We need your help
Your donations to the Nongame Wildlife Program help Minnesota’s wildlife in a big way!
When you make a donation to the Nongame Wildlife Program, it’s tripled thanks to matching from the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) critical habitat license plate fund. Here’s how it works:
If you donate $10, the program receives your $10 donation and a matching $10 from RIM funds. So we receive $20 from your $10 donation. In addition, your donation is matched again to provide $10 to MN DNR programs restoring and enhancing critical habitat like calcareous fens, native prairie, old forests, and more. So your $10 donation grows into $30 for Minnesota’s wildlife and natural areas!
There’s also no limit; whatever dollar amount you donate will be double matched! $20 will become $60, $30 will become $90, and so on.
These donations play a large role in the success of our program. We use your donations to fund many of our projects and to meet requirements for federal wildlife grants. To obtain one of these grants, we need to provide 35% of the funding. Your donations and their RIM matches count towards this percentage and help us secure funding to implement projects like the Wildlife Action Plan.
Simply put, we can’t do our work without your support!
Donate Online
Make a donation right now! Donations can be made online with Master Card or Visa and are made via a secure (US Bank) website. You now have the option to make a one-time donation or setup recurring donations on a schedule most convenient to you. Login to update your recurring payment options.
Donate to the Nongame Wildlife Fund when you file your taxes
The loon marks the line where you can help preserve Minnesota's wildlife! On your Minnesota's tax form (M-1) or property tax form (M1-PR), look for the line with the loon symbol. Write in the amount of the donation you wish to make.
If you are entitled to a refund, your refund is reduced by the amount of the donation. Your donation is tax deductible on the following year's tax return if you itemize deductions. If you owe money, your donation is added to the balance due.
And please let us know if you donated! We don't receive any information about donors who donate with the tax checkoff, so we can't thank you. If you donate on your tax forms, please fill out this Microsoft Teams form so we can stay in touch: contact form.
Resources are available for tax preparers.
Mail a Donation
A gift of any amount can be sent directly to the Nongame Wildlife Fund. Please make checks payable to DNR Nongame Wildlife Fund.
DNR Nongame Wildlife Fund
500 Lafayette Road
PO Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155Create a Lasting Legacy
Create a lasting legacy for wildlife in Minnesota by designating the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program as a beneficiary when doing your estate planning. Your gift will be used for wildlife preservation, conservation and land protection. For more details, email our Communication Specialist Lori Naumann [email protected].
Donations to the Minnesota Nongame Wildlife Program are tax deductible!
Purchase a Critical Habitat license plate
Critical habitat license plates are a great way you can show off your support for Minnesota’s natural resources!
When you purchase a critical habitat license plate, a $30 donation will be included in your registration renewal fee. This money goes into the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Critical Habitat Program. The RIM fund matches donations to the Nongame Wildlife Program, making donations go a long way towards helping Minnesota’s wildlife and plant communities.
There are a variety of plates you can chose from, including the most recently released pollinator plate!
What do we do?
The Minnesota Nongame Wildlife Program preserves and protects Minnesota's wildlife species. We restore habitats, survey and monitor species populations, offer technical guidance, conduct outreach and education, and run the Eagle and Falcon cams. Together, we help Minnesota's bees, butterflies, songbirds, eagles, loons, frogs, turtles, and bats thrive!
Sign up for our seasonal e-newsletter Let's Get Wild! to learn how we use your donations throughout the year:
You can also read about our work in 2022, check out our Facebook page for stories, and watch the video below for more information about our program.