Trout Unlimited Case Study

Nearly half a century ago sixteen men came together and formed an organization based on a love of trout fishing and discontentment towards statewide trout stocking standards. In July 1959, along the banks of Michigan’s Au Sable River, George Griffith and fellow trout enthusiasts established ‘Trout, Unlimited’ (now known as Trout Unlimited) as a non-government organization with a vision to help trout populations thrive and prosper to their full potential (Trout Unlimited 11/11/2015).
The founders of Trout Unlimited (TU) shared an appreciation for Michigan’s quiet streams of trout and made it their mission to “conserve, protect, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds” for future generations to come (Trout Unlimited …show more content…
As a non-profit organization, it’s subjected to evaluation by websites like Charity Navigator, who rated it as 4 out of 5 stars for financial accountability and transparency, and the American Institute of Philanthropy who rated TU with an A- overall (Charity Navigator 10/28/2015, Charity Watch 11/11/2015). In 2014, TU reported revenue of over $43 million dollars, of which 42.9% came from government grants with the rest resulting from contributions and fundraising events (Charity Navigator 10/28/2015). Yearly expenditures for 2014 ($43.5 million dollars) were spent primarily on conservation program expenses: nearly $39 million dollars spent to run programs, $3.3 million for fundraising events, and about $1.6 million for administrative expenses (Charity Navigator 10/28/2015). According to TU’s IRS Form 990 filed in 2014, the Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay program accounted for 80 percent of the yearly expenditures (IRS 2014). Less than 1 percent of revenues are granted to Christopher Wood, the current TU CEO and President, in the form of a $300,000 yearly salary (Charity Navigator 10/28/2015). As of 2014, The Trout Unlimited National Office reported its primary revenue to be growing at a rate of 5.1% (Charity Navigator