Great Old Broads for Wilderness
“Use the voices and activism of elders to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands.”
The work
What they do
Grassroots wilderness advocacy. Organizes stewardship projects and campaigns on BLM, USFS, and other public lands. Volunteers monitor wilderness conditions and advocate for protections.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “GREAT OLD BROADS FOR WILDERNESS IS A NATIONAL GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION, LED BY WOMEN, THAT ENGAGES AND INSPIRES ACTIVISM TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT WILDERNESS AND WILD LANDS.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping wilderness wild
$407KGREAT OLD BROADS FOR WILDERNESS PROTECTED PUBLIC LANDS WITH ITS NETWORK OF LARGELY OLDER WOMEN LEADERS IN 2025.
Read it as they filed it
GREAT OLD BROADS FOR WILDERNESS PROTECTED PUBLIC LANDS WITH ITS NETWORK OF LARGELY OLDER WOMEN LEADERS IN 2025. WITH MEMBERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THE ORGANIZATION COUNTED ON VOLUNTEERS WHO CONTRIBUTED NEARLY 50,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS TO LEAD HANDS-ON STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITIES, EDUCATE COMMUNITIES, ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE, AND STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS. THE ORGANIZATIONS GRASSROOTS LEADERS HOSTED OR PARTICIPATED IN MORE THAN 450 LOCAL EVENTS, LED 110 ACTIVITIES FOR CITIZEN SCIENCE AND HARM REMEDIATION ON PUBLIC LANDS. FOUR REGIONAL OR NATIONAL EVENTS SUPPORTED BY STAFF BROUGHT TOGETHER LEADERS FROM ACROSS COMMUNITIES TO SHARE EXPERIENCES AND LEARN TOGETHER. AS A RESULT OF THIS WORK, THE ORGANIZATION CONTRIBUTED TO SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS FOR PUBLIC LANDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
81 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 Great Old Broads for Wilderness is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by Western Conservation Foundation and Wilderness Society, latest filing FY24.
$406,805 programs, $82,318 management, $16,171 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 Great Old Broads for Wilderness? Claim this page.
Those 3,115 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Great Old Broads for Wilderness is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 3,116The filings
15 years of filings
15 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $280,878 |
| 2012 | $182,994 |
| 2013 | $325,153 |
| 2014 | $466,664 |
| 2015 | $728,317 |
| 2016 | $394,307 |
| 2017 | $495,517 |
| 2018 | $766,783 |
| 2019 | $334,982 |
| 2019 | $1,022,098 |
| 2020 | $645,246 |
| 2021 | $949,107 |
| 2022 | $852,857 |
| 2023 | $882,525 |
| 2025 | $888,950 |
From $281K in 2011 to $889K in FY25, across 15 public filings.
Fights alongside Sierra Club (3 shared cases), Grand Canyon Trust (2 shared cases), National Parks Conservation Association (2 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (2 shared cases) and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (2 shared cases) and 12 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
Their ground
The places they defend
Joined the coalition that fought wind development on Molok Luyuk and campaigned for the 2024 monument expansion.
Who’s defending it In the fightCanyons of the Ancients National MonumentThe Durango-based national office chartered a Montezuma County chapter specifically to support the monument with archaeological site stewardship, trail work, and comments on grazing and oil and gas oversight.
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Ways in
How to help
81 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 Great Old Broads for Wilderness
37 years on the ground, 3,115 volunteers, 81 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.