Ducks Unlimited
“To conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl.”
The origin
How they started
Ducks Unlimited was founded in 1937 by waterfowl hunters watching the Dust Bowl destroy the wetlands their birds needed. It has since become the largest wetland and waterfowl conservation organization in the world, having conserved millions of acres across North America. Hunter-led and science-driven, it works with private landowners and federal agencies rather than against them, and it is one of the few groups that bridges the sporting and conservation worlds.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “DUCKS UNLIMITED, INC. CONSERVES, RESTORES, AND MANAGES WETLANDS AND ASSOCIATED HABITATS FOR NORTH AMERICA'S WATERFOWL. THESE HABITATS ALSO BENEFIT OTHER WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping the wild alive
$292.7MDUCKS UNLIMITED SUPPORTS THE LIFE CYCLE OF WATERFOWL IN NORTH AMERICA BY DEVELOPING, PRESERVING, RESTORING AND MAINTAINING WATERFOWL HABITATS.
Including $23,372,484 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
DUCKS UNLIMITED SUPPORTS THE LIFE CYCLE OF WATERFOWL IN NORTH AMERICA BY DEVELOPING, PRESERVING, RESTORING AND MAINTAINING WATERFOWL HABITATS. DIRECT ALLOCATIONS ARE MADE TO AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS - DUCKS UNLIMITED CANADA ($22,137,717) AND DUCKS UNLIMITED MEXICO ($1,234,767).
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Bringing people into the fight
$27.7MEDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT WETLANDS AND WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF SUSTAINING THE LIFE CYCLE NEEDS OF MIGRATORY WATERFOWL.
Read it as they filed it
EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT WETLANDS AND WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF SUSTAINING THE LIFE CYCLE NEEDS OF MIGRATORY WATERFOWL. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE WETLANDS DEMONSTRATIONS, EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE, INTERPRETIVE CENTER, YOUTH PROGRAMS, AND OUTDOOR CONSERVATION EXHIBITS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Pressing the policymakers
$5.9MDUCKS UNLIMITED MAINTAINS A PUBLIC POLICY PRESENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC BECAUSE OF THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC POLICY TO MAINTAINING WETLANDS AND ECOSYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT MIGRATORY WATERFOWL.
Read it as they filed it
DUCKS UNLIMITED MAINTAINS A PUBLIC POLICY PRESENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC BECAUSE OF THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC POLICY TO MAINTAINING WETLANDS AND ECOSYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT MIGRATORY WATERFOWL.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Bringing people into the fight
$4.4MDUCKS UNLIMITED PROVIDES MEMBER SERVICES TO APPROXIMATELY 653,414 TOTAL MEMBERS (INCLUDING GREENWINGS) THROUGH EDUCATIONAL MEMBERSHIP MATERIALS, DUCKS UNLIMITED MAGAZINE, CONSERVATION BROCHURES, AND EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT...
Read it as they filed it
DUCKS UNLIMITED PROVIDES MEMBER SERVICES TO APPROXIMATELY 653,414 TOTAL MEMBERS (INCLUDING GREENWINGS) THROUGH EDUCATIONAL MEMBERSHIP MATERIALS, DUCKS UNLIMITED MAGAZINE, CONSERVATION BROCHURES, AND EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS OF FUNDRAISING EVENTS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
86 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and Ducks Unlimited is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by Walton Family Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, latest filing FY24.
$330,724,624 programs, $8,694,631 management, $47,269,451 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at DU? Claim this page.
Those 31,562 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If DU is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 31,563The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $155,059,722 |
| 2012 | $153,872,987 |
| 2013 | $172,342,451 |
| 2014 | $178,406,052 |
| 2015 | $209,619,176 |
| 2016 | $202,398,122 |
| 2017 | $190,924,990 |
| 2018 | $192,778,583 |
| 2019 | $201,529,617 |
| 2020 | $185,369,449 |
| 2021 | $215,328,335 |
| 2022 | $339,454,630 |
| 2023 | $302,178,704 |
| 2025 | $380,340,506 |
From $155.1M in 2011 to $380.3M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
The record
On the Hill
Ducks Unlimited has hired federal lobbyists: 33 filings from 2019 to 2026. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on natural resources, clean air and water (quality) and environment/superfund.
Ducks Unlimited files 2 related organizations on its return: Wetlands America Trust INC (501(c)(3)) and Ducks Unlimited Group Return (501(c)(3)). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
86 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Ducks Unlimited
89 years on the ground, 31,562 volunteers, 86 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.