Tackling Fiscal Responsibility for the TRCP

posted in:

December 11, 2012

TRCP Financial Director Bob Hale makes sure that 82.2 percent of TRCP revenue goes to conservation programs.

It’s the end of the year, and a dozen holiday emails are likely waiting in your inbox.

This note is different.

I’m not going to try and pull your heartstrings or appeal to the policy experts out there. You’ve seen other posts like that already.

I’m the director of finance at the TRCP and I’ve got a different perspective on how we fulfill our mission. It’s my job to develop the annual budget, keep the organization fiscally responsible and run each year’s audit. As you have probably guessed, I’m a numbers guy.

My work here at the TRCP is vitally important. I want to share two of the TRCP’s accomplishments from the past year: The TRCP earned a spot in the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance and the GuideStar Seal of Accountability.

These two accolades show that the TRCP maintains the highest level of transparency and accountability among other businesses and non-profits. We know that in order to gain trust and remain effective, the TRCP must focus on providing relevant and reliable information to our stakeholders in a way that is free from bias, comparable, understandable and focused on stakeholders’ legitimate needs.

All of us here at the TRCP work together to cut down costs and establish our credibility as a transparent and accountable organization. By displaying the Better Business Bureau and GuideStar seals on our website, we hope to show the public that we are proactive in ensuring the highest levels of fiscal responsibility.

Overhead costs such as rent, computer network, admin salaries and benefits comprise 17.8 percent of the budget. That means that 82.2 percent of revenue goes to conservation programs directly related to our mission.

If you choose to donate to the TRCP, you can do so with the knowledge that your money will make a difference in helping us fulfill our mission of guaranteeing you a place to hunt and fish. I’ll make sure of it.

2 Responses to “Tackling Fiscal Responsibility for the TRCP”

BarryvilleCastNBlast December 12, 2012

All the more reason to support TRCP. Speaking of saving money, don’t overlook energy-conservation in the workplace!

December 12, 2012 at 7:04 pm

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mia sheppard December 13, 2012

Great work Bob, Thanks for sharing!

December 13, 2012 at 6:15 pm

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by: Annie Wilson

posted in:

December 4, 2012

Wednesday Win: T.R.ivia

Theodore Roosevelt is the only person to have won the Medal of Honor AND which other prestigious award?

Send your answer to info@trcp.org or submit it on the TRCP Facebook page by Friday morning for your chance to win a TRCP hat.

by: Guest

posted in:

Sportsmen: Too Early to Tell With Oil Shale

Oil shale is getting so much attention lately that it’s starting to feel like a cure-all pill for whatever ails us.

Need more energy? Have some oil shale.

Fiscal cliff got you down? How about a little oil shale?

The problem with this assessment is, fundamentally, we’re just not there yet. We have been hearing this same promise for decades. A viable commercial oil shale industry has yet to exist. And as we move forward, oil shale development needs to be done with considerable thought and caution.

Or so say the leaders from some of the nation’s most influential sportsmen’s groups, conservation organizations and scientific societies in a letter sent to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week.

“Research must precede any commercial leasing,” the letter states, “and that research must demonstrate that extraction technologies and mitigation options exist that will protect clean air and water, conserve fish and wildlife, and sustain the economies that depend on those resources.”

To be clear, we are not saying oil shale is bad – the problem is it’s too early to tell. There are significant concerns still associated with oil shale development – concerns like water supply, water quality and impacts to wildlife populations. They should not be taken lightly.

This is classic, “cart before the horse” type behavior – but it seems the BLM is working to right that situation. Its plan, released in early November, balances acres dedicated to oil shale research with protecting fish and wildlife habitat.

You can make a difference. Speak out on oil shale development today.

Here’s what sportsmen are saying: Go slow. Let’s do this right. Think clearly. Evaluate what we stand to gain against what we could lose. And if we get to a point where oil shale technology is viable and impacts are acceptable, then we can make decisions about when and where. But we’re not there just yet.

This post was written by Shauna Sherard, communications director at Trout Unlimited and was originally posted on the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development blog.

by: Annie Wilson

posted in:

November 28, 2012

Wednesday Win: Caption Contest

For this week’s “Wednesday Win” we’re holding a caption contest for the photo below. Leave a comment and we’ll pick our favorite on Friday, Nov. 30. The winner will receive a TRCP camo hat.

by: Vaughn Collins

posted in:

November 27, 2012

Congressional Bickering Leaves Sportsmen in the Lurch

We called the Sportsmen’s Act easy to love for a reason. Until yesterday it appeared that a large majority of lawmakers in Congress agreed.

The bill recognizes the broad economic and social impacts of conservation, improves access for sportsmen and supports habitat conservation. It integrates 17 separate bills, including the Making Public Lands Public Access Act, the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act and the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act. It also would reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Yet the Sportsmen’s Act failed to garner enough support from Senators last night to pass a procedural vote, and thus its prospects of success remain uncertain at best.

Until yesterday’s Senate vote, the Sportsmen’s Act had passed all legislative hurdles with widespread support from both political parties – a rarity in such a divisive political environment. But somehow, even after Americans expressed strong distaste for partisan politics, dysfunctional gridlock returned to Congress.

With their backs up against the so-called fiscal cliff, elected officials from both sides of the aisle locked antlers again. American sportsmen are paying the price.

Hunters and anglers are experiencing the fallout from congressional inaction as access dwindles, development diminishes opportunities for sportsmen and funding for conservation disappears.

More than 91 million U.S. residents fished, hunted or wildlife watched in 2011 – that is more 25 percent of the U.S. population. From big-game hunters in Wyoming to carp fishermen in suburban lakes and everyone in between, we are a force to be reckoned with. And we vote.

A diverse alliance of powerful groups ranging from the National Rifle Association to The Nature Conservancy has joined forces in support of the Sportsmen’s Act. Together, in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, we will continue to stand up for sportsmen.

The TRCP and our partners are working with congressional leaders and members of the sporting community to form partnerships on the Hill and in the field that will benefit our sporting traditions for current and future generations.

In the coming days and weeks we will be asking for your voice in this fight. Be ready.