On a warm March night, more than 200 people crowded into a Roanoke banquet hall for a night of a fun and fundraising in the name of the wild turkey.

They swapped hunting tales, played games and entered raffles. And as an auctioneer's staccato call echoed through the hall, many raised their hands to bid on turkey-themed items, including framed prints, sculptures and guns.

At least on paper, last year's banquet held by the Roanoke Valley chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation was a success, netting $9,748.

But there was one big cost that the balance sheets didn't show: the toll taken on volunteers, such as Fred and Phyllis Wells.

After spending countless hours organizing the banquet, the Wellses were frustrated with the local chapter's meager share of the profits -- a check for just under $400 from the NWTF's national headquarters.

"To do all that work and get what we got was embarrassing, a slap in the face," Fred Wells said.

This year, the Wellses decided to let someone else run the banquet. But no one in the local group volunteered, raising questions not just about the fundraising event but also the chapter's future.

Once a thriving group of hunters and conservationists, the Roanoke Valley NWTF chapter appears mired in a struggle not uncommon to philanthropy: conflict between volunteers at the grass-roots level and the bureaucracy of a large organization that is nonprofit in name but money-driven in nature.

One point of contention is NWTF's policy of sharing just 4 percent of the proceeds generated by a fundraising banquet with the chapter that hosted the event.

"It is a different arrangement and it's understandable that the locals would feel the benefits would not outweigh the costs," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit charity watchdog group based in Chicago.

Apart from banquet proceeds, local chapters can apply for additional funding for projects and programs. But that's not always enough, especially for the small group of volunteers who end up doing most of the work.

Unable to find someone from Roanoke to take the lead, NWTF recruited Robert Woods, a member from Collinsville, to help organize a banquet scheduled for Aug. 4.

It's too soon to tell how the banquet will fare, said David Jones, NWTF's regional coordinator. The same holds true for the future of the Roanoke Valley NWTF chapter.

"Basically, the chapter is still alive; it's on the books as far as NWTF is concerned," Jones said. "But as far as any local activity, it's nonexistent. I have nobody, and there's only so much that Robert can do from Collinsville."

The banquet juggernaut

With 545,000 members, the NWTF is one of the nation's largest species-specific wildlife conservation groups, and its banquet program is the key to its fundraising efforts.

In its most recent filing with the Internal Revenue Service, NWTF reported that it took in nearly $31 million in contributions and other direct public support between Sept. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2005. About 90 percent of that was from banquet proceeds, assistant treasurer Kenneth Ray said.

Another $12.7 million came from membership dues. Total revenue amounted to $46.1 million for the nonprofit organization -- more than four times the annual budget for a town the size of Vinton.

The NWTF launched its banquet program shortly after Rob Keck took over as the group's top executive in 1981.

"It was clear to me that if we were going to do great things for turkeys, we had to generate money," said Keck, 58. "Money becomes a distasteful subject with many nonprofit organizations. They want to do great things, but they just don't want to raise the money to do it.

"And it's never easy."

Because the group raises so much money through banquets, and because those events rely so heavily on volunteers, it spends just 1 percent of its revenue on fundraising. That relatively low amount is one reason NWTF received a top rating from Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog group.

Keck said banquets, already proven successful by Ducks Unlimited, were a way to raise money while having fun -- with fun being a key element to keeping volunteers excited.

The formula has changed little since the first event, held in Atlanta almost 25 years ago. The NWTF provides chapters with banquet merchandise packages. Volunteers are encouraged to seek underwriting sponsors to cover the costs of items, a practice that increases the net profits.

But securing those sponsors takes time and effort.

Margaret Bergloff, a hairdresser from Roanoke, was among the volunteers who sought sponsorships.

"When I was really working hard on a banquet in the old days, every single Wednesday was filled from 10 o'clock on," said Bergloff, who no longer volunteers with the NWTF. "I felt like I was a one-person, go-get-everything-for-free committee."

Adding to the difficulty, other wildlife nonprofits also hold banquets in the Roanoke area, often hitting up the same businesses and individual sponsors that the NWTF has relied on.

Another challenge came from within the NWTF itself, as regional directors worked to establish new chapters.

Fred Wells said some of those chapters, particularly a new group at Smith Mountain Lake, sucked away longtime supporters of the Roanoke event.

"In one year we went from making $20,000 to making $10,000," Wells said.

Eleven new chapters have been established in Virginia since September 2006, Jones said.

Keck conceded that chapter expansion could reach a point of diminishing returns.

"More is not always better," Keck said, adding that the NWTF would consider throttling back on expansion if it determined that banquet proceeds were dropping despite the addition of chapters.

In fact, banquet proceeds have declined in Virginia. After each banquet, 56 percent of the proceeds go into a state "super fund," a pot of money used to pay for projects. Virginia super-fund deposits hit $385,588 in 2002 but dropped to $206,143 the next year. Deposits climbed to about $218,000 the next two years but fell again last year, to just $179,297.

Jones said banquet proceeds are down because overall banquet attendance has been lagging, a problem he attributes to the economy.

"Without the new chapters," Jones said. "It would really be a slap."

Dividing the pot

Among the many conservation groups that rely on banquets for fundraising, there's wide variation as to what portion of the profits remains with the local chapter.

At Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, no funds stay at the local level. The Quality Deer Management Association and Quail Unlimited share the proceeds between their national headquarters and local chapters. At Pheasants Forever, all of the banquet proceeds stay with the local chapter.

Comparisons are complicated by the fact that some organizations devote a portion of their fundraising proceeds to state pots, from which local chapters can seek money.

But it's not uncommon for tension to develop between local chapters and national offices over the distribution of funds raised at special events, according to Erica Greely, deputy director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.

"There are citizens and donors and press alike that become aware of these types of events and wonder if they are appropriate and wonder where the proceeds should go," Greely said.

Of the profits at NWTF banquets, 56 percent goes into the state super fund, 24 percent to national programs, 15 percent to administrative fees, 4 percent to the local chapter and 1 percent to the state chapter.

The state super fund provides additional money to chapters, but they must apply for it. Requests are carefully scored, with precedence placed on projects that will benefit the public.

This year the super-fund committee will dole out nearly $200,000, with the money funding projects including research and habitat work.

Chapters that hold events for children, women and disabled hunters get at least $650 for each event from the super fund, and large events can qualify for more. Still, chapters almost always must raise additional funds or find sponsors to cover some costs.

Freddy McGuire, the former president of the Roanoke Valley NWTF chapter, said he's gotten several calls recently from federation members who were considering helping revive the chapter.

"They've been looking for advice," said McGuire, who lives in Goodview. "I told them to raise their own money and do their own projects, and don't tell national about it."

Sprawl deters interest

Whether it's turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, whitetail deer or elk, there's a nonprofit organization devoted to the species and to the people who hunt it.

That means lots of competition for a limited amount of donor dollars.

"It's a difficult and turbulent environment right now," said Max Stephenson, a Virginia Tech professor who studies nonprofits and heads the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance. "More is being asked for less. There is enormous competition and there is enormous pressure within the groups to sustain themselves."

Conservation groups face their own unique challenges, with interest in hunting declining nationwide as urban sprawl eats up more wildlife habitat and fewer young people are drawn to the sport.

"Hunting and outdoors seem to have an old-school tone in this modern generation we live in," said Anthony Hauck, a spokesman for Pheasants Forever. "It is a challenge to engage people and get them to become involved in something that might not have been thinking about."

Paradoxically, contributing to the NWTF's challenge is the success of its wild turkey conservation and restoration efforts.

"The goal of turkey restoration in virtually all of the country has been met," said Virginia wildlife biologist Gary Norman.

And that has left the NWTF trying "to reinvent this organization as we grow into the future," according to Keck.

In the past decade the group has started pushing its Hunting Heritage program, focusing on hunter recruitment and retention, and on gun rights.

The NWTF's Juniors Acquiring Knowledge Ethics and Sportsmanship (JAKES) program, as well as programs for women and disabled hunters, help keep many NWTF volunteers committed.

Dozens of volunteers help with the Rockbridge County chapter's JAKES event, winner of the NWTF's award for the nation's best event for five consecutive years.

The event, which typically attracts nearly 400 kids over three days each September, costs about $8,500, in addition to donations of meals and T-shirts. Money from the super fund covers about $1,800; local fundraising efforts and private donations cover the rest.

The event is free for any child who signs up.

"That one kid we reject might be the one kid who needs it the most," said Billy Hall, a 45-year-old spa business owner from Lexington who coordinates the event.

Hall says he can't put a price on the hours volunteers put in to pull off the event.

Every year, we say, 'This is it,' " Hall said.

One year he remembered being exhausted at the end of a JAKES event, when he saw three boys leaving with their dad in a beat-up pickup truck.

"Those boys all smiled at me and waved," he said. "That was it."

Wheelin' Sportsmen events also inspire volunteers. In two years, a turkey hunt for disabled sportsmen sponsored by the NWTF's James River chapter has drawn nearly three times as many volunteers as hunters.

Disabled men like Bill Seal of Charlottesville appreciate it.

"I can say I went turkey hunting," Seal, who is legally blind from diabetes, said after this year's hunt. "To a lot of people, that don't mean much. To me, it means a lot."

Barry Arrington, a wheelchair-bound hunter from Bedford who organized the event, said super-fund money doesn't even cover the cost of T-shirts.

But while he sometimes gets frustrated that so little of the money raised by his chapter at banquets is returned for events such as the hunt, he also understands that affiliation with the NWTF -- and the credibility and marketing benefits it brings -- is important for helping make those hunts a success.

"They use me," he said. "But I use them, too."

Still helping

While they may have burned out on their leadership roles within the NWTF, many of the volunteers who helped lead the Roanoke chapter in recent years continue to volunteer for a nonprofit group.

The Wellses, Bergloff and former chapter president Frank Haley are among a committee of at least a dozen volunteers now helping raise money for Hunters for the Hungry, a Big Island-based charity that collects donated deer and distributes the meat to Virginia's needy.

"We can do this and feed people and see where it's going," Bergloff said.

Not that Bergloff has cut ties with the NWTF. She still attends local banquets. She said she would help anyone who wants to try to get the Roanoke Valley chapter going again.

"I would share my knowledge, help set up the day of the banquet, run a game, help get donations," she said. "I would be a helper, but I couldn't be a huge part."

The Wellses, too, continue to support the NWTF, at least financially. The couple recently attended the Smith Mountain Lake chapter's banquet and auction. When the auctioneer started pushing the "Gifts of Freedom" print by Jack Paluh, Fred Wells found himself drawn into the bidding.

"I got it for $425," Wells said of the newest of his estimated three dozen wildlife prints, which line the walls of his den. "That was a good deal."

And a good deal for the NWTF. The profit on the print was more than $200.

mark.taylor@roanoke.com 981-3395

laurence.hammack@roanoke.com 981-3239