Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Wildtrack Inc

EIN 68-0681539 · Durham, NC

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceStrong91 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

WildTracks mission is to protect endangered species using a unique combination of advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence and traditional ecological knowledge.

Income
$487,316
Spending
$230,262
Spent on programs
85%
Reserves
14.3 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 56%
Employees
1
Volunteers
47
Highest pay
$73,901, president

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 82% of charities in its peer group (animals, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 14.3 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 53% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 104% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    85% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (animals, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    5 of 7 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 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)
  1. $150,255 spent. WildTracks Professional Wildlife Management program advances non-invasive wildlife monitoring, biodiversity assessment, and conservation technology through footprint identification, machine learning, and field-based research. A central focus in 2025 was WildTracks collaborative security and conservation initiative in Botswana, conducted in active partnership with the U.S. Army and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). This initiative applies AI-powered footprint identification technology and traditional ecological knowledge to strengthen both human and wildlife security in one of Africas most ecologically significant regions. The work directly addresses the illegal trade in endangered species a recognized threat to national and regional security, with wildlife trafficking increasingly identified as a source of financing for transnational criminal organizations and armed groups. (continued on Schedule O)
  2. $45,039 spent. WildTracks ConservationFIT program promotes community-based conservation by integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), education, and conservation technology. During 2025, the program engaged local trackers, biologists, students, military personnel, and community partners in South Africa and Botswana through training, field research, and collaborative conservation projects. WildTrack also enhanced its digital platform to support data collection, communication, and knowledge-sharing among participants, strengthening local capacity and community involvement in wildlife conservation. (continued on Schedule O)
  3. Form 990, Part III, Line 4a (continued): By providing military and conservation partners with robust, field-deployable species monitoring tools, WildTracks program supports front-line anti-poaching operations while building lasting capacity across security agencies. Program activities contributed to multiple peer-reviewed scientific publications during the year. During 2025, WildTrack also completed a proof-of-concept biodiversity metric based on small mammal tracks, achieving greater than 90% species identification accuracy across multiple species groups. The organization also enhanced its machine learning data platform to improve data collection, review, and analysis capabilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Form 990, Part III, Line 4b (continued):The ConservationFIT program additionally advances critical military and national security research objectives. Through a grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), WildTrack is investigating how the refined perceptual and pattern-recognition skills of expert human trackers can be used to improve and accelerate the training of AI models, which is directly aligned with AFOSRs stated priority of developing brain-inspired and human-informed machine learning algorithms that advance the state of the art in artificial intelligence. This research addresses a recognized U.S. government imperative: harnessing human expertise to build more robust, adaptive AI systems capable of performing in complex, data-sparse environments, a capability with broad applications across defense, intelligence, and conservation contexts.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since September 2011.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.