Through the Chickadee Checkoff, Iowa taxpayers can donate to Iowa’s wildlife diversity programs on their state tax forms. The funding assists thousands of vulnerable species such as songbirds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and more.
What kind of projects does a donation to the fish/wildlife fund help support?
- Designation of Bird Conservation Areas in key areas around the state supporting increased habitat for all types of birds
- Restoration of previously lost Iowa Wildlife such as: Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys, Trumpeter Swans, and Prairie Chickens
- Monitoring of wildlife populations through research projects and volunteer surveys such as: multiple species inventory and monitoring; the breeding bird atlas; the breeding bird survey; the Bald eagle midwinter survey; frog and toad call surveys; and bald eage nest monitoring.
- And much more!
The Chickadee Checkoff was established by the Iowa Legislature in 1981. Donations to the check-off (referred to on the tax form as the Fish/Wildlife Fund) are tax deductible on the following year’s tax form. Additionally, every penny of your donation goes directly to the Wildlife Diversity Program - there are no administrative or processing fees.
At its height, Iowans donated more than $200,000 annually to the fund. The revenue from the Chickadee Check-off has exhibited an overall downward trend since 2001, although it has stabilized in recent years around $130,000.
A brochure about the tax check-off is available for download:
Chickadee Tax Check-off Brochure
Instructions for Printing Brochure: To print as a foldable brochure, it will need to be printed, double-sided on legal sized paper. You may also need to adjust the "double-sided" printer settings to have both sides of the brochure printed the same way up.