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Friends Group· National Park

Badlands Natural History Association

“Support education and interpretation at Badlands National Park.”

Home groundInterior, SD
Founded1959
Crew10 staff + 9 volunteers
Spent$500K in 2025
KindFriends Group 501(c)(3)
Led bySam Benne
EIN46-0278822
Find thembadlandsnha.org ↗

Every way to help ↓

The work

What they do

Cooperating association for Badlands National Park. Operates bookstores and funds educational and interpretive programs.

Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “THE MISSION OF THE BADLANDS NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION IS TO MEET THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: PROMOTE HISTORICAL, NATURAL HISTORY, SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION AND INTERPRETIVE ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND OTHER SIMILAR AGENCIES. PUBLISH AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO VISITORS PAMPHLETS, BOOKS, FOLDERS, MAPS, VISUAL AIDS AND OTHER THEME RELATED MATERIAL EITHER BY SALE OR FREE DISTRIBUTION. HANDLE, BUYN AND SELL GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE PUBLICATIONS, ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL, GOODS AND MERCHANDISE AS MAY BE APPROVED OR REQUESTED BY THE PARK SUPERINTENDENT AND COOPERATING AREAS. ACQUIRE MATERIAL, OBJECTS OR EQUIPMENT FOR USE IN SCIENTIFIC, MUSEUM OR INTERPRETIVE PURPOSES AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK AND COOPERATING AREAS. ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENCE OF THE BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK LIBRARY AND LIBRARIES OF COOPERATING AREAS. ASSIST IN THE AQUISITION, TRADE OR PROTECTION OF LANDS NEEDED TO PRESERVE IMPORTANT FEATURES, SCENIC, SCIENTIFIC OR ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS WITHIN THE BADLANDS NATI”

Where the money went, FY2025

The work, and what it cost

Bringing people into the fight

$352K

EDUCATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. SEE SCHEDULE O UNDER MISSION FOR A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

Read it as they filed it
EDUCATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. SEE SCHEDULE O UNDER MISSION FOR A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Follow the dollar

70 cents of every dollar goes to the work

70¢
70¢ the work30¢ keeping the lights on0¢ finding the next member

Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.

$351,852 programs, $148,580 management, $0 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.

The people

Who does the work

10paid staff
9volunteers last year
9board members
67years on the ground

Those 9 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Badlands Natural History Association is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.

Make it 10

The filings

14 years of filings

14 years of filings

Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.

$1M$2M$1.6M FY2520112025
Total revenue by fiscal year
YearRevenue
2011$258,309
2012$317,791
2013$390,593
2014$325,440
2015$398,429
2016$504,664
2017$579,750
2018$591,100
2019$766,789
2020$837,200
2021$1,871,243
2022$1,802,760
2023$2,134,655
2025$1,646,104

From $258K in 2011 to $1.6M in FY25, across 14 public filings. The 2023 peak of $2.1M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.

Where and what
Works onnational parks · stewardship · education
Federal landsNational Park Service
Active inSouth Dakota
Who writes the rules where they work

The South Dakota congressional delegation averages 3 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard

More groups in South Dakota
TribalIntertribal Buffalo CouncilRestore buffalo to Indian Country for cultural, ecological, and economic purposes.Rapid City, SDFriends GroupWind Cave National Park Friends GroupSupport Wind Cave National Park.Hot Springs, SD

Ways in

How to help

GiveGive directly

70 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.

Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with them

Find their volunteer door on their own site.

Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and call

Open comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.

Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the map

Every threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.

Threatened Lands Map

Stand with Badlands Natural History Association

67 years on the ground, 9 volunteers, 70 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.

Give on their site ↗
Sources and methodFinancials, headcounts, and program text: IRS Form 990, FY2025 and 13 prior filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 46-0278822. Org-reported figures are always labeled. Data verified as of 2026-09-23. Nothing on this page is pay-to-play.