National Wildlife Refuge Association
“Conserve America’s wildlife heritage for future generations through the National Wildlife Refuge System.”
The work
What they do
Advocacy, stewardship, and education focused specifically on the National Wildlife Refuge System. Works on refuge funding, habitat protection, and volunteer coordination.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “TO CONSERVE AMERICA'S WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS THROUGH SRATEGIC PROGRAMS THAT PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM AND THE LANDSCAPES BEYOND ITS BOUNDARIES. BY COMBINING POLICY, LANDSCAPE-SCALE CONSERVATION EFFORTS, GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC EDUCATION, THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION WORKS TO STRENGTHEN THE ECOLOGOCIAL INTEGRITY OF OUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES, MAINTAINING THE DIVERSITY OF AMERICAN WILDLIFE AND PLANTS FOR THE FUTURE”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping the wild alive
$330KTHE REFUGE ASSOCAITION PLAYS A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN BRINGING A SPECTRUM OF INTERESTS TOGETHER TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION ACTION, AND SPECIFICALLY THE SUCCESS OF THE REFUGE SYSTEM.
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION CONSTITUENCY- BUILDING- THE REFUGE ASSOCAITION PLAYS A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN BRINGING A SPECTRUM OF INTERESTS TOGETHER TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION ACTION, AND SPECIFICALLY THE SUCCESS OF THE REFUGE SYSTEM. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION TRAINS, EDUCATES, MENTORS AND ORGANIZES REFUGE FRIENDS GROUPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ENGAGES PRIVATE LANDOWNERS, RANCHERS AND SPORTSMEN, AND WORKS WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS SURROUNDING URBAN WILDLIFE REFUGES. TOGETHER THESE CONSTITUENT GROUPS FORM A DIVERSE CHORUS OF VOICES, WHICH THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION BRINGS TOGETHER TO TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NEEDS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping the wild alive
$220KTHE REFUGE ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS LANDSCAPE-SCALE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES THAT SECURE THE ECOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES AND THEIR SURROUNDING NATURAL SYSTEMS.
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION PROGRAMS- THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS LANDSCAPE-SCALE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES THAT SECURE THE ECOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES AND THEIR SURROUNDING NATURAL SYSTEMS. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION CONVENES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNER AGENCIES, NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, IDENTIFIES KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION AND HELPS SET COMMON GOALS, AND THEN WORKS WITH PARTNERS TO BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND SECURE FUNDING FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION GOALS ON THE GROUND.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping the wild alive
$61KCOMMUNICATION THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ASSOCIATIONS COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING BRANDING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES TO A) COMMUNICATE PROGRAMS OF THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION EFFECTIVELY, B)...
Read it as they filed it
COMMUNICATION THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ASSOCIATIONS COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING BRANDING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES TO A) COMMUNICATE PROGRAMS OF THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION EFFECTIVELY, B) GROW AND CULTIVATE THE CONSTITUENCY OF THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, AND C) ENHANCE THE REFUGE ASSOCIATIONS OFFLINE AND ONLINE PRESENCE.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Reading every lease sale
$42KTHE REFUGE ASSOCIATION MOBILIZES HUNDREDS OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL PARTNERS TO ADDRESS URGENT CONSERVATION NEEDS, INCLUDING FUNDING FOR THE REFUGE SYSTEM, LOSS OF VITAL HABITAT AND NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT SUSTAIN WILDLIFE REFU...
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION POLICY AND EDUCATION- THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION MOBILIZES HUNDREDS OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL PARTNERS TO ADDRESS URGENT CONSERVATION NEEDS, INCLUDING FUNDING FOR THE REFUGE SYSTEM, LOSS OF VITAL HABITAT AND NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT SUSTAIN WILDLIFE REFUGES, INVASIVE SPECIES, AND DAMAGING CHANGES IN LAND USE. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION CHAIRS A COALITION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND SPORTING GROUPS WITH A COMBINED MEMBERSHIP OF MORE THAN 15 MILLION PEOPLE, WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF RAISING AWARENESS OF THE NEEDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
61 cents of every dollar goes to the work
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.
$653,512 programs, $234,377 management, $186,329 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 NWRA? Claim this page.
Those 20 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NWRA is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 21The record
The court record
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $2,097,963 |
| 2012 | $1,458,827 |
| 2013 | $1,625,455 |
| 2014 | $2,089,273 |
| 2015 | $2,732,169 |
| 2016 | $3,182,199 |
| 2017 | $2,426,088 |
| 2018 | $2,300,862 |
| 2019 | $1,878,749 |
| 2020 | $1,430,784 |
| 2021 | $1,949,690 |
| 2022 | $2,363,454 |
| 2023 | $2,113,028 |
| 2025 | $1,193,106 |
From $2.1M in 2011 to $1.2M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Fights alongside Alaska Wilderness League (2 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (2 shared cases), Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges (2 shared cases), Sierra Club (2 shared cases) and The Wilderness Society (2 shared cases) and 6 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
Their ground
The places they defend
Sued the Army Corps in November 2022 over the Twin Pines project, helped found the Okefenokee Protection Alliance in 2020, and produced the 2021 documentary Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee in Peril.
Who’s defending it In the fightIzembek National Wildlife RefugePlaintiff arguing the Izembek swap sets a precedent that threatens the entire refuge system
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Ways in
How to help
61 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 NWRA
51 years on the ground, 20 volunteers, 1 live lawsuit, 61 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.