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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.

Needs Improvement

This charity's score is 75.06, earning it a 2-Star rating. Charity Navigator believes donors can "Give with Confidence" to charities with 3- and 4-Star ratings.

This score is calculated from two sub-scores:

Finance: 64.87 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 97.00 View details

This score represents Form 990 data from 2019. More recent filing data is available, but it has not been factored into this score, due to COVID-19's effect on this organization.

View this organization’s historical ratings.

Rating update postponed due to COVID-19's impact on this organization. View Florida Wildlife Federation's response.

Back to Overall

Star Rated Report

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Program Expense

Program Expense Ratio

58.3%

The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).

This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Administrative Expenses

12.5%

As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Fundraising Expenses

29.0%

This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Liabilities to Assets Ratio

7.5%

The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).

Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.

Source: IRS Form 990

Fundraising Efficiency

$0.29

The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Working Capital Ratio

1.17 years

Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Program Expense Growth

-18.70%

We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Y_n/Y₀)^(1/n)]-1, where Y₀ is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Y_n is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y₀ and Y_n.

Source: IRS Form 990

Governance

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990

Governance:
Independent Voting Board Members ... (More)
No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form 990 to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter. In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria. Full Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant with an audit oversight committee. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. In this case, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: The charity did not have its audited financials prepared by an independent accountant. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More)
Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More)
Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More)
Compensates Board ... (More)

Policies

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website

Policies:
Conflict of Interest ... (More)
Whistleblower ... (More)
Records Retention and Destruction ... (More)
CEO Compensation Process ... (More)
Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories: Yes: This charity has a written donor privacy policy published on its website, which states unambiguously that (1) it will not share or sell a donor's personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations or (2) it will only share or sell personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so. Opt-out: The charity has a written privacy policy published on its website which enables donors to tell the charity to remove their names and contact information from lists the charity shares or sells. How a donor can have themselves removed from a list differs from one charity to the next, but any and all opt-out policies require donors to take specific action to protect their privacy. No: This charity either does not have a written donor privacy policy in place to protect their contributors' personal information, or the existing policy does not meet our criteria. The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less)	Partial

Transparency

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website

Transparency:
CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More)
Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More)
Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More)
Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More)
Form 990 Available on Website ... (More)

Additional Information

Unscored

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Total Revenue and Expenses

No Data Available

Revenue and expense data is not available for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.

Salary of Key Persons

No Data Available

Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.

Business Master File Data

Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website

Activities:

Preservation of natural resources (conservation) (BMF activity code: 350)

Other conservation, environmental or beautification activities (BMF activity code: 379)

Foundation Status:

Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)

Affiliation:

Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)

Data Sources: IRS Forms 990

The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).

Pandemic Response

This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.

Florida Wildlife Federation reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:

Fundraising Capacity
Revenue

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:

Donations to our organization declined by approximately 30% owing to the pandemic. Fortunately, we successfully applied for and received PPP loans and were able to retain all employees.

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:

While the pandemic slowed delivery of some of our programs, it did not stop our conservation advocacy efforts or our environmental education initiatives, which moved more towards virtual platforms.

How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:

Due to the pandemic, much greater emphasis has been placed on mask wearing, vaccinations and hand washing, as well as social distancing.

Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:

Mask wearing continues to be the norm and many meetings will continue to be held virtually rather than in person to lessen the chance of spreading COVID.

Historical Ratings

Date Published	Form 990 FYE	Overall Score	Overall Rating
Rating Version: 2.1
3/1/2022	2019	75.06
12/20/2019	2018	74.51
5/1/2019	2017	78.11
10/1/2018	2017	77.10
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990.
9/1/2017	2016	79.99
7/1/2016	2015	82.09
6/1/2016	2014	83.36

Rating Version: 2.0
4/1/2016	2014	84.59
10/1/2015	2014	82.17
6/1/2014	2013	82.49
8/1/2013	2012	78.57
5/1/2012	2011	74.39

Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability

Impact & Results

This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.

Impact & Results Score

Not Currently Scored

Florida Wildlife Federation cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.

Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.

Learn more about Impact & Results.

Do you work at Florida Wildlife Federation? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.

Back to Overall

Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community

Leadership & Adaptability

This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.

Leadership & Adaptability Score

100

out of 100

The score earned by Florida Wildlife Federation is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.

Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.

Back to Overall

Leadership & Adaptability Report

100

of 100 points

Mission

The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission

FWF's mission is to conserve Florida's wildlife, habitat and natural resources through education, advocacy and science-based stewardship.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Vision

The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.

A future where Floridians stand united to protect and conserve Florida’s wildlife, habitat, and natural resources.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Strategic Goals

The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.

Goal One: Influence Conservation Policies and Programs

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Goal Two: Expand and Motivate Membership/Supporters

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Goal Three: Inspire Action through Impactful Communication

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Leadership Development

The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development

Describe an investment in leadership

Meredith Budd, Southwest Regional Policy Director graduated from the 2021 Leadership Collier program, designed to build a broad-based network of community leaders. The program provided her with hands-on experiences in various components of the SW Florida community including local government, education, economic development, environment and arts. It transformed the way she interacts within this community and showed her how best to work together to implement positive change. This program helped build a strong local network of influential leaders. We've also sent staff to the National Wildlife Federation Women in Leadership Summit. The Summit provides a space for the women of our Federation to build and strengthen leadership skills in order to elevate women’s voices in the conservation movement as well as tackle challenges and issues unique to women in the workplace.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Mobilizing for Mission

The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Florida is the national epicenter for environmental and conservation issues, with a rapidly increasing population impacting fragile water resources, unique ecosystems and wildlife. It is therefore essential to coordinate and share resources with other conservation non-profits statewide to meet these challenges. Collaboration is conducted via social media and other methods of communication to expand participation among not only groups, but individuals to advance various conservation goals. Advocacy in the state and federal legislature, and on the county level, are facilitated with partner organizations to increase the likelihood of success. Leadership activities such as spearheading citizen lobby days are a function of our work to bring residents into contact with their representatives as to issues important to them and to increase the likelihood of environmental sustainability across the state.We partner with other groups to promote environmental education of teachers and students.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Story of Adaptability

The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.

The COVID pandemic caused significant challenges for an organization such as the Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) as mask wearing and social distancing have become the norm. In person meetings are limited and virtual meetings have become standard. Work schedules have also had to adapt to the realities of COVID and some employees work from home more of the time. That said, we have remained a closely connected entity with employees sharing and performing many tasks not formerly required of them. Fortunately, our two Regional Policy Directors, who are located far from the main headquarters in Tallahassee, are very motivated individuals and run their one-person offices in highly efficient and goal-oriented ways, even as their workloads have increased. As a smaller organization with a very large task, is it critical that all employees communicate well with each other and that all know what the plan is for each particular issue or campaign. Indeed, many individual issues are engendered from the local offices and supported by the Headquarters’ staff. External changes during the last year have included the hiring of a new Regional Policy Director even as we tightened budget items elsewhere in the organization. It was critical that we expand our reach in this diverse and geographically large state. Adaptation is actually a day-to-day requirement, even prior to COVID, as each employee is critical to the mission of FWF. From fundraising and grant efforts to keep the organization in the black, to high level policy and legislative campaigns, to environmental education of our citizens, all of us are at least in some way participating. That is what keep us moving forward.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses