I am a PF member and do see a lot of good that they do but lately I have been questioning a few things #1 being, who is funding that Rooster Road Trip show, and why? I have a hard time feeling good about my donation going to pay someone to go across the country to all the top bird states, video it, then rub it in my face that I have to work to pay for his vaction!!!! Hopefully I am wrong and the money comes from elsewhere!!!
Pheasants Forever Closes Denver Chapter
- Thread starter PairOfLabs
- Start date
berettadouble
Member
I'll be watching this closely as my renewal comes up. Crap like this is why I no longer support DU...
I venture to say the opposite. The special yearly event does a great job highlighting different opportunities that some may never know or experience. Take Montana for example. When thinking of pheasant hunting you think SD or Iowa correct? The hunting in Montana has spiked tremendously with recent exposure.
I am not saying that the RRT episode did this, but definitely opened peoples eyes to more opportunities than just South Dakota. Same with Kansas - the numbers of both quail and pheasants in that state are outstanding.
PheasantWhisperer
Member
Very good friend of mine says that they get outside sponsors to fund the show. He films for shows like The Crush, Bone Collector, (until Wadell and Womack split up), and has made a good living for himself doing it. Just like any other show sponsors fit the bill. The gun, ammo, clothing companies fund the trips and pay the camera men, flights, gas, etc. The people on the show don't actually get paid until a network purchases the show and all sponsors agree to pay for the tv advertising and what not. Then the producers (hunters) get paid. Apparently Pheasants Forever is in charge of getting the sponsors. My question is that he doesn't know is when the hunters and producers get paid, where does all that money go? I agree they should get paid for their time put in, but where does the rest go? Im sure Pheasants Forever takes a cut. What is that cut and where does it go?
True, but that's not what I feel the PF program is for! In my eyes they are a conservation program standing for wildlife habitat and doing what they can to provide the birds with places to live/nest! Not educate the public on where to hunt pheasants?? I believe all the funds should go to land habitat enhancement, fighting the government for wildlife habitat protection, and research needed to do the best with what little habitat we do have!
1pheas4
Moderator
This is a great way to promote pheasant hunting. More hunters visit a state, more habitat revenue is raised. This in-turn can promote more habitat/habitat improvments. More habitat, more pheasants. More pheasants, more hunters. More hunters, more money. You get the point.
Knowing Pheasants Forever, the Rooster-Road-Trip is a bare minimum expense to National Pheasants Forever. It may even be sponsored/paid for by the states they visit in order to promote pheasant hunting/habitat within those states. Eitherway, it's a good move to promote our cause and get others involved.
Keep in mind, we are talking about an organization that conducts meetings/training courses for it's team members at old boy scout lodges, not the four seasons.
Pheasants Forever is a outstanding example of how a not-for-profit organization should be run. Howard Vincent is an outstanding, hard working human being. Their team members are second to non. Hard working penny-pinching individuals who watch every dollar spent.
Don't confuse locally raised Pheasant Forever funds with National Funds. The Rooster-Road-Trip is made possible through National Pheasants Forever not local Pheasants Forever banquet funds. A basic membership is $35. This includes a kick-@$$ magazine. The magazine raises funds through advertising/sponsors/donations. The more members, the more money that can be generated through sponsors.
Please don't let this localized incident block your support of such a can-and-will do organization. Those folks work very hard to keep things as clean as possible.
Also, Know that once the issue in Denver is settled (and it will be settled) the funds will return to the chapter and things will once again move forward.
Please, please, please, please!!! Continue to give Pheasants Forever your support folks. This is a great organization that has worked and will continue to work wonders for wild pheasants and habitat. We need them and they need us
http://www.pheasantsforever.org/Membership.aspx
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
Most money from these organizations typically do not come from the $35 general membership dues. Subtract the gifts and the magazine the actual tax donation & money allocated to the organization is reduced. More money is generated by larger donors, corporate sponsors, and larger fund raising events. If a PF officer would like to share a link ... great validate or invalidate the above statement.
What the general membership number does is provide a "strength in numbers" statistic for lobbyists, sales reps, and others to use as a tool.
What PF does do right is allow local chapters to form and keep the money raised locally. This could certainly be done (and is and has been for a long time) by local sportsman clubs. These clubs were developing and paying for habitat (winter cover, food plots, feeders) long before PF came along. I guess I believe PF has allowed more clubs to form and streamlined effective fundraising techniques. They also likely aid in helping get corporate, state, and federal matching dollars for land acquisition ... again each club is not on their own .. they get help.
Ducks Unlimited has become extremely top heavy with plenty of perks (paid trips, funding private pet projects, etc...). If PF decides to replicate this entitlement philosophy ... it will be their ultimate demise.
What the general membership number does is provide a "strength in numbers" statistic for lobbyists, sales reps, and others to use as a tool.
What PF does do right is allow local chapters to form and keep the money raised locally. This could certainly be done (and is and has been for a long time) by local sportsman clubs. These clubs were developing and paying for habitat (winter cover, food plots, feeders) long before PF came along. I guess I believe PF has allowed more clubs to form and streamlined effective fundraising techniques. They also likely aid in helping get corporate, state, and federal matching dollars for land acquisition ... again each club is not on their own .. they get help.
Ducks Unlimited has become extremely top heavy with plenty of perks (paid trips, funding private pet projects, etc...). If PF decides to replicate this entitlement philosophy ... it will be their ultimate demise.
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
PF Rooster Road trip is actually the opposite of the Ducks Unlimited TV show trips.
PF hunts public land and their harvest is typical of pressured hunting areas. Some days they get close to limits ... while other days they get a bird or two. The one perk they get is the local PF habitat biologists have likely scouted out areas to hunt providing the best chance to walk in "blind" and have success. I agree with the posts above that suspect that corporate sponsors (ie the ugly truck, Federal ammo, etc...) help pay for the trip.
On the opposite side ....
DU shows featured DU board members on all expense paid hunts at exclusive lodges and outfitters. I never saw a disclaimer at the end saying all members paid their own way!!! I wonder if these large donors and board members reduced their itemized tax donations by the fair market value of these DU sponsored hunts?
PF hunts public land and their harvest is typical of pressured hunting areas. Some days they get close to limits ... while other days they get a bird or two. The one perk they get is the local PF habitat biologists have likely scouted out areas to hunt providing the best chance to walk in "blind" and have success. I agree with the posts above that suspect that corporate sponsors (ie the ugly truck, Federal ammo, etc...) help pay for the trip.
On the opposite side ....
DU shows featured DU board members on all expense paid hunts at exclusive lodges and outfitters. I never saw a disclaimer at the end saying all members paid their own way!!! I wonder if these large donors and board members reduced their itemized tax donations by the fair market value of these DU sponsored hunts?
small munsterlander owner
Banned
In my eyes these rooster road trips are for guys like you & me they show us wear our $ went on public lands in multi states not just private land project only big $ PF guys can enjoy... These trips show you don't need private lands to enjoy pheasant & quail hunting...
DU hunts suck to watch all hunt clubs & big $ lodges not the same...
I think the Rooster tails & the flush TV shows get more people into joining then detours them from joining??? When I see them on public land hunting I feel I can actually go do that VS watch block & drive pheasant shoots on private managed lands PF had lil to do with & we will never hunt...
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small munsterlander owner
Banned
The one downside of the rooster road is the amount of publicly they put on Montana especially on the website page after page of hero pics & come hunt mt put big bullseye on MT many guys went to MT to get away from crowds the opposite is reality now days read the MT threads...
I don't agree with all that name drop n & un needed hunter pressure...
They kinda wasted a hole state this year went to OK ???
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Curious
New member
I don't know what happened to cause this but the one question I have, and I hope this dosent ruffle the feathers of the 2 board members on this post, but why not just change out the board members and keep the chapter? Not sure if its possible but maybe an alternative to what happened. 1400 members and a 95K bank account seems like a lot to give up.
PairOfLabs
Active member
No "ruffled feathers" here curious. Part of our reason for publicizing this episode is to promote change within the PF organization. Apparently within the PF framework there is no process or protocol for "conflict resolution" other than a nuclear option of closing the chapter and then trying to restart one by recruiting a new board of directors. We were never offered an opportunity to discuss any "problems" with any PF managers to try to work things out. We were simply closed down because the regional rep told his manager that he "could not work with us".
Many of the board members either were currently business managers or did that prior to retirement. As such they were familiar with forging business relationships, sometimes with difficult customers, and working through issues. Apparently that is not a job requirement for PF regional reps. You would think that the relationship maintenance would be even more important if you were depending on volunteers to conduct your activities and become board members to run the chapter. What kind of message does that send to your volunteers if the regional rep can simply close a chapter if he "doesn't like" some board members?
Tom
Many of the board members either were currently business managers or did that prior to retirement. As such they were familiar with forging business relationships, sometimes with difficult customers, and working through issues. Apparently that is not a job requirement for PF regional reps. You would think that the relationship maintenance would be even more important if you were depending on volunteers to conduct your activities and become board members to run the chapter. What kind of message does that send to your volunteers if the regional rep can simply close a chapter if he "doesn't like" some board members?
Tom
Chad hit it on the nose.:thumbsup: