The Wildlife Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520788946
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
3018979770
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,234,614
Expenses
$3,284,283
Assets
$6,045,155
Liabilities
$1,032,798

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ART RODGERS PHD (PRESIDENT)
  • FIDEL HERNANDEZ (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • BOB LANKA CWB (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • EVELYN MERRILL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • EDWARD ARNETT (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • EDWARD ARNETT (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $165,820 total reported compensation
  • CAMERON KOVACH (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $123,599 total reported compensation
  • ANIKET GAJARE (DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY): $119,179 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The wildlife society's mission is to inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife populations and habitats through science-based management and conservation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Publications - the wildlife society issues various peer-reviewed, scholarly, and trade publications. These include the journal of wildlife management, wildlife monographs, the wildlife society bulletin, the wildlife professional, and various technical reviews. Published since 1937, the journal of wildlife management is one of the world's leading scientific journals covering original research in wildlife science. Topics include investigations into the biology and ecology of wildlife and their habitats with direct or indirect implications for wildlife management and conservation. Additionally, the wildlife society's flagship magazine, the wildlife professional (published six times annually), contains news and analysis designed to keep today's wildlife professionals informed about critical advances in wildlife science, conservation, and management.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 78% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 31st 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: -1.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.84; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.