National Smokejumper Association

What National Smokejumper Association does

The National Smokejumper Association (NSA) is a Montana-chartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization that preserves the history and lore of U.S. wildland smokejumping, supports smokejumpers and their families in hardship, and maintains backcountry trails and cabins. It serves approximately 1,400 current and former smokejumpers, smokejumper pilots, immediate family members, and non-smokejumper associates, operating through a board-led, volunteer-driven model with a mailing address in Missoula, Montana. Core offerings include the Smokejumper Magazine (a quarterly publication), the Jumplist Search database of more than 6,000 trained smokejumpers, the Good Samaritan Fund (hardship assistance), the Scholarship Fund (up to seven $3,000 awards per year), the Education/Training Grants program (up to $10,000 annually), the Al Dutton Smokejumper Leadership Award, and the Smokejumper Digital Archive maintained in partnership with Eastern Washington University. The TRAMPS (Trails Restoration and Maintenance Project Specialists) program, founded in 1999, maintains trails and restores backcountry cabins across multiple states and is supported in part by Backcountry Horsemen.

The NSA's business model is a classic nonprofit donation-and-membership engine. Revenue is generated from annual and lifetime memberships (treated as tax-deductible donations), targeted fund contributions (Good Samaritan, Scholarship, Trails), general donations, and merchandise sales through the jumpergoods.com e-commerce store; membership fees are processed online or by mail to a Missoula address. Distribution is community-led: the smokejumpers.com website is the primary hub, supplemented by the quarterly magazine, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, annual reunions, and base liaisons who maintain connections with active jumpers across U.S. smokejumper bases.

The organization has no proprietary technology stack and operates a standard WordPress website plus a storefront; its principal strategic assets are community goodwill, the Jumplist database, the EWU-hosted digital archive, and the 24-year TRAMPS trail program. Recent activity has been stewardship-oriented: a leadership transition in TRAMPS, retirement of longtime board member Fred Cooper after 25 years, and a 75th Anniversary commemoration of the 1949 Mann Gulch tragedy.

Name

National Smokejumper Association

Legal name

National Smokejumper Association

Website

https://smokejumpers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Smokejumper Association is a Montana-chartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving roughly 1,400 current and former U.S. smokejumpers, pilots, and their families. It preserves smokejumping history through the quarterly Smokejumper Magazine, a 6,000-entry Jumplist database, and a digital archive with Eastern Washington University, while running scholarship, hardship, trail-maintenance, and leadership-recognition programs funded by memberships, donations, and merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chico

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues and Donations: The NSA operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Revenue is generated through membership fees, lifetime memberships, general donations, and targeted fund donations (Good Samaritan Fund, Scholarship Fund, Trails Program). All memberships are considered donations to the NSA for its educational and service-oriented work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The National Smokejumper Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization that preserves the history and lore of U.S. smokejumping, provides financial and educational support to smokejumpers and their families, and maintains forest trails and backcountry cabins through volunteer programs. It serves approximately 1,400 members through regular and lifetime memberships, the quarterly Smokejumper Magazine, the Scholarship Fund, Good Samaritan Fund, and TRAMPS Trails Program.

Product overview

The National Smokejumper Association offers a membership-based organization with several interconnected programs and services. The core offerings include the Smokejumper Magazine (quarterly publication), the NSA Membership Program (regular and lifetime memberships), and the smokejumpers.com website featuring the Jumplist Search database of over 6,000 smokejumpers. Associated programs include the Scholarship Fund, Good Samaritan Fund, TRAMPS Trails Program, and the Al Dutton Leadership Award. The organization also maintains the Smokejumper Digital Archive in partnership with Eastern Washington University, and operates an e-commerce store for memberships and merchandise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NSA Membership Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 7 annual scholarships of $3,000 awarded to jumpers and family members
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Eastern Washington University (EWU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NSA collaborated with archival professionals at Eastern Washington University to create the Smokejumper Digital Archive. This partnership curates vital documents, images, publications, and video materials preserving smokejumping history, with particular emphasis on the NSA and the 555th Black Airborne Infantry Battalion (Triple Nickle). Collections include NSA Meeting Minutes, Publications on Smokejumping, Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines, Crew Portraits, and Tom Carlsen Films.
• Montana Community Foundation (MCF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NSA has affiliated with the Montana Community Foundation as the entity to receive and coordinate endowments from smokejumpers and friends on behalf of the NSA. This partnership enables the NSA Endowment Fund and offers Montana residents a unique benefit: donations to MCF in the form of a qualifying Planned Gift to benefit the NSA's Endowment Fund are eligible for a Montana Endowment Tax Credit of 40% of the federal charitable deduction, up to $10,000 per year per individual or $20,000 per couple.
• National Museum of Forest Service HistoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFred Cooper, NSA board member, also serves on the board of the National Museum of Forest Service History, creating a connection between the two organizations focused on preserving fire service history.
• Backcountry HorsemenminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe TRAMPS Trails Program receives support from Backcountry Horsemen organization for some trail maintenance projects, providing volunteer assistance for trail restoration work.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Backcountry Horsemen of America: Volunteer-driven nonprofit that maintains trails and advocates for equestrian and pack-stock use of public lands. Directly comparable to NSA's TRAMPS program — both are volunteer organizations doing hands-on trail and backcountry stewardship on federal lands.
• Wildland Firefighter Foundation: National nonprofit supporting wildland firefighters and their families through hardship assistance, scholarships, and recognition. Directly comparable mission of serving the same wildland firefighter community NSA serves, with overlapping programs (Good Samaritan-style aid, family scholarships).
• International Association of Wildland Fire: Professional membership association for the global wildland fire community. Comparable in serving wildland fire practitioners with educational programming, conferences, and publications, though with a more technical/research orientation than NSA's heritage focus.
• National Museum of Forest Service History: Museum dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. Forest Service, including fire service history. Highly comparable historical-preservation mission; an NSA board member sits on this museum's board, evidencing direct overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Arbor Day Foundation: Large membership-based conservation nonprofit focused on tree planting and forest stewardship. Comparable as a membership-and-donations-driven forest conservation nonprofit, but at vastly greater scale (millions of members vs. NSA's 1,400).
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest environmental nonprofits, with major land conservation and forest programs. Operates in adjacent forest-restoration and conservation space, but at multibillion-dollar scale that dwarfs NSA's programmatic reach.
• American Forests: Oldest national nonprofit focused on forest conservation and restoration. Comparable in being a forest-focused nonprofit, but at much larger scale with policy advocacy, science programs, and corporate partnerships well beyond NSA's scope.
• Trout Unlimited: National membership-based conservation nonprofit focused on coldwater fisheries and watershed habitat. Structurally similar to NSA — member-driven, volunteer-intensive, with a strong chapter network doing on-the-ground habitat work.
• National Forest Foundation: Congressionally-chartered national nonprofit partnering with the U.S. Forest Service on conservation, restoration, and volunteer engagement. Operates in the same forestry/restoration space as NSA's TRAMPS but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• National Parks Conservation Association: Independent membership nonprofit advocating for the National Park System. Comparable as a membership-driven conservation advocacy organization with a public-lands mission overlapping NSA's federal-lands focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalSmokejumperAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-smokejumper-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Smokejumper Association