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Nonprofiteer
← THE WILDERNESS PROJECT FOUNDATION

Form 990 for tax year 2024

Filed by THE WILDERNESS PROJECT FOUNDATION.

Totals

Total revenue
$4,904,221
Total expenses
$4,738,478
Contributions and grants received
$4,717,145
Grants paid
$2,508,160
Program service revenue
$57,000
Investment income
$129,990
Other revenue
$86
Total assets, end of year
$2,757,682
Total liabilities, end of year
$88,840
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$2,668,842
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$4,032,814
Management and general expenses
$701,155
Fundraising expenses
$4,509
Program service expenses (Part III)
$4,032,814

Program services were 85.1% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $4,717,145

  • 1g · Noncash contributions included above

    $1,446,840

  • 2a · Program service revenue: STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS

    total $57,000 · related or exempt $57,000

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $129,990 · excluded $129,990

  • 11a · Other revenue: FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHA

    total $86 · excluded $86

  • 11e · Other revenue, total

    $86

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments

    total $7,500 · program services $7,500

  • 3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals

    total $2,500,660 · program services $2,500,660

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $136,564 · management and general $136,564

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $70,798 · program services $70,798

  • 9 · Other employee benefits

    total $290 · management and general $290

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $4,399 · program services $4,399

  • 11a · Fees: management

    total $81,548 · program services $1,000 · management and general $80,548

  • 11b · Fees: legal

    total $3,346 · program services $1,467 · management and general $1,879

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $66,367 · management and general $66,367

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $585,894 · program services $474,968 · management and general $110,926

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $158,655 · program services $134,799 · management and general $21,806 · fundraising $2,050

  • 17 · Travel

    total $221,003 · program services $204,105 · management and general $14,439 · fundraising $2,459

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $158,365 · management and general $158,365

  • 24a · Other expenses: EXPEDIATION EXPENSES

    total $366,423 · program services $350,713 · management and general $15,710

  • 24b · Other expenses: CONSERVATION MEDIA

    total $256,927 · program services $256,927

  • 24c · Other expenses: VEHICLE EXPENSE

    total $71,408 · management and general $71,408

  • 24d · Other expenses: MISCELLANEOUS

    total $48,331 · program services $25,478 · management and general $22,853

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $2,033,548 · end of year $1,783,615

  • 10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis

    $837,332

  • 10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation

    $224,083

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $367,227 · end of year $613,249

  • 12 · Investments: other securities

    beginning of year $4,380

  • 15 · Other assets

    beginning of year $133,118 · end of year $360,818

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $34,922 · end of year $88,840

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $2,503,351 · end of year $2,668,842

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

THE PURPOSE OF THE WILD BIRD FOUNDATION OF AMERICA IS TO SUPPORT EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DEDICATED TO THE CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRD SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS IN AFRICA AND OTHER GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. THE WILD BIRD FOUNDATION OF AMERICA PROVIDES FUNDRAISING, ORGANIZATIONAL AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROMOTE EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRD SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS IN SOUTH AFRICA, BOTSWANA, NAMIBIA, ANGOLA AND OTHER COUNTRIES.

Activities or mission (Part I)

SUPPORT CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRD SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS IN AFRICA AND OTHER GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS.

  • GREAT SPINE OF AFRICA EXEPDITIONS - THE GREAT SPINE OF AFRICA SERIES OF EXPEDITIONS REPRESENTS THE LARGEST NON-MILITARY EXPEDITIONARY MOBILIZATION IN AFRICA'S HISTORY, TRAVERSING 27 COUNTRIES AND AIMING TO COMPLETE 200 RIVER EXPEDITIONS BY 2030. LOCAL COMMUNITIES LIVING TRADITIONALLY AROUND THE SOURCES OF AFRICA'S GREAT RIVERS ARE TYPICALLY THE LEAST-SERVED IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES. OUR RESEARCH EXPEDITIONS ARE GUIDED BY THESE "RIVER GUARDIANS" AS WE UNDERTAKE SCIENTIFIC SURVEYS USING CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY.

    Expenses $3,632,644 · Grants $6,000

  • HABITAT CONSERVATION USING LONG-TERM BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEMS.

    Expenses $273,911 · Grants $2,410,160

  • STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AFRISOS, WE ARE SUPPORTING AND INVESTING IN YOUNG AFRICAN FILMMAKERS TO TELL THESE STORIES OF NATURE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THAT LIVE ALONGSIDE WILD RIVERS. THEIR PERSPECTIVES, HISTORICALLY NEGLECTED, ARE INSTRUMENTAL TO CHANGING ATTITUDES AND CREATING POWERFUL EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS WITH AUDIENCES ACROSS AFRICA AND BEYOND.

    Expenses $126,259 · Grants $92,000 · Revenue $57,000

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • David Garrett

    CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

    Total calculated
    $136,564
    From this org
    $136,564
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    30

  • Steve Boyes

    CHAIRMAN

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • John Hilton

    PRESIDENT AND TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Steve Bessinger

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Moreangels Mbizah

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Shoham Arad

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

  • Brooke Runnette

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Schedule J

Answered yes

  • 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee

Answered no

  • 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
  • 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
  • 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
  • 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
  • 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
  • 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
  • 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
  • 7 · Other non-fixed payments
  • 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2024
Filed
4 November 2025
IRS schema version
2024v5.2
Source object
202513109349300926

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