Wilderness Society Action Fund logo

Wilderness Society Action Fund

501(c)(4) organization Washington, DC EIN: 82-1742996 Website

The Wilderness Society Action Fund works with partners and lawmakers to influence policy related to public lands. This includes public lands' role as part of the climate solution, their importance in addressing the extinction crisis and the importance of all people being to enjoy their benefits.

Wilderness Society Action Fund at a glance

In short: Wilderness Society Action Fund gave $58K across 5 grants in 2025 (avg $12K), top state Montana. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

Annual giving (2025)
$57,500
+7.5% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
5
+25.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$11,500
-14.0% vs 2024
Median grant
$7,500
Total assets
$1,308,984
-10.2% vs 2024
Primary geography
Montana (43% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.

Who Wilderness Society Action Fund funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 5 recipients in 2025

American Hunters & Anglers Action Network: $25KAmerican Hunters & AnglersAction Network$25KAlaska Wilderness League: $13KAlaska Wilderness League$13KThe Semilla Project: $8KThe Semilla Project$8KCoalition to Protect America's National Parks: $7KCoalition to Protect America'sNational Parks$7KEarthjustice: $6KEarthjustice$6K

The largest 2025 recipient was American Hunters & Anglers Action Network ($25K). Together the top 5 received $58K.

Grant Size Distribution

21 grants across all recorded years

21<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 21 grants of 21 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

11states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 5 itemized grants.

Cities

WashingtonBillingsAlbuquerqueHelenaAlbequerqueBozemanCarbondaleCharlestonELYEnterpriseLas CrucesMinneapolisPortlandRestonSan FranciscoSeattleStillwater

How Wilderness Society Action Fund gives

  • Giving fell 26% from 2022 to 2025. Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K1 grant2019 6 grants2020 4 grants2021 4 grants2022 4 grants2023 4 grants2024 5 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $10K (2019) to $230K (2020). In 2025 it made 5 grants totaling $58K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
American Hunters & Anglers Action Network Billings, MTConservation Projects$25,000
Alaska Wilderness League Washington, DCConservation Projects$12,500
The Semilla Project Albuquerque, NMConservation Projects$7,500
Coalition to Protect America's National Parks Washington, DCConservation Projects$6,500
Earthjustice San Francisco, CAConservation Projects$6,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsNet Investment Income
2025$1,308,984$1,441,502$1,523,521$57,5005—
2024$1,457,160$1,225,182$1,223,883$53,5004$9,760
2023$1,425,681$1,492,560$1,308,505$54,5084$16,962
2022$1,360,296$935,426$1,126,914$77,5004$2,621
2021$1,633,877$1,543,185$1,845,755$76,7504$1,777
2020$1,980,760$1,693,213$1,806,054$230,0006$14,115
2019$1,724,605$1,310,658$505,951$10,0001$41

About Wilderness Society Action Fund

Based on IRS filings

Wilderness Society Action Fund is a public charity, based in Washington, DC. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $1.3M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 5 grants totaling $58K.

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Wilderness Society Action Fund is led by Jamie Williams, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 16 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Jamie Williams

    President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Maria Handley

    Executive Director

    On filings since 2023

    30 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tracy Stone-Manning

    President

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Michael Mantell

    Chair

    Director → Chair, 2023

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Carl Ferenbach III

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tom Barron

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Greg Avis

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jacqueline Mars

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Charles E. Frank

    Director

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Brendon Cechovic

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Diane Parrish

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jim Messina

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Juan Martinez

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Deborah Liu

    Vice President & General Counsel

    Vice President & General C → Vice President & General Counsel, 2020

    On filings since 2019

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • David Seabrook

    COO

    Executive Vice President → Executive Vice President & Interim President, 2024

    Executive Vice President & Interim President → COO, 2025

    On filings since 2020

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Diane Webb

    Secretary & General Counsel

    On filings since 2024

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (4)
  • Former: Molly McUsic (2019–2024) — Director
  • Former: Katharine L. Thomas (2021–2022) — Executive Director
  • Former: Scott Nathan (2019–2021) — Director
  • Former: Thomas F. Tepper Jr. (2019) — Vice President of Finance

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.

Frequently asked questions about Wilderness Society Action Fund

How much does Wilderness Society Action Fund give each year?

Wilderness Society Action Fund gave $58K across 5 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $54K across 4 grants.

What is Wilderness Society Action Fund's typical grant size?

Wilderness Society Action Fund's median grant in 2025 was $7,500, and its average grant was $11,500, across 5 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.

Where does Wilderness Society Action Fund give grants?

Wilderness Society Action Fund's top state is Montana, with 43% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were District of Columbia (33%) and New Mexico (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (2 grants).

Does Wilderness Society Action Fund give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 5 grants with a stated purpose on Wilderness Society Action Fund's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Conservation Projects" (5 grants).

Who are Wilderness Society Action Fund's largest grantees?

Wilderness Society Action Fund's largest 2025 grantees include American Hunters & Anglers Action Network ($25,000), Alaska Wilderness League ($12,500) and The Semilla Project ($7,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 78% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Wilderness Society Action Fund?

Wilderness Society Action Fund reported $1.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.4M.

What is Wilderness Society Action Fund's EIN?

Wilderness Society Action Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-1742996. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

Data update history

(4)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 20, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS July 19, 2021)
  3. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 14, 2026)
  4. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Wilderness Society Action Fund's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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