Form 990 for tax year 2023

Totals

Total revenue

$36,052,170

Total expenses

$35,168,532

Contributions and grants received

$35,311,323

Grants paid

$450,742

Program service revenue

$48,497

Investment income

$486,995

Other revenue

$205,355

Total assets, end of year

$58,479,065

Total liabilities, end of year

$4,633,890

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$53,845,175

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$25,925,247

Management and general expenses

$5,871,711

Fundraising expenses

$3,371,574

Program service expenses (Part III)

$25,925,247

Program services were 73.7% 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.

Mission and programs · 2023

• Mobilization of a Broader Constituency for Wildlife Conservation:Defenders of Wildlife implements nation-wide conservation initiatives and place-based conservation programs that are rooted in the communities in which we work. We focus on strategic areas where we can have a positive impact on wildlife and landscapes. We are driven by our responsibility to mobilize and grow a movement for conservation that will endure for generations to come. We issue a monthly email publication, as well as an Impact Report, sent to all members who have provided us with their email address. It features informative articles on important wildlife and land management conservation issues, editorial comments, and updates on current activities taken by the organization. Our educational outreach projects include: providing the public with up-to-date information on wildlife and habitat protection issues; maintaining an activist network and alerting activists to contact elected officials on key wildlife conservation issues; and providing information to students and teachers on wildlife issues. We also reach the public by briefing the local and national media on important wildlife topics, by producing high quality video and participating in various podcasts, media interviews, and events highlighting America's wildlife and public lands. We also engage supporters on our social network channels and through our online blog. Defenders of Wildlife's website and social media platforms offer extensive information on wildlife species and related conservation issues. The website, www.defenders.org, serves as a resource for learning more about wildlife, understanding current policy issues, and getting involved.

  Expenses $13,126,565 · Grants $48,194

• Conservation and Restoration of Imperiled Biodiversity in North America: Defenders of Wildlife focuses on the conservation of imperiled species and keystone or umbrella species that help restore the integrity and health of ecosystems. Our focus on wildlife and habitat conservation and the safeguarding of biodiversity defines our important niche in the environmental and conservation community. Long known for our leadership on endangered species issues, our programs emphasize imperiled species and their habitat throughout North America because of the irreparable loss that species extinction represents. We believe in the inherent value of wildlife and the natural world. To realize our conservation vision, Defenders of Wildlife engages in policy analysis and advocacy, litigation, innovative science, technology development, and conservation activities in the field. Our work is aimed at the prevention of species and habitats from becoming imperiled, the protection of endangered and threatened species and their habitats, and the restoration of the health of vulnerable species and their habitats. We are known for our innovative and pragmatic responses to a constantly changing political, economic and social environment. Our staff of scientists, wildlife policy experts, lobbyists, communications experts, and attorneys work in the halls of Congress, state legislatures, the courts, and local communities, and in the field across the country. We develop and advocate for innovative "up-stream" management solutions for public and private lands that encourage conservation of entire ecosystems and interconnected habitats. We emphasize collaboration with other groups as a means of bringing to bear as much collective influence as possible on policymakers and processes which are often subjected to relentless pressure from special interests. The shared goal of all of our activities is to make Defenders of Wildlife the nation's most effective champion of imperiled wildlife in an era of climate change and habitat loss, leading the way in meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities that tomorrow presents to leave a rich and diverse natural legacy for future generations.

  Expenses $12,798,682 · Grants $402,548 · Revenue $49,420

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

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. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

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

• Univeristy of Alaska

  $47,120

  To support ANSEP contract

• Indian Nations Conservation Alliance

  $32,333

  To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives.

• Alaska Wilderness League

  $30,000

  To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

• Aris Land & Livestock LLC

  $24,000

  To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest.

• Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes

  $22,500

  To assist in cost associated with the bison quarantine program on Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana.

• Legacy Philanthropy Works

  $21,656

  To employ a Resilience Coordinator position to further the goals of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape Partnership (NWFSL).

• White Mountain Apache Tribe

  $18,000

  To support efforts for Mexican gray wolf coexistence strategies in AZ.

• The Blackfoot Challenge Inc

  $14,000

  To support grizzly bear coexistence projects.

• Alaska Wildlife Alliance

  $13,000

  To assist with costs associated with a coordinator for the Cook Inlet Beluga Advocacy Group and its activities.

• Rangeland Wild

  $11,815

  For Ranching with Wolves workshop in Oregon; towards continued wolf-livestock coexistence work in North Park, CO.

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Related organizations on this return

Schedule R Part II: tax-exempt organizations related to the filer by control. It does not record shared board members or money.

• Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

  501(c)(4) · Protecting wildlife, natural habitats, and the environment. · DC · controlled entity

  Directly controlled by Defenders of Wildlife

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2023

Filed

12 February 2025

IRS schema version

2023v6.0

Source object

202540459349300129

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.