Hunttalk,
The NAPF Board (10 members) wants to keep the this community updated on our progress. We had a board meeting last night (Oct 22) and here are the things we're working on and discussing.
501c3 status - Last night we went over our 1023 form as a group. This form is nearly complete, but there are some supplemental documents that are standard and needed to complete this filing. We have teams working on those supplemental documents and we hope to file for tax-exempt status in the near future.
State Pronghorn Portfolio - We've contacted the majority of state wildlife management agencies in the west to speak with their Pronghorn/big game biologists about the challenges and priorities for Pronghorn in their states. We've also spoken to the Wyoming Migration Initiative and the Monteith Shop, as well as three of the Berrendo Award winners from the biannual WAFWA Pronghorn Workshop. This includes Bill Rudd, Rich Guenzel, and the 2024 winner, Paul Jones. More can be found about that at this link
https://wafwa.org/workshops/pronghorn-workshop/.
Rich and Paul have been a great resource for us, as they are always available for questions and insight into the scientific side of things. They also donated to our cause; we are extremely grateful for their support.
This portfolio will be a living document and we are working diligently to give it structure and consistency of format between the states while reflecting each state's unique challenges and situation. Our goal is to build a guiding document focused solely on a comprehensive picture of Pronghorn across the continent, including challenges, conservation opportunities, ongoing or needed efforts, and advocacy opportunities.
Strategic Planning - This effort is somewhat straight forward and includes mission, purpose, and values, bylaws, as well as structural and operational plans to give the organization a framework to operate within.
Logo/website - One of our board members is working with a team to draft a logo, fonts, and color schemes that will be attached to NAPF. We've also spoken with a company on website development, but until we finalize some of our strategic planning documents (which includes some content for the website) and logo work, it is a bit premature to sign on the dotted line.
Finance committee - We've also established a finance committee, oh the luxuries of having two CPA's on our board. Since I filed the articles of incorporation on July 23, of 2024, we will need to file annual reporting paperwork for the 2024 business year. The committee will file that paperwork and set a structure to ensure we have an annual checklist to keep us in good standing going forward.
Our board is eager to put resources on the ground to benefit Pronghorn and their habitat, but patience is key. We want to make damn sure that we are buttoned up and ready to go, and not putting the cart before the horse. We take the financial support we've received very seriously, and want to do right by those financial supporters, prospective members, and most importantly, by the resource. Messing up in the early stages is not an option for us. We want to get it right and make sure that once we open the proverbial doors, we're ready.
As always, if anyone has any questions or anything at all, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're excited and grateful for this opportunity and are humbled by the support we've received from this community.
More to come...
