Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
Black Hills Parks and Forests Association (BHPFA) is a non-profit cooperating partner with the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Our mission is to support wonder and exploration through steward ship of your public lands. BHPFA supports our public land partners with their interpretive, educational, and research programs that protect and preserve the cultural and natural resources of the Black Hills, Western Nebraska, and surrounding areas. This is accomplished by operating sales outlets in public land locations throughout South Dakota, Wyoming, and Western Nebraska. Purchases from these sites expand the visitor experience beyond park and forest borders and supports interpretive, research, and education programming for our partner agencies. In addition to assisting our partners, BHPFA's secondary mission is committed to creating lifelong learning opportunities for all through our membership and education programs.
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association at a glance
In short: Black Hills Parks & Forests Association gave $152K across 2 grants in 2025 (avg $76K). Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $152,147
- +27.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 2
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $76,074
- +27.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $76,074
- Total assets
- $1,865,558
- +18.2% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated November 2026.
Who Black Hills Parks & Forests Association funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 2 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Dept of Interior NPS ($147K). Together the top 2 received $152K.
Grant Size Distribution
8 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 4 grants of 8 (50%).
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $105K (2021) to $152K (2025). In 2025 it made 2 grants totaling $152K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Dept of Interior NPS | Support National Park Service | $146,857 |
| Usda | Support the National Forest Service | $5,290 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,865,558 | $959,392 | $1,239,088 | $152,147 | 2 | $28,476 |
| 2024 | $1,577,967 | $787,261 | $966,620 | $119,712 | 2 | $24,665 |
| 2023 | $1,647,128 | $905,352 | $860,772 | $141,901 | 2 | $12,967 |
| 2022 | $1,534,998 | $998,252 | $803,771 | — | — | $-43,060 |
| 2021 | $1,297,503 | $1,196,335 | $535,617 | $104,524 | 2 | $20,619 |
| 2020 | $644,582 | $208,781 | $351,280 | — | — | $1,132 |
| 2019 | $744,371 | $483,396 | $471,749 | — | — | $4,281 |
About Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
Based on IRS filings
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association is a public charity focused on Recreation & Sports, based in Hot Springs, SD. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $1.9M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 2 grants totaling $152K. Net investment income was $28K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association is led by Patty Ressler, Executive Director since 2023 (on filings since 2019); 1 of 10 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Patty Ressler
Executive Director
Executive Director → Executive Di, 2021
Executive Di → Executive Director, 2023
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$63K (2019) → $102K (2025)
Jamie Ladenburger
President
Vice President → President, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Julie Brazell
Secretary
Secretary → Secretarty, 2023
Secretarty → Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Fowler
Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andrea Serna
Treasurer
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Barb McCartney
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kyla Wright
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Mertz
Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Wedge
Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Victoria Rosie Sprague
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (11)
- Former: Joanne Sutton (2019–2024) — Member
- Former: Lynn Kolund (2019–2023) — Member
- Former: Mary Laycock (2019–2023) — President
- Former: Dale Anderson (2019–2022) — Member
- Former: Rick Hudson (2019–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Jaima Knutson-Colson (2020–2022) — Member
- Former: Chris McCart (2022) — Vice President
- Former: Bob Preuss (2019–2021) — Vice President
- Former: Chris Mc Cart (2020–2021) — Member
- Former: Cheyenne Mc Griff (2019) — Member
- Former: Colleen Hennessy (2019) — Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $102K, to Patty Ressler (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
How much does Black Hills Parks & Forests Association give each year?
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association gave $152K across 2 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $120K across 2 grants.
How large is Black Hills Parks & Forests Association?
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association reported $1.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $959K.
What is Black Hills Parks & Forests Association?
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association is a public charity focused on Recreation & Sports, based in Hot Springs, SD. It holds $1.9M in total assets as of 2025.
What is Black Hills Parks & Forests Association's EIN?
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-6017180. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated November 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 29, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 8, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 3, 2026)
Live grants for the work Black Hills Parks & Forests Association funds
Recreation & Sports Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Black Hills Parks & Forests Association's focus areas in our free grants database
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