A collaborative workshop for WAFWA state and provincial agency wildlife nonprofits and those aspiring to start one.

This workshop is held in conjunction with WAFWA’s 2026 Summer Meeting at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, ID. State agency personnel, commissioners, and agency-related nonprofit staff are invited to participate. The workshop runs 1pm-5pm MT on Wednesday, June 3 and 8am-12pm MT on Thursday, June 4. To registration for the event is being run through WAFWA’s Summer Meeting. You can register for the full Summer Meeting and select the “Foundations Workshop” option or you can register for just the “Foundations Workshop Only”. The “Foundations Workshop Only” registration includes lunch, awards reception, and dinner on Wednesday.

The full workshop is by invitation only for state agency personnel and select foundations directly associated with a state agency. We are offering an open session 4pm-5pm on Wednesday afternoon that anyone can attend that will highlight successes of foundations and provide examples of who they provide value to state agencies.

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Connecting the West: A Collaborative Session for WAFWA State Agency Wildlife Nonprofits

Day 1

Date: Weds., June 3rd 

Time: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Join us for an inspiring day hosted by the Idaho Fish & Wildlife Foundation, proud partner of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game This session is designed to empower, educate, and connect wildlife state agency nonprofit organizations dedicated to conservation in the West. Day one will include partnership success stories from a wide variety of Agency Foundation partners, including fundraising and project partnerships. Day two will discuss how to get a Foundation started-the first steps in launching a partner foundation.

Agenda: 

Introduction and Welcome – 1:00pm-1:15pm

Kick off the day with an introduction to the workshop’s goals and objectives.

Setting ground rules – Agenda, goals (growth), respectful of everyone’s time.

Overview + Purpose of Nonprofit Organizations – 1:15pm-2:00pm

Learn about the fundamental principles and structures that make wildlife nonprofit organizations unique and impactful for their partnering state wildlife agency. Discover how nonprofit organizations collaborate with wildlife agencies to achieve common goals and objectives.

Success Stories — 2:15pm-3:45pm (TX, AZ, MT, SD, WY, ID)

Fundraising success stories from nonprofit organizations making a difference in wildlife conservation.

2026 Ideas- successful opportunities to benefit and partner with Departments-highlight large and small Foundations

                *TBD Topic

• WY – Red Desert Fence Initiative*
• MT – MT Wild Program | Conservation Trust Model*
• ID – Capital Improvement Financing Bonds- Nampa Hatchery Construction Bond
• AZ – Education program | 820 Day (this is a scalable program) *
• TX – The Work of the Wild website page-big impact for TX *
• SD-Operation Mobility/Great Places Don’t Just Happen Campaign*

Break — 3:45pm-4:00pm

Agency Foundations-Partnerships for Success — 4:00pm-4:45pm

(OPEN TO ALL SUMMER MEETING ATTENDEES!)

Highlight successful Agency/Foundation partnerships (5-10 minutes each)

• What role can Foundations play for State agencies
  • Idaho
  • Wyoming
  • Montana
  • Texas
  • Arizona
• Questions

Wrap Up — 4:45pm-5:00pm

                Review of Day 2 Discussion Topics

Day 2

Date: Thurs., June 4th 

Time: 8:00am-12:00pm

Questions from Day 1 — 8:00am-8:30am

How to get started/best practices — 8:30am-11:00am (Planning the year ahead)

• Best practices
  • Articles of Incorp. /Bylaws
  • Lessons learned (Board member recruitment)
  • MOU between Dept. and Foundation
  • Financial-annual tax return
    • do you need an audit?
  • Investment Policy
    • dos and don’ts
    • outside investment advisors

• How to select board members
  • What makes a good board member-Leading with Intent
  • Roles & Responsibilities (Board Source)
    • President
    • Vice President
    • Treasurer
    • Secretary

BREAK — 9:45am-10:00am

• Fundraising
  • How to get started
  • Non-endowed/Endowed funding
  • Mitigation funding
  • Partnership with your Department

• Challenges/Areas of Improvement —

Identify the challenges faced by nonprofits and explore areas for growth and improvement.

• Legislature
• Forming the relationship between the Foundation and Department

Questions/Wrap Up — 11:00am-12:00pm