TFT vs NWTF?

[donjuan]

I'll share my limited experience.

I have called my state NWTF biologist twice and the national office once to get help on habitat.  I never got a call back.

I called TFT and immediately had my habitat questions answered and they were very helpful.

I always go to a local NWTF banquet and it seems it has turned into a drunk fest and I really thought the last few years they would push habitat and predator management while so many people are in the room.  It's kind of disappointing to me.

[CALLM2U]

One can hope that NWTF will take this new found 'competition' and rise to the challenge for the good of the turkeys and sportsmen. 

I also hope they don't resort to the classic 'tearing one down to build another up.' 

There is room for both at the table.

[bbcoach]

I agree with Gooserbat as well.  If you are going to contribute to an organization, the first thing you need to do is LOOK at the percentage they payout in Admin fees (salaries etc).  Most organizations will have as high as 30 plus percent (30 cents on the dollar) paid out to senior executives and top level management (The Good Ole Boys).  IMO, look at an organization that has less than 10 percent, that is looking to improve something and not pad a few people's pockets.  1 Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

[Howieg]

One can hope that NWTF will take this new found 'competition' and rise to the challenge for the good of the turkeys and sportsmen. 

I also hope they don't resort to the classic 'tearing one down to build another up.' 

There is room for both at the table.

I agree,,, but I can tell you that it's a100% fact that some of the hi ups at Nwtf are not happy with the Tft surge .

[eggshell]

IMO, look at an organization that has less than 10 percent, that is looking to improve something and not pad a few people's pockets.

I agree, somewhat. As administrative Chairman and fund manager for a non profit group, my salary is $0.00 and none of the officers are paid. We pay an administrative fee of around 4% for a clerical person's cost and accountant fees. Although, I think less than 10% is a pretty slim margin in today's economy. I do not begrudge officers getting fair salaries, they earn them. When your managing a national program and 40 Million dollars, you deserve to be paid accordingly. Someone like me can do it for free as all I manage is bread crumbs in comparison, but we all need to be accountable to our base.

The reported administrative cost for NWTF is 12.7%. You can find a report card on them here....https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/570564993

It is not their financial management I take as much issue with as their program spending. It seems they have went away from research and habitat, but that's just my perspective. They actually get high grades from all the watchdogs.

[mikejd]

Both good organizations. Any organization that does anything for the turkey is money well spent.
For the small amount it costs to be a member of these organizations I say support both.

[dzsmith]

There's an old saying I've heard; all cute puppies grow up to be dogs, some hunt and some only eat and poop. Time answers the question.

I was turkey hunting when NWTF was founded. I also worked for our Division of Wildlife, and I was good friends with some high level NWTF people. In the early years NWTF poured millions into making turkey hunting both better and worse. Here in Ohio they contributed to the purchase of a lot of public land and they bought lots of equipment. My crew assisted with turkey trapping and transplanting (although I was in fisheries). I fully supported the NWTF. I don't know what changed or just when, but the time came all I seen was money grubbing and little coming back to  the resource. What was being spent was spent on education and creating more hunters (donors). I blame them for the boom of hunters in the late 80s and 90s. They made turkey hunting cool, and I'll leave whether that was good or bad up to individual opinion. During this time I personally knew of high paid fund raisers that where "puttin on the show" and living big. This is why I dropped the NWTF.
TFT, is way too young to determine what they will be. They are cute puppies right now, we'll see if they hunt later. Yet, a puppie needs to eat to get to that stage, so I say feed it until we see if it hunts.

The TFT based on who they have chosen to associate with is already in the same category of "creating more hunters".....and im not bashing them for that because in all fairness pandoras box has been opened for along time reguarding that. However that is something i would like to see conservation organizations shy away from....call it selfish, thats fine. We will all be wishing we had been selfish in about 40 years i imagine.

[TurkeysForTomorrow]

Can someone explain some of the differences to me as far as TFT vs NWTF?

Obviously I know that NWTF has been around for a long time and from my research, they've had a lot of organizational changes over the years. Some people love it, some people have seemed to walk away from it. But the reason I ask is because I'm seeing TFT everywhere

Thank you for the kind words, if you're seeing us everywhere we are doing our job!  We have read each of the responses and want to preface this response by saying we are beginning our third year as an organization on February 22, 2023 so we understand we are young, but we hope to make it clear we are here to stay.  We have some of the best supporters and volunteer board members of any organization. At TFT, we strive to educate the hunting public and private landowners on how to make more turkeys, the supporters like yourself allow us to conduct and fund this research so we always plan to keep updates flowing. This is evident by our outreach events for landowners and the wild turkey science podcast which we just launched earlier this spring. We want to fund research that is shared with the public and communicated among our membership.  Good communication and good science are two of our largest organizational goals. We hope each of you will realize the sheer amount of good we have been able to accomplish with very little dollars. It has been tough getting support as many would rather stand on the sidelines to see if we do right by the wild turkey and turkey hunting public. We are committed to prove a worthy organization and hope that many of you will dive in and engage.  The turkey needs strong support today. 

Lastly, I'd like to make it clear, Turkeys For Tomorrow is a collection of motivated turkey hunters determined to not sit idle while concerns about our beloved resource build. TFT is not only an organization that is dedicated to saving the wild turkey, it is one that promotes conservation, ethical hunting, and the mentoring of future hunters of tomorrow. Through collaborative work with various state wildlife agencies, private landowners, and other non-profit organizations, TFT hopes to provide sound and effective solutions to current problems the wild turkey faces. TFT will always put the wild turkey at the forefront of the organization.

The NWTF and TFT are separate organizations with similar goals; making more turkeys and improving habitats for turkeys to thrive. But as with any 2 entities, we may go about the process a bit differently- it's actually inevitable. We have different people making decisions. Think about the old adage "there's more than one way to skin a cat".  While both organizations have already shown to work cohesively in funding common ground projects, there may be areas where each organization may feel the need to focus more attention separately.  In other words, while one may be paddling the boat the other may be erecting a sail- the end result is the vessel moving forward at a quicker pace ensuring we all enjoy the wild turkey for many tomorrows to come!  We encourage all of you to contact us directly and join TFT.  We want to increase our footprint with local chapters led by individuals wanting to make a difference today. That being said the first 10 TFT chapters launched this winter and we can't wait to have each and every one of you at those events.

As mentioned in an earlier comment we have all waited for dawn at broken down gates, ripped clothing and crawled on our knees as we cut and run trying to strike a bird in sub par habitats and stood in overgrown wildlife openings. Why?  TFT is here to demand better and bring all parties to the table to accomplish that goal. America's greatest game bird needs all the support we can muster, thank you all for the kind words...and we promise this dog will hunt!

[Wigsplitter]

With that response from TFT I rest my case - they are listening and watching- waiting to help anyone who ask - even as simple as responding to a forum ( which tells you they want to know what turkey hunters think ) - keep up the good work TFT you have my full support!!

[TurkeysForTomorrow]

We watch this forum very closely and usually check in weekly. We are very appreciative of the OG - Shannon for letting us participate and donating ad space for our org. Thank you for the support Wigsplitter!

[aclawrence]

I would love to go to a turkey hunting banquet that actually talks about turkey hunting or anything turkey related.  Not a boozed filled auction with skimpy dressed women. Let's get something going in North Alabama.

[dzsmith]

I would love to go to a turkey hunting banquet that actually talks about turkey hunting or anything turkey related.  Not a boozed filled auction with skimpy dressed women. Let's get something going in North Alabama.

took the words out my mouth, i think its what many want. i would certainly love to see that.

[TurkeysForTomorrow]

I would love to go to a turkey hunting banquet that actually talks about turkey hunting or anything turkey related.  Not a boozed filled auction with skimpy dressed women. Let's get something going in North Alabama.

Currently there are 10 TFT Chapters across the country. The event schedule for spring 2023 is:

1. ENTERPRISE, AL | 24-Feb-23

2. SAPULPA, OK | 11-Mar-23

3. AUBURN, AL | 16-Mar-23

4. PRATTVILLE, AL | 23-Mar-23

5. LAGRANGE, GA | 31-Mar-23

6. IOWA CITY, IA | 8-Apr-23

7. EAST FELICIANA, LA | TBD

8. VOLUSIA, FL | TBD

9. REEDS SPRING, MO | 23-June-23 & 24-June-23 (TFT Landowner Education Weekend at  GrowingDeer TV)

Events in North Carolina and Ohio are in the planning stage and will likely happen in June directly following turkey season.

[GobbleNut]

As administrative Chairman and fund manager for a non profit group, my salary is $0.00 and none of the officers are paid. We pay an administrative fee of around 4% for a clerical person's cost and accountant fees. Although, I think less than 10% is a pretty slim margin in today's economy. I do not begrudge officers getting fair salaries, they earn them. When your managing a national program and 40 Million dollars, you deserve to be paid accordingly. Someone like me can do it for free as all I manage is bread crumbs in comparison, but we all need to be accountable to our base.

It is not their financial management I take as much issue with as their program spending. It seems they have went away from research and habitat, but that's just my perspective. They actually get high grades from all the watchdogs.

Personally, I look at non-profit organizations from a different angle and especially when those organizations are formed by supposedly concerned "partakers" in the resource that those organizations are formed around.  Talking specifically about NWTF (although my outlook applies to many such organizations), the fact is that NWTF is supported by volunteers who give up their money and their time to support a group that is supposed to be working to help the resource. 

While I agree that the leadership of such organizations should be paid enough to support their families comfortably, I disagree that those folks should be paid exorbitantly,...which is exactly what happened within the NWTF.  Paying several hundred thousand dollars a year to people who are supported by a base of folks that most likely make one tenth of that is, again in my opinion, outrageous.

That base of volunteers is sacrificing money and time that they are getting nothing in return for financially.  The leadership of these non-profits should be willing to do their part by recognizing that,...and in turn, paying themselves accordingly with comfortable, but reasonable, salaries. 

Over three decades, I personally donated tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of my volunteer time in supporting the MISSION of the NWTF.  That mission did not include making folks rich off of my contributions!  If I am going to sacrifice my money and time for a cause, I expect the same from everybody involved,...and to me that means the leadership has to put every spare cent into the mission, not into their pockets!  If that means those that end up leading the organization are not quite as qualified or "good" at it as the big shots that want to be paid like they are running a for-profit company, then so be it! 

Rant over.... 

[guesswho]

I remember when you were on the other side of the fence.  We would occasionally talk while leaning on the fence.   Then one day I noticed you had climbed up on the fence to sit down during the  occasional N"WTF" conversation.   Now when I see these conversations it seems you have fallen off the fence and we are leaning on the same side most of the time, that's scary .