FOREST HISTORY SOCIETY INC

EIN 41-0762363 DURHAM, NC

Revenue 2024: $1,596,746
Expenses 2024: $1,411,872

Program services were 81.3% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection: 03
NTEE code: C360
Classification: 1000
Street: 2925 ACADEMY RD

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

TO PRESERVE AND HELP PEOPLE USE THE DOCUMENTS OF FOREST & CONSERVATION HISTORY. THE SOCIETY IDENTIFIES, COLLECTS, INTERPRETS, AND DISSEMINATES HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF HUMANS AND FORESTS, CONTRIBUTING TO INFORMED NATURAL RESOURCE DECISION-MAKING.

Activities or mission (Part I)

THE FOREST HISTORY SOCIETY PRESERVES OUR FOREST HERITAGE. IT AIMS TO IMPROVE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN WELFARE BY BRINGING A HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING. THE PRIMARY EXEMPT PURPOSES INCLUDE: TO COLLECT, PRESERVE, AND DISSEMINATE THE HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN FORESTS AND ALL FOREST-RELATED ACTIVITIES; TO ENCOURAGE AND AID THE ESTABLISHMENT OF INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY, COMPANY, AND INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS AND TO MAKE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS; TO PROMOTE RESEARCH AND WRITING AND PUBLISH ON THE HISTORY OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF FORESTS AND PEOPLE OVER TIME; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE EDUCATION OF ALL AGE GROUPS RELATED TO THE LESSONS OF FOREST AND CONSERVATION HISTORY.

LIBRARY & ARCHIVES - THE FHS MAINTAINS THE FOREMOST COLLECTION IN THE WORLD OF FOREST AND CONSERVATION HISTORY BOOKS, JOURNALS, AND OTHER MATERIALS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. IT HOUSES OVER 200,000 HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS, 12,000 BOOKS, MAPS, MOVING FOOTAGE, ARTWORK, AND OVER 350 ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS. IT PROVIDES FREE ONLINE DATABASES FOR REMOTE RESEARCHING FOR K-12 AND COLLEGE STUDENTS, TEACHERS, JOURNALISTS AND OTHER RESEARCHERS. OVER 5,000 SEARCHES ANNUALLY ARE CONDUCTED IN THE DATABASES AND OVER 100,000 USERS REACH FHS WEB PAGES FOR INFORMATION. THE ARCHIVES PRESERVE ALMOST ONE-MILE OF UNIQUE RECORDS FROM INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, COMPANIES, AND INSTITUTIONS AND HOSTS ON-SITE RESEARCHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THE FHS SERVES AS THE FIRST STOP FOR GLOBAL INQUIRIES IN FOREST HISTORY.

Expenses $578,740
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS - CONDUCT RESEARCH AND PROMOTE WRITING AND PUBLICATIONS THAT SYNTHESIZE THE SUBSTANTIAL HISTORICAL LITERATURE IN FOREST AND CONSERVATION HISTORY. THE SOCIETY'S IMPRESSIVE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS INCLUDES THE "FOREST HISTORY TODAY" MAGAZINE, AND "ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY", THE LEADING SCHOLARLY JOURNAL IN THE FIELD. ITS ISSUES SERIES BOOKS HAVE REACHED OVER 25,000 CLASSROOMS, HOUSEHOLDS, AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS AND ARE USED IN TEACHER EDUCATION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE RECENT FILM, "AMERICA'S FIRST FOREST" WAS BROADCAST OVER 5,000 TIMES, ON 450 PBS STATIONS, IN 47 STATES, WITH OVER 5 MILLION VIEWERS. THE FHS HAS PUBLISHED DOZENS OF BOOK-LENGTH PUBLICATIONS AND IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON A BOOK ABOUT PRIVATE FAMILY FORESTS.

Expenses $312,227 · Revenue $870
AWARDS & EDUCATION - THE FHS PROVIDES TRAVEL GRANTS TO RESEARCHERS IN NEED IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE FHS COLLECTIONS. TO ENCOURAGE SCHOLARLY WORK IN FOREST AND CONSERVATION HISTORY THE FHS OFFERS AWARDS FOR THE BEST WRTING IN JOURNALS, BOOKS, AND THE POPULAR PRESS. TWO ANNUAL FELLOWSHIPS SUPPORT GRADUATE STUDENTS STUDYING FOREST HISTORY. TO CONVEY AN UNDERSTANDING OF FOREST HISTORY TO A WIDE VARIETY OF PUBLICS, FHS PROVIDES THE FREE ONLINE "IF TREES COULD TALK" CURRICULUM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT REACHES HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS AND THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS. A LIVE-STREAMED LECTURESHIP IN COLLABORATION WITH DUKE UNIVERSITY REACHES THOUSANDS ANNUALLY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS SERVED BY A VARIETY OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS INCLUDING THE AWARD-WINNING BLOG "PEELING BACK THE BARK."

Expenses $257,119 · Revenue $31

As filed on the 2024 return.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

CLARK W SEELY

CHAIRMAN

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
BOB IZLAR

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
DANIEL CHRISTENSEN

CO-VICE CHAIRMAN

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
JONATHAN PRATHER

CO-VICE CHAIRMAN

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
CHARLES W RASMUSSEN

CO-VICE CHAIRMAN

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
MARSHALL D THOMAS

TREASURER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
VICKI CHRISTIANSEN

SECRETARY

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
NICOLETTE L CAGLE

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
NED CHILDS

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
SAM COOK

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
EVA GREGER

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
LYNNE HEASLEY

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
BRENT KEEFER

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
MARK MADISON

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
PETER MERTZ

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
DIANA MEYERS

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
DON MOTANIC

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
DAVID NUNES

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
FREDERICK W PIASECKI

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
VIVIAN ZOFIA PIASECKI

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
AMELIE ROBERGE

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
RUTH ANNA STOLK

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
PAUL SUTTER

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
TOM TEMPLE

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5
DAOWEI ZHANG

BOARD MEMBER

Total calculated

$0

Hours/week

5

The first 25 listed. 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. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

2024

Revenue

$1,596,746

Expenses

$1,411,872

Contributions

$1,101,133

Grants paid

$0
2023

Revenue

$1,010,769

Expenses

$1,355,456

Contributions

$743,221

Grants paid

$0
2022

Revenue

$978,424

Expenses

$1,382,695

Contributions

$777,943

Grants paid

$0

Tax year	Revenue	Expenses	Contributions	Grants paid
2024	$1,596,746	$1,411,872	$1,101,133	$0
2023	$1,010,769	$1,355,456	$743,221	$0
2022	$978,424	$1,382,695	$777,943	$0

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

2021 · 990

Revenue

$2,687,841

Expenses

$1,089,377

Assets (EOY)

$14,218,632
2020 · 990

Revenue

$1,263,022

Expenses

$1,172,487

Assets (EOY)

$16,382,440
2019 · 990

Revenue

$1,044,981

Expenses

$1,087,060

Assets (EOY)

$15,185,749
2018 · 990

Revenue

$3,000,694

Expenses

$1,043,905

Assets (EOY)

$16,503,135
2017 · 990

Revenue

$2,016,409

Expenses

$990,501

Assets (EOY)

$14,726,554
2016 · 990

Revenue

$2,497,075

Expenses

$1,025,424

Assets (EOY)

$12,205,407

Tax year	Form	Revenue	Expenses	Assets (EOY)
2021	990	$2,687,841	$1,089,377	$14,218,632
2020	990	$1,263,022	$1,172,487	$16,382,440
2019	990	$1,044,981	$1,087,060	$15,185,749
2018	990	$3,000,694	$1,043,905	$16,503,135
2017	990	$2,016,409	$990,501	$14,726,554
2016	990	$2,497,075	$1,025,424	$12,205,407

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

$256,050

2024 For grant recipient's exempt purposes
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

$31,927

2022 For grant recipient's exempt purposes
GIVINGA FOUNDATION INC

$25,000

2024 PROGRAM SUPPORT
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

$23,450

2023 For grant recipient's exempt purposes
DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING

$22,125

2024 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANIMALS
DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING

$16,754

2022 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANIMALS
DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING

$16,502

2023 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANIMALS
SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION

$12,500

2023 MULTIPLE GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS, OPERATIONS, OR OTHER PURPOSES
VERMONT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

$10,000

2022 GENERAL PURPOSE
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS

$150

2023

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

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 26 October 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2024, the newest we have parsed for this organization.