Ruffed Grouse Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 540846925
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Phone
- 4122644044
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $10,982,779
- Expenses
- $9,646,330
- Assets
- $15,033,233
- Liabilities
- $2,258,450
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BENJAMIN C JONES (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- BENJAMIN C JONES (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $281,517 total reported compensation
- KIMBERLY D SWISHER (FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION D): $127,439 total reported compensation
- GORDON T WAY III (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $124,748 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic
What it reported doing in 2025
Chapter operations: rgs chapters understand and further the organization's mission to improve wildlife habitat, forest health and promote conservation ethics. With the help of rgs engagement staff, chapters organize various activities including educational seminars, habitat days, youth outings, social events, upland hunts, and membership meetings.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $32.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.56; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 17 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $8.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $282K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $162K reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.