training and guidance to the state councils and identifying, assessing and responding to the needs of various states "volunteer conservation efforts. In 2024, the grassroots department continued to grow and strengthen volunteer engagement across the landscape. Six new branches were established, expanding our network of local volunteers and enhancing our mission-driven impact. Fifteen branches hosted mission-related events. These events provided education, community awareness, and gave back through venison donations to their communities.communications: the communications department is responsible for educating the public and deer hunters on the importance of wild deer conservation. The communications team publishes a weekly e-newsletter, operates nda's social media accounts, hosts the deer season 365 podcast, maintains the nda website, and creates numerous nda reports and publications for all other nda departments. Nda's website hosted more than 2 million unique visitors in 2024. Also in 2024, nda videos earned 4 million views on youtube, 9 million views on tiktok and over 12 million views on meta (facebook and instagram). In 2024, nda had a significant impact on policy that impacts deer, hunting, and conservation by sending 27 action alerts, authoring, or signing 50 letters of support or opposition, and encouraging more than 1,800 letters from our constituents. Nda addressed landscape-level access and forest health issues through the public lands initiative by helping to improve 226,128 acres of public land in 20 states at a total value of $6,382,021. Nda continued to provide some of the best deer and habitat educational content in the world by publishing more than 150 combined articles and videos acr

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 90.8%; rating input score 91
• Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
• Fundraising efficiency: $13.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -3.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings