The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1935 that advocates to protect federal public lands from drilling, mining, and development, serving individual members, donors, and tribal partners through grassroots mobilization and litigation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1935
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Wilderness Society does
The Wilderness Society is a U.S. nonprofit conservation advocacy organization founded in 1935 and headquartered at 1801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. It functions as a 501(c)(3) member-supported organization that advocates for the protection of federal public lands — including national forests, BLM-administered lands, national monuments, and wildlife refuges — from drilling, mining, logging, and development pressures. The organization has directly contributed to nearly every major U.S. conservation law, including authorship of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and has helped protect approximately 111 million acres of wilderness since its founding.
Its operations center on four levers: federal legislative and regulatory advocacy, coalition litigation alongside groups such as Sierra Club and Earthjustice, grassroots mobilization of members via the Wildalert email program and a multi-platform social media presence, and partnerships with tribal governments and other environmental organizations. The leadership team, led by President Tracy Stone-Manning, includes a Senior Legal Director, Senior Directors of Government Relations and Agency Policy, regional directors, and state-level staff for Alaska and Wyoming.
The business model is a standard nonprofit contribution-and-grant model. Revenue is generated through membership enrollments, one-time donations, monthly recurring gifts, planned giving and estate planning, memorial gifts, and grants from foundations. There are no products sold, no SaaS or platform pricing, and no equity funding rounds. The organization's primary digital product is the wilderness.org website, which functions as an informational, engagement, and fundraising platform rather than a technology product. Headcount is 51-100 employees, consistent with mid-sized national advocacy nonprofits.
The Wilderness Society firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Wilderness Society
- Legal name
- The Wilderness Society
- Website
- https://wilderness.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1935
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Wilderness Society is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1935 that advocates to protect federal public lands from drilling, mining, and development, serving individual members, donors, and tribal partners through grassroots mobilization and litigation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Wilderness Society industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Conservation Advocacy
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Timberland & Forest Asset Management (IMAMAJAA)
Keywords
Where The Wilderness Society is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Wilderness Society business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership and Donations: The organization generates revenue through membership enrollments, one-time donations, and monthly recurring gifts. Members receive communications and benefits including advocacy alerts and updates on conservation campaigns.
- Grants and Fundraising: The Wilderness Society receives funding through grants and fundraising campaigns to support its conservation advocacy work.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
The Wilderness Society product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Wilderness Society is a U.S. nonprofit conservation advocacy organization that protects America's shared wildlands and public lands from drilling, mining, logging, and development. It conducts legislative advocacy, grassroots mobilization, litigation, scientific research, and public education campaigns, and sustains this work through memberships, donations, and grants.
Product overview
The Wilderness Society operates primarily as a nonprofit advocacy organization rather than a technology product company. Its main digital presence is the Wilderness.org website, which serves as an informational and engagement platform offering take action campaigns, membership and donation capabilities, news and blog articles, science resources, event listings, and a knowledge library. The organization does not offer a platform-plus-modules architecture or distinct software products—it is a conservation nonprofit whose website functions as a content and engagement tool rather than a technology product.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wilderness.org Digital Engagement Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Protected over 111 million acres of wilderness since 1935
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Wilderness Society
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Wilderness Society technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Wilderness Society partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Tribal Organizations (LWCF Tribal Hub Consortium)coreTribal organizations and nonprofit partners including The Wilderness Society announced the launch of the LWCF Tribal Hub, a new resource developed to help Tribal governments navigate and access conservation and recreation funding opportunities nationwide. The initiative addresses the fact that although Tribal governments steward 2.3% of the nation's lands and waters, they have received less than 1% of the $4.5 billion in LWCF grants awarded between 1965 and 2019.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Wilderness Society competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sierra Club: Sierra Club is one of the oldest and largest U.S. environmental nonprofits, with a similarly broad conservation and public-lands advocacy mission, membership-based fundraising model, and federal lawsuit practice—making it the closest direct peer to TWS.
- National Audubon Society: Audubon is a national membership-based conservation nonprofit that protects habitats and advocates on federal land/water policy, overlapping directly with TWS's public-lands mission and donor base.
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): NRDC is a major environmental advocacy and litigation organization with a comparable federal policy, climate, and public-lands focus, and a similar mix of donor revenue and high-profile courtroom work.
- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): EDF is a large science-based environmental advocacy group that engages in federal rulemaking and litigation over public-lands and climate policy, comparable to TWS in mission and federal-influence posture.
- Defenders of Wildlife: Defenders of Wildlife is a national wildlife and habitat conservation nonprofit that fights for endangered species and public-lands protections through litigation and lobbying, sharing TWS's federal-policy and donor-model mechanics.
- Earthjustice: Earthjustice is the largest nonprofit environmental law firm in the U.S., frequently co-counseling with TWS on public-lands cases (e.g., NPR-A, Arctic Refuge) and operating on a comparable advocacy-plus-litigation model.
- Center for Biological Diversity: The Center for Biological Diversity is a public-lands and species-focused advocacy organization that uses aggressive litigation and federal-petition strategies that closely parallel TWS's approach to defending wilderness.
- National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA): NPCA is a membership nonprofit that advocates specifically for the National Park System, with overlapping public-lands, donor-funded advocacy, and federal-policy work directly comparable to TWS.
- Friends of the Earth: Friends of the Earth is a grassroots environmental advocacy nonprofit with federal lobbying and litigation work in climate and public-lands, comparable in membership revenue model and advocacy posture.
- Greenpeace USA: Greenpeace USA is a large, donor-funded environmental advocacy organization with federal-policy and public-lands campaigns that overlap with TWS's mission and donor base.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Wilderness Society social profiles
Digital presenceThe Wilderness Society financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Wilderness Society leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
The Wilderness Society funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Wilderness Society M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Wilderness Society
What does The Wilderness Society do?
The Wilderness Society is a U.S. nonprofit conservation advocacy organization that protects America's shared wildlands and public lands from drilling, mining, logging, and development. It conducts legislative advocacy, grassroots mobilization, litigation, scientific research, and public education campaigns, and sustains this work through memberships, donations, and grants.
Is The Wilderness Society a public or private company?
The Wilderness Society is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Wilderness Society founded?
The Wilderness Society was founded in 1935. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is The Wilderness Society based?
The Wilderness Society is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Wilderness Society make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership and Donations are the primary driver. The others are grants and Fundraising.
Who are The Wilderness Society's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace USA.
Does The Wilderness Society have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Wilderness Society.
What industry is The Wilderness Society in?
The Wilderness Society's product category is Environmental Conservation Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAD, Forestry & Reforestation, with a secondary code of IMAMAJAA, Timberland & Forest Asset Management. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8600.