Audubon Society of New Hampshire
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Our mission is to protect New Hampshire's natural environment for wildlife and people. We accomplish this by: 1) Environmental Education, 2) Conservation Science, 3) Environmental Policy and 4) Land Management and Stewardship.We fulfill this mission by setting and achieving annual goals in environmental education, conservation science, environmental policy and land management on our wildlife sanctuaries throughout New Hampshire.Our science research informs our statewide education programs in grades K to 12 in NH public and private schools and for people of all ages at our centers and sanctuaries. We publish our research for the benefit of our members, both New Hampshire state and federal agencies, other environmental nonprofit partners and the general public to increase awareness of the importance of bird and other wildlife in New Hampshire.
- Income
- $3.8 million
- Spending
- $3.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 60%
- Reserves
- -32.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 75%
- Employees
- 65
- Volunteers
- 652
- Highest pay
- $132,821, president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 53 out of 100. Higher than 16% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 4% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 20% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1560% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 42% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2516 of 16 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $337,831 spent. NH Audubon operates three nature centers: McLane (Concord), Massabesic (Auburn), and Paradise Point (Hebron). These centers serve as the focal points for the majority of our environmental education and outreach programming. Visitors can experience a variety of interactive nature displays along with live animal exhibits. These experiences are aimed at increasing awareness and understanding about New Hampshire's flora and fauna while highlighting the role humans play in protecting them. Surrounding the Centers are walking trails for the public to enjoy.Our Nature Centers host a wide variety of onsite educational programming that includes preschool classes, home school classes, both guided and self-guided nature walks, professional development opportunities for K-through-12 teachers, and educational lectures. Our programming annually reaches over 40,000 adults and children.As part of NH Audubon's outreach, each Center offers offsite programming to schools, camps, and other organizations throughout the state, often which use live animals including raptors, amphibians, and reptiles. Our naturalists deliver over 650 school programs each year, facilitating over 21,000 student experiences.Our school programs are aligned with the current New Hampshire state science frameworks, which augment traditional classroom instruction by providing hands-on experimental and experiential learning opportunities. Additionally, the MacLane and Massabesic Centers operate nature-based school vacation and summer camps, which annually host over 300 children ranging from 4 to 15 years of age.
- $899,740 spent. NH Audubon owns and manages a variety of properties that help preserve and protect the natural beauty, health, and habitat of its community. The Organization's sanctuaries protect several unique natural communities that include rare plants, birds, mammals, pollinators and other threatened natural wildlife. NH Audubon's land stewardship covers every county in New Hampshire, with habitats ranging from northern peat bogs to coastal salt marshes, and from high elevation spruce forests to Appalachian oak-hickory forests, with much more in between.For example, the Organization works to protect:- 39 separate wildlife sanctuaries, which amount to nearly 7,500 acres of protected land; - 4 properties that are maintained under a Memoranda of Understanding which dictates that, of these lands, at least 1,250 acres is to be monitored and managed for their conservation and environmental values-An additional 29 land easements across nearly 2,500 acres. In 31 of these properties, there are trail systems totaling 75 miles of maintained trails. Many sanctuaries are heavily visited for environmental education and low impact recreational uses. In particular, Pondicherry, Ponemah Bog, Massabesic, Silk Farm, Paradise Point, and Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuaries are visited annually by more than 20,000 individuals.
- $577,281 spent. NH Audubon is active in conservation science and environmental policy issues. Our conservation science work includes research, monitoring, and management of New Hampshire's wildlife, with a particular focus species of concern. While many of our projects do focus on birds, our work goes well beyond avian species. For example, recent studies performed or supported by NH Audubon have included bats, dragonflies, butterflies, and turtles. We are active in helping to implement the exciting MOTUS tracking system, with our partners in the northeast, which provides a system to monitor migration patterns for a variety of aerial wildlife, ranging from birds to bats to butterflies along with other wildlife species.We also engage a large cadre of citizen scientists in our work. Approximately 1,783 volunteers contribute over 11,600 hours annually.NH Audubon's advocacy work promotes science-based public policy at national, state, and local levels. An environmental policy and advocacy team composed of both staff and volunteers determines our positions on proposed legislation and delivers testimony at hearings. Staff members represent the organization in various state policy working groups and technical committees, and they also participate in state and regional coalitions. NH Audubon collaborates with other nonprofit organizations, state and local agencies, academic institutions, municipalities, and businesses to advance conservation causes. We respect our collaborators' perspectives while advocating the best possible environmental outcomes.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending March 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 1944.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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