NWTF vs others

[Timmer]

Here's my take, and that's all it is, my opinion. I used to be a member of the NWTF, DU, etc. They all start out good, but money corrupts.

There are probably bad apples in every bunch, but I think to a degree it is a result of being a larger business.  A lot of money goes to infrastructure, marketing, administration, etc just to keep the wheels turning.  From a culture perspective, there are more layers of management and far more internal politics.  I work for a business consulting firm and I can tell you unquestionably that the larger the organization gets, the more it takes the leaders further away from their customers and mission. 

I was a committee member and officer for many years.  I did feel we were largely disconnected from the head organization.  We did a lot of volunteer work and raised a whole bunch of money for them with little to no recognition or benefit in return.  I did get a NWTF ball cap every couple of years  .  There were funds that went to projects we pursued, so I considered that the payment for our efforts. 

[nativeks]

I still donate to the NWTF. In fact I have a sponsor membership. I also support Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, and Quail Forever.

[GobbleNut]

I just read another thread that has me second guessing my membership renewal in the NWTF. Are there better organizations out there that do more for your money. Turkeys for Tomorrow looks pretty good.

The verdict is still out on how well Turkeys For Tomorrow will perform in representing what many of us are expecting from them...which is to put maximum dollars and effort into restoring our turkey populations.  Assuming that is their goal,...which it appears it may be based on everything we are seeing so far,..then all of us need to jump on board the ship. 

My take on NWTF is that the organization has lost its focus on what "Average Joe Turkey Hunter" wants to see from it,..at least those of us from the original base of members from three or four decades ago.  NWTF has become more of a "social club" with maximum effort towards increasing membership and funding base rather than expending that effort on actually doing direct work to help wild turkeys. 

That is not to say that NWTF is not a valid organization to join up and support.  There are definitely benefits in numbers, as well as that "social networking" that is available through that membership.  For me personally, too much of the NWTF efforts over the last couple of decades just have not been directed to things that I believe they should have been focused on,...things that they were focused on when I joined up back in 1975. 

As such, I have most recently been a critic here when these discussions invariably come up, but other folks obviously have a different perspective and their opinions are as valid as any others expressed here.     

[RutnNStrutn]

I can tell you unquestionably that the larger the organization gets, the more it takes the leaders further away from their customers and mission.   

Absolutely!!



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[Old Gobbler]

Not complainer by any form , I would consider myself very pro NWTF , pro DU , pro Delta waterfowl

With that said , it takes money to run a lemonade stand , and it takes lots and lots of money to run a huge lobbing outfit like NRA ...would you believe there are pro gun enthusiasts not happy with NRA ? Why yes there is countless mini groups out there thinking they can do better , good luck to them -  I'm willing to bet they don't have a lobbyist who has a senator or congressman's cell number or write a fat campaign check to pay for add space on prime time cable add space

It takes money and lots and lots of it to make it happen ..NWTF adopted the DU style banquet model decades ago , it is what generates the funds ... And research projects and grants don't get funded like putting your tooth under a pillow and waiting till the morning sun rises to see what beholds 

Any organization wort it's salt is going to be open for constructive criticism, that's actually hard to swallow sometimes

Grassroots field research programs and projects should continue to be the primary focus ..and generating the funding is the problem, it takes money guys

[Shoregobbler]

Well said Old Gobbler.

[TurkeysForTomorrow]

I just read another thread that has me second guessing my membership renewal in the NWTF. Are there better organizations out there that do more for your money. Turkeys for Tomorrow looks pretty good.

The verdict is still out on how well Turkeys For Tomorrow will perform in representing what many of us are expecting from them...which is to put maximum dollars and effort into restoring our turkey populations.  Assuming that is their goal,...which it appears it may be based on everything we are seeing so far,..then all of us need to jump on board the ship. 

My take on NWTF is that the organization has lost its focus on what "Average Joe Turkey Hunter" wants to see from it,..at least those of us from the original base of members from three or four decades ago.  NWTF has become more of a "social club" with maximum effort towards increasing membership and funding base rather than expending that effort on actually doing direct work to help wild turkeys. 

That is not to say that NWTF is not a valid organization to join up and support.  There are definitely benefits in numbers, as well as that "social networking" that is available through that membership.  For me personally, too much of the NWTF efforts over the last couple of decades just have not been directed to things that I believe they should have been focused on,...things that they were focused on when I joined up back in 1975. 

As such, I have most recently been a critic here when these discussions invariably come up, but other folks obviously have a different perspective and their opinions are as valid as any others expressed here. 

It is very humbling to look at the comments on this forum and see Turkeys For Tomorrow mentioned in the conversation, NWTF vs Other organizations. That goes to show how much we have grown in just a short time since being granted official nonprofit status in February 2021. However, we can assure you that it's not TFT vs any organization. To clarify from an earlier reply, Our mission statement is:

We promote America's hunting traditions, conservation, and education through the timeless collaboration of hunters and wildlife professionals to ensure we all have TURKEYS FOR TOMORROW.

To simplify that it's TFT vs the declines seen in turkey populations across the country... that is the battle we are up against and thankfully we have many great partners, members and organizations that are on our team. If you have joined us as a member we thank you and encourage the rest of you to do so. If you're wondering what TFT is doing or what we are about, we urge you to visit our website, turkeysfortomorrow.org and follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) if you have them. Our organization is approaching 18 months old and to date we are funding, along with our sponsors and supporters, 6 research projects in three states (AL, MS, & KY). Our goal from the beginning was to fund research in 5 states in 5 years and we think we will have that accomplished before we hit our two year anniversary. That is all thanks to your support, the state agencies, and partners who have welcomed us onto the scene. We understand that turkey research is not the end all, be all, and we plan on implementing solutions based off of the research. However, finding out what is going on with our turkeys is the most important problem we face currently, when we find solutions we will full heartily jump on board and fund the solutions as they present themselves. Please help us help the wild turkeys and if you want to further learn about TFT, we urge each of you to pickup the phone and contact us at 434-547-4367. We would love to talk turkeys and help each one of you better understand the TFT goal. We are running lean as possible so that we can best direct funding to the wild turkey. We have one full time employee, who worked as a volunteer for 13 months while we got our legs underneath us, and hope everyone will understand we do not have the manpower our big brother has to pump out the e-blasts and social posts.  But, we do have a dedicated board and employee who have the wild turkey as their number one priority. As we grow we hope we will be able to help the turkeys and keep our members happy, we rely so much on each and every one of you to support us, so we hope to keep all of you, the turkey hunting public satisfied and engaged. #forturkeys

[sixbird]

Love that!!!
Looking into membership!
That said, to the general audience, the NWTF does yeoman's work, a lot of it behind the scenes.
Right now, they're coordinating with state agencies to study turkey declines. Sometimes these agencies are agonizing to work with. Slow, recalcitrant and, well, they're government employees...
NWTF is a huge organization and it can sometimes seem unwieldily but the heart of the agency is with the wild turkey.
One of my dear friends is a state chapter pres. There's not a man walking that's more dedicated to wild turkeys than him. He represents the NWTF to me and he's not alone.
Maybe some of the criticism is deserved but don't throw out the good in search of the perfect.


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[dzsmith]

I've been a member of NWTF for years. I joined TFT last year. I got a window sticker in the mail from them. That's the last I heard anything from them until they joined on here recently. The other day I finally got an email from them.

They're going to need to step up their communication with their members if they're going to stay afloat. I will probably renew with them one more year but if it doesn't improve......

I totally agree...i joined last year. went to rejoin this year....and was having some issues. impossible to get in contact with. They are busy as we all are i suppose, but i prefer to keep a membership going verses creating a completely new one year after year.

[sixbird]

I've been a member of NWTF for years. I joined TFT last year. I got a window sticker in the mail from them. That's the last I heard anything from them until they joined on here recently. The other day I finally got an email from them.

They're going to need to step up their communication with their members if they're going to stay afloat. I will probably renew with them one more year but if it doesn't improve......

I totally agree...i joined last year. went to rejoin this year....and was having some issues. impossible to get in contact with. They are busy as we all are i suppose, but i prefer to keep a membership going verses creating a completely new one year after year.

That's odd, not disputing you, but I've never had that issue.
I DO know that there have been some issues (temporary) with banquet registry. Maybe those issues are organization wide.
I guess what it comes down to for me is, what the organization has done for turkeys and habitat.
I have a difficult time with the idea that people would abandon the organization because they don't communicate with them individually. They've done so much for the wild turkey and they're on the cusp of finding out, through funded research, why turkeys are declining nation wide.
Why would you abandon them at this critical juncture? ?

[Jim K]

Sixbird, I'm talking TFT not the NWTF. After I joined TFT I received a window sticker in the mail and never heard anything from them for a year until recently on here. I don't know about you but if I give an organization my money, I'd like to know what's going on.

I did get an email the other week from them about joining. I will probably join again as I'm all for helping the turkeys we all love and I know there are growing pains in a new organization. I wish them the best!

[nativeks]

Sitting here at my local chapter nwtf banquet. More people than I have seen in years including precovid.

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