June 17, 2007Why is the Roanoke NWTF chapter struggling?It's not uncommon for volunteers in any organization to become frustrated and burned out, because what usually happens is that a small core of people end up doing all of the work. So it wasn't surprising when the core of folks helping put on the annual fundraising banquet for the Roanoke Valley chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation finally called it quits after the 2006 banquet. What was unusual was that no one stepped in to fill the void. And it was also interesting that many of the people kept volunteering for a wildlife-related group -- Hunters for the Hungry. I heard some grumbling about the low return the chapters got on banquet profits. So I started looking into it. Nonprofits have to file open returns with the IRS, and a number of groups help compile that information so people can check up on the groups they're giving their time and money to. In my first look at the financial information one of the things that jumped out at me was NWTF CEO Rob Keck's compensation, which was $351,000 a year. That seemed high. (It actually was comparable to what leaders of similar groups earn.) I got the OK to do a story on how these groups raise and spend money. The editor at the time, Mike Riley, asked if I would mind having reporter Laurence Hammack on the project with me. I knew I could handle the story on my own, but I knew it would be better if Laurence, who has a lot more experience with these types of projects, was a part of the effort. We've been working on the story for six months -- not solid, of course. From what we found, nobody is doing anything illegal. But it really was intresting (at least to me and the others involved with the project) how these groups work, with a small core of generally well compensated leaders and small paid staff having to keep a huge contingent of volunteers fired up to do the mission. When that mission evolves, as has the NWTF's as turkeys have been pretty much restored, that only adds to the challenge. One challenge we faced was that many people we talked to had plenty to say, but weren't willing to go on the record. The hunting fraternity is a tight, and people tend to be cautious about saying anything that might be considered negative. But we still found plenty of people on all sides of the issue who were willing to be candid. The story ran today. HERE'S the link. With all the reporting we did, it could have been much longer than the piece we ended up with. A lot of color and details got left on the editing room floor. With the Roanoke chapter still in limbo, I expect we're not done reporting on this story. If you have worked or volunteer with wildlife-related conservation groups, I'd love to hear about your experiences. |
About this blog
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures. Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism. After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters. .....Advertisement.....
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Comments
[June 17, 2007 5:41 PM]
Jim BashamMark,
I stopped sending in my dues to the NWTF when I found out how much Rob Keck made each year. He has a lot of responsibility, but he's just a face man when it comes right down to it. Shakin' hands and kissin' baby's. I would much rather see that money stay in Virginia, so I purchased the wild turkey conservationist plate in 2002. After the debacle at the VDGIF a couple of years ago I was concerned about that money but hopefully with Mr. Masengill's efforts restoring that agency it's now being used appropriately. The wild turkey is doing great now, thanks to the NWTF, but I agree with the article that the NWTF really has its work cut out for it evolving its mission for the future.
[June 19, 2007 3:24 PM]
Mark TaylorThanks for the comment, Jim.
As I wrote above, while Keck's salary jumped out at me originally, we quickly found out that it wasn't out of the ordinary relative to similar organizations. That's why we didn't even touch on that in the story.
But because it was a topic in my consversations with volunteers it was something we had to address, which is why we included the graphic with the financial info on the NWTF and other organizations.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive on the story, but I've had a couple of complaints. One person wrote that I should focus on all the positive things the NWTF has done and does. My response? I've been doing that for nearly nine years, and I'm going to keep doing it.
Another reader was upset that we included the salary of the executive director for Hunters for the Hungry. The reader felt that when people saw the salary was $45,000 they would think that was too much and not donate.
I think it would have the opposite affect. For all the work Laura Newell-Furniss does in that job, $45,000 is darn modest and I think people who are likely donors would recognize as much. I spoke Monday with someone very familiar with the organization who had no problems with that.
One other thing I want to add. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the many NWTF volunteers I've come to know over the years. Uber volunteers like Billy and Susan Hall, Rick and Linda Layser, Robin Clark, and Barry Arrington -- and countless others -- have done great things, and they will be integral to the group's efforts to meet the challenges the NWTF is facing in this new era of wild turkey -- and hunting -- conservation and preservation.
[January 1, 2008 6:10 PM]
karl deweyI am a sponsor of the Nwtf. I found all the comments and information very interesting. It would make sense to me that if local volunteers are going to work hard for their respective chapters why not start their own organization and keep all the money local and make sure it goes directly to the actual cause. After all, isn't that the idea? While i live in Missouri, which has no shortage of turkeys, i believe strongly in preserving conservation and education. In my opinion Nwtf has turned in to a monster and the banquets feel like i'm at an Amway convention. Money money money.