The Nature Conservancy
Is This Your Business?1.1
1.1
Author: Kaitlyn Short
LAST UPDATED: June 27th, 2019
The Nature Conservancy is the largest charitable environmental organization in the United States. The organization is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and was founded in 1951. The Nature Conservancy has a membership structure, wherein members pay for a monthly or annual membership and dues are used to fulfill the organization's mission of conserving land and water resources globally. It can do this, in part, by its partnerships with local and national governments as well as with large corporations.
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The Good
- Strong donor communication
- Award and recognition
- Financial transparency
Total Income
In 2015, the total support and revenue reported by The Nature Conservancy was $947,555, down from $1,114,279 in 2014. The organization reported $1,114,279 in 2013.Administrative Expenses
Of The Nature Conservancy's revenue in 2015, 17.3 percent went to administrative costs. The highest-paid executive in the organization, as reported on IRS Form 990 (2014) was Regional Director, Charles Bedford, with a salary of $437,239. Sixteen individuals had salaries of over $100,000 as reported on the same form.Donor Communication
The Nature Conservancy has an extremely robust communication with its members. Those who have donated as well as those electing to follow the organization on social media or opted into receiving the company's regular newsletters. An area of which the organization is criticized is its use of paper mailers soliciting donations, being that these efforts are not considered "green." Those electing to become a member of The Nature Conservancy receive six issues of the organization's magazine, Nature Conservancy, a monthly e-newsletter and regular updates on conservation in the member's home state and invitations to special events.Awards
The Nature Conservancy's investment unit, NatureVest recently was recognized for efforts in restructuring the Republic of Seychelles' sovereign debt with the 2016 FT/IFC Transformational Business Award for Achievement in Transformational Finance. This award was sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The restructuring of the republic's debt has been seen as a way to use innovative funding to help developing countries preserve their natural resources and restructure their governmental indebtedness. Mission The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to protect the natural environment. The organization focuses its efforts into protecting their global priorities of land, water, climate, oceans and cities. There are conservation projects which have been accomplished as well as being in progress in each of the 50 states, in over 60 countries, and on six of the seven continents. The Nature Conservancy has a long history in its work and is often called upon by The United States Congress as an expert during congressional hearings involving the environment. Many have dubbed the organization "nature's real estate agent," or something similar. Ways to Support The Nature Conservancy There are several ways to support The Nature Conservancy. One can become a member with a minimum gift of $25. The Nature Conservancy accepts honor or tribute giving as well as gifts from one's estate. Financial Transparency Perhaps due to the IRS audit and congressional investigation into the management of funds and conservation, The Nature Conservancy is very transparent with its records online. If one should desire, the organization's annual reports and IRS forms are published online. By going through these records, potential and current supporters of The Nature Conservancy are able to see data about how revenue was spent. There is not an itemized list of all projects in their reports, however. Breakdowns of executive salaries can be found in the organization's IRS Form 990. Independent Charity Monitoring Organizations The Nature Conservancy has been recognized by Give.org as an accredited charity. The organization has received three of four stars from Charity Navigator, which indicates their transparency and practices are demonstrative of best practices by nonprofit agencies. Additionally, the organization is named as a "Top Rated Charity" by the American Institute of Philanthropy. The Nature Conservancy states that it has a current A- with the institute, but that is not accurate; the current rating (August, 2016) for The Nature Conservancy from the American Institute of Philanthropy is B+, which is the lowest grade a "Top Rated Charity" Status can be awarded.The Bad
- High administrative costs
- High fundraising expenses
- Low project delivery percentage
Fundraising Expenses
An area which has generated some criticism of The Nature Conservancy is the percentage of revenue spent on fundraising and membership, which some feel is excessive-11.5 percent. The biggest source of complaints about fundraising is that the organization sends "junk mail" soliciting membership, which according to most, ends up in the landfills, destroying more trees and creating a carbon footprint from printing, etc.Program Percentage
According to The Nature Conservancy's 2015 annual report, 71.2 percent of its annual revenue is spent on the organization's programs, preserving land and water worldwide. There is no breakdown in the annual report of what percentage goes for preserving land versus waterways, etc.Accessible Financial Information
Finding annual reports and financial statements on The Nature Conservancy's website requires a little searching and a few clicks, but the page itself is comprehensive, with links to the organization's annual reports(2007-2015), IRS forms 990, and 8453-EO (fiscal years 2012-2015). Annual reports are also available in Spanish, which is unusual among charitable organizations.Negative Press
There is much that is said about The Nature Conservancy, with many allegations that the organization's policies and relationships with large corporations, stating that these are both questionable and contrary to the mission of The Nature Conservancy. After the massive BP Oil spill in 2010, there were several demands that the organization sever ties with BP, which it did not. Additional allegations have surfaced stating that The Nature Conservancy profits from oil drilling on its conservation land in Texas. The organization does have some oil drilling on their land sites. Additionally complicating these activities is some lack of transparency and some people's conspiracy theories which allege that The Nature Conservancy helped change endangered species acts on its conservation land holdings in Texas to allow oil drilling on these sites for a profit. There is a general lack of trust between a small group of people and The Nature Conservancy, which stems from an IRS audit and Congressional Hearings on the organization's management of funds in 2005. Contradictions between Mission and Practices The Nature Conservancy is the subject of much criticism. The common thread in these critiques is that there appears to be a disconnect between the mission of the organization and how it practices in real-life applications. Perhaps the most damaging to a nonprofit are allegations of mismanagement of funds (e.g. high executive salary), followed closely by not allocating funds wisely or not supporting the cause which the organization purports to address. While there are some complaints about high executive pay by former donors, the biggest area The Nature Conservancy needs to address, according to former donors is some contradictory practices in conservation efforts. Hunting and Fishing Policies Some supporters of The Nature Conservancy expect that their donations should be used to conserve nature, at all costs, which would not include hunting or fishing; however, there are some conservation sites that use controlled legal hunting or fishing as a way to balance the wildlife population in these areas. There are many environmentalists who are adamantly opposed to these practices, and are angry about The Nature Conservancy's position on this method of population control and their role in conserving the environment.The Bottom Line
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Steve B. Burbank, IL
As a former donor (Markham Illinois Indian Boundary Prairies) whose total donations are in the 6 figures, and a volunteer who has donated more than 20,000 hours of field work, I have clearly seen that work that has been contracted (by grant) to be done, isn't being done and the response I received was "it doesn't matter if it gets done because no one is going to check". After contacting the state and national directors for TNC and outlining the supervisory people who weren't doing their jobs, instead of fixing their problems, they have kicked me out of the preserves and have prevented me from doing any further volunteering. And all I did was tell the truth.
5 years ago
John Smith Hoboken, NJ
When I signed up I was told I was signing up for a children's charity only to have my monthly donation going to these guys. I decided to leave it run for a year but once the year was up I started to get harassing phone calls nearly every day.
Not only do I get calls from these guys I also get calls from professional fundraisers who spoof numbers to get around call blocking. How misleading and dishonest are these practices? I also suspect, but can't prove, they sold my number to others as the frequency of begging calls increased dramatically from other organisations once my membership ran out.
Never, ever, ever give to these dishonest harassing scammers! You will regret it!
6 years ago
Chenee Azachi New York, NY
I donated to Nature Conservancy about one year ago because of one volunteer who was stationed and waiting outside the subway station basically harassed me until I donated money. In fact, this person followed me out of the subway continued to make his pitch for about 10 minutes as I walk to work. I finally conceded and was told I was making nothing more than a one-time donation. The fact was they signed me up to be a monthly donating member. I immediately canceled the membership yet continue to receive mail (snail mail) on almost a weekly bases. How is it possible that a corporation that is supposed to be dedicated to the conservation of nature has no problem wasting an exuberate amount of paper. I am appalled by my experience with Nature Conservancy.
6 years ago
Charles Tuchschmidt Bozeman, MT
I decided to oppose The Nature Conservancy in all ways after learning how how wealthy donors and directors use TNC for their own use and pleasure. On a mail run up Hell's Canyon with some locals they pointed out a swath of land that had been purchased by TNC and informed me that it was posted and "off limits" to the general populace. However they also said there were many times where wealthy members (I assume donors and/or directors) would access the property by boat and avail themselves of the very excellent upland bird hunting that the property provided.
I've also read accounts of TNC selling off desirable portions of Nature Conservancy property to wealthy donors or directors then those buyers placing their own conservation easement on their purchased little piece of heaven. These age-old tricks of abuse by wealthy elites in the name of helping the planet really sticks in my craw. So much of what they do is nothing more than a power grab by these elites using other peoples money. I much prefer to work toward good stewardship practices on behalf of public land.
6 years ago
Crow Fargo Lincoln, NE
I was due a refund after canceling my reservation for an event.
Yes, you will get a refund, they said. It has been a month and I am still waiting for my refund. I have contacted my credit card folks and requested a charge back for the refund. I can't believe how rude these people are. They do not return phone calls and the person I was told I needed to talk to about the problem was always at a retreat, on another phone call, or out of the office.
I will never do any business with the Nature Conservancy!
5 years ago
Mamie Great Neck, NY
I've known TNC for years and years. I hadn't contributed in a while and received a fund-raising letter in October 2018 promising a specific "gift" in exchange for a specific minimum contribution. I made the contribution and 5 months later, still have not received the gift. I've exchanged emails with them; they always promise I'll receive it within 1 or 2 weeks. I've never received it. It happens to be something I'm really interested in, or I would drop it. But at this point, I no longer have any faith in them. They used to be one of my top charities, but no more.
5 years ago
Jennifer W. Frisco, TX
I wish this could be no stars. I support various charities regularly, but I have never even heard of this company. They somehow got my credit card and charged it NINE TIMES on one day for various weird amounts around $30. I disputed it with my card and I'm getting the money back (but now I have to change my card number with everything I had it connected to because of these scammers). I have NEVER seen these people nor signed up or provided my bank account info. They are a scam and are illegally getting credit card numbers from somewhere!
5 years ago
Shaila Huq Washington, DC
like the mission but street canvasser blatantly lied to my face. I was happy with donating and was told the only option was monthly (not true) and that they did not accept donations online. I would have felt good about donating but the opacity and flat-out lies make this an org I'm not likely to donate to again.
6 years ago
Alex Mountain View, CA
I was actually pretty sure that the street canvaser was running a credit card collection scam, surprised to see that this is a real organization. Either way, if someone on the street wants to enter your credit card info into an iPad, regardless of how much one loves the environment, why would you take that risk?
6 years ago
Lawrence Kelly San Diego, CA
They debited my account without my permission. 100% hack. I had never heard of them or anything at all.
5 years ago
