Pheasants Forever INC

Tax-deductible

St Paul, MN501(c)(3)Since 1982EIN 41-1429149

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's mission is to conserve pheasants, quail, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education, and conservation advocacy.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 4,000 volunteers and 769 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $5.0M a year · 5% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
Looks good: 86% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$2.2M
to officers and key staff · 2% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 2% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $109K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$19.0M
23% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 23% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
16
of 17 voting members
Looks good: 16 of 17 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$118.6M
-11% vs prior year
Spent
$116.4M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$64.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$118.6M
FY2024▼ -11%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$67.6M
FY2021$80.5M
FY2022$87.0M
FY2023$89.6M
FY2024$132.7M
FY2024$118.6M
Expenses
$116.4M
FY2024▼ -7%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$68.0M
FY2021$73.2M
FY2022$80.2M
FY2023$85.3M
FY2024$125.6M
FY2024$116.4M
Net assets
$64.4M
FY2024▲ +5%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$36.2M
FY2021$43.4M
FY2022$48.5M
FY2023$53.4M
FY2024$61.3M
FY2024$64.4M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Dec 1986.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $100.4M Management & general 4% · $4.6M Fundraising 10% · $11.5M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

26 people listed on the 990; $2.2M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President and CEO
$366,374Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer & Asst. Secretary
$307,380Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$265,026Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Conservation Officer
$228,141Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President of Government Affairs
$203,897Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
$199,696Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Application Development
$165,743Pt VII · Sec A
Director of IT
$162,710Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Howard K Vincent—$365,985$387,911$378,291$350,102$349,204
Marilyn Vetter$366,374$284,127————
James M Koerber$307,380$279,970$261,680$242,790$227,573$221,386
David Bue$265,026$235,360$211,269$191,354$177,191$171,771
David E Nomsen————$264,146$225,573
Richard Young———$262,067$191,226$181,198
Ron Leathers$228,141$198,572$177,247$153,375$108,895$105,336
Ariel Wiegard$203,897—————

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Conserves pheasants, quail, and other wildlife by improving habitats, expanding public access, advocating for conservation, and supporting a national network of volunteer chapters.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Pheasants Forever INC claims this page.

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3 program services account for $99.4M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Wildlife Habitat Initiatives

During the 2025 fiscal year, Pheasants Forever, Inc. completed over 2,500 habitat projects impacting 88,600 acres. Since its inception in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $1.34 billion and completed 589,000 habitat projects.

$88.0Mprogram expense
02

Public Awareness, Education and Outreach

The education and outreach component of Pheasants Forever provides year-round youth programs that offer a pathway of activities that cultivate and grow land stewards and hunting conservationists of all ages. The focus is on hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation.

$8.2Mprogram expense
03

Chapter, Volunteer and Member Services

Pheasants Forever's regional field representatives provide support, information, hands-on education to the public, and work on implementation of wildlife habitat development and restoration. PF's representatives also assist members and chapter volunteers to improve wildlife habitat in the most efficient and effective way.

$3.2Mprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$109K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$118.6M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$98.0M
Other incomeLn 4–11$12.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.8M
Money outPt IX
$116.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$100.4M
Managementcol C$4.6M
Fundraisingcol D$11.5M
Owns and owesPt X
$64.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$19.4M
Total assetsLn 16$83.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$19.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
26
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a17
IndependentVI 1b16
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$98.0M
Government grantsLn 1e$77.6M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$1.3M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$3.7M
Other incomeLn 4–11$12.2M
Gains on assetsLn 7$2.9M
Total revenueLn 12$118.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3.1M
SavingsLn 2$16.3M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$19.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$32.9M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.8M
Other assetsLn 15$4.0M
Total assetsLn 16$83.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$19.0M
Net assetsLn 32$64.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5769
VolunteersI 64,000
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$14.9M$19.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$35.7M$32.9M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2.3M$2.8M
Total assetsLn 16$81.0M$83.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$19.7M$19.0M
Net assetsLn 32$61.3M$64.4M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.5M$675K$390K$427K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0$0$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$37.0M$30.8M$2.4M$3.8M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$1.7M$1.3M$141K$179K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$3.5M$3.0M$186K$328K
Payroll taxesLn 10$2.8M$2.3M$185K$297K
Management feesLn 11a$369K$166K$146K$57K
Legal feesLn 11b$72K$72K
Accounting feesLn 11c$294K$294K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$198K$198K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.1M$0$0$1.1M
Office expensesLn 13$3.2M$1.8M$190K$1.1M
Information technologyLn 14$0$0$0$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0$0$0$0
OccupancyLn 16$50K$14K$16K$21K
TravelLn 17$3.3M$2.5M$44K$732K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0$0$0$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$326K$242K$64K$19K
InterestLn 20$4K$0$4K$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0$0$0$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$613K$483K$37K$93K
InsuranceLn 23$637K$545K$60K$32K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$57.5M$55.3M$279K$2.0M
All other expensesLn 24e$2.4M$990K$96K$1.3M
Total functional expensesLn 25$116.4M$100.4M$4.6M$11.5M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 $132.7M$125.6M$7.2M$61.3M 990 PDF
FY2023 $89.6M$85.3M$4.3M$53.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 $87.0M$80.2M$6.8M$48.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $80.5M$73.2M$7.2M$43.4M 990 PDF
FY2020 $67.6M$68.0M−$361K$36.2M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $118,599,546 across 16 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $4,695,370 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$4,864
VIII-1b Membership dues$6,214,765
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$77,595,773
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$14,134,785
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,270,677
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$97,950,187
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,775,772 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$4,775,772
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $840,881$840,881
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $727,555$727,555
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $124,783$124,783
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $2,853,874$2,853,874
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $5,421,117$5,421,117
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $0 · Unrelated business $1,210,007 · Excluded from tax $0$1,210,007
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $6,050,994 · Unrelated business $1,210,007 · Excluded from tax $13,388,358$118,599,546
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $116,416,519 across 28 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $0$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $0$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $0$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $674,735 · Management $390,012 · Fundraising $427,217$1,491,964
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $30,802,870 · Management $2,359,225 · Fundraising $3,842,685$37,004,780
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $1,345,457 · Management $141,383 · Fundraising $178,611$1,665,451
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $3,002,661 · Management $186,057 · Fundraising $327,699$3,516,417
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $2,271,099 · Management $185,160 · Fundraising $297,350$2,753,609
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $165,779 · Management $145,767 · Fundraising $57,470$369,016
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $71,688$71,688
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $293,921$293,921
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $197,540$197,540
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $1,073,943$1,073,943
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,836,940 · Management $190,174 · Fundraising $1,123,047$3,150,161
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $13,519 · Management $15,582 · Fundraising $20,694$49,795
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,505,979 · Management $44,331 · Fundraising $731,634$3,281,944
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officialsPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $242,482 · Management $64,293 · Fundraising $19,086$325,861
IX-20 InterestPrograms $0 · Management $4,252 · Fundraising $0$4,252
IX-21 Payments to affiliatesPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $483,487 · Management $37,203 · Fundraising $92,539$613,229
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $544,724 · Management $60,171 · Fundraising $31,710$636,605
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $55,274,993 · Management $279,064 · Fundraising $1,952,421$57,506,478
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $989,653 · Management $96,003 · Fundraising $1,324,209$2,409,865
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $100,351,918 · Management $4,564,286 · Fundraising $11,500,315$116,416,519
Part X · Balance sheet $83,380,132 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,194,897$3,141,847
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $11,657,010$16,276,474
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $3,113,241$4,137,853
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $21,137,683$18,940,937
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $40,032$17,101
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,012,908$1,128,320
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $2,329,068$2,817,741
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $20,684,868$15,984,123
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $0$0
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $15,001,370$16,918,085
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $2,800,237$4,017,651
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $80,971,314$83,380,132
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $11,475,031$10,942,534
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $1,434,417$1,756,855
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $6,758,079$6,259,313
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $19,717,474$18,996,389
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $38,534,943$40,111,573
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $22,718,897$24,272,170
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $61,253,840$64,383,743
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $80,971,314$83,380,132
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $64,383,743 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$118,599,546
XI-2 Total expenses$116,416,519
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$2,183,027
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$61,253,840
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$946,876
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$64,383,743

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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