Tennessee Wildlife Federation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
626047188
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6153531133
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,588,626
Expenses
$6,949,288
Assets
$7,439,852
Liabilities
$3,006,320

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL BUTLER (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL BUTLER (CEO): $274,229 total reported compensation
  • KENDALL MCCARTER (CDO): $270,791 total reported compensation
  • CANDIDA SAKARAPANEE (DEPUTY CHIEF): $151,056 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Leading the conservation, sound management, and wise use of Tennessee's wildlife and great outdoors, Tennessee wildlife federation advocates sound natural resource policies and provides various educational programs that promote the understanding of Tennessee's environment and encourages natural resource conservation and community planning that balances conservation needs with sound economic growth.

What it reported doing in 2024

Land management & resoration - stewardship the federation's habitat conservation program was established in 2012 and has completed numerous restoration projects statewide. Eighteen wetland restoration projects totaling more than 1,300 acres are complete and four others are in various stages of permitting. Six stream restoration projects totaling nearly eleven miles of stream are now complete, and three are in various stages of permitting. There are 28 active forest restoration projects totaling more than 15,000 acres, and two grassland restoration projects totaling more than 400 acres. Collectively, these projects will improve habitat for wildlife and increase public access for recreation. - continued on schedule o

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 80% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 41st 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: 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: -5.5%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $274K · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $812K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.