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A Better Big Sky at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

A Better Big Sky

A BETTER BIG SKY works to inform and engage montanans on issues related to public education, public lands access, voting rights, the environment, sustainable energy, women's health, tribal sovereignty, access to courts, economic justice, and human rights, primarily through the financial support of nonprofit organizations.

$7.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$1.9M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Public Benefit$5.1MCivil Rights$2.5MEnvironment$1.3MHealth$378kEmployment$361kHuman Services$275kScience & Tech$42kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $810k
  • $250k+8 grants · $6.1M
$280,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MONTANA VALUES ACTION FUND$1,905,000
BIG SKY 55$1,340,000
WORK EP DBA MONTANA RURAL VOTERS$690,000
WESTERN NATIVE VOTE$650,000
ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS$500,000
WILD MONTANA ACTION FUND$465,000
MONTPIRG$300,000
MONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS$280,000
MONTANA AFL-CIO$215,000
FORWARD MONTANA$175,000
MIDDLE FORK STRATEGIES$150,000
VOTE VET$100,000
WORKING MONTANA PAC$95,000
MONTANANS FOR PUBLIC LANDS$75,000
WESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE CO$25,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY24–24, $150k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MIDDLE FORK STRATEGIES: $150k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

53%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.3M · 11 repeat orgs$4.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against -3% for those funded once.

11 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
10

Total granted

$5.3M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
-3%

Still filing today

91%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.5M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24
Civil RightsCommunity ImprovementEnvironmentPublic BenefitHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • WO
    WESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS
    4× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +114%
  • MS
    MONTANA STATE AFL-CIO
    2× · 2022–2024 · $361k · revenue +85%
  • MP
    MONTANA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    2× · 2021–2024 · $310k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • MF
    MONTANANS FOR LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
    one grant, 2022 · $600k
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES
    one grant, 2020 · $235k
  • WO
    WESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS EDUCATION PROJECT
    one grant, 2020 · $105k · revenue +12%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Montana Policy Action Inc

To promote public policy solutions that provide increased access to economic opportunities, greater individual freedoms and encourage greater participation in public matters by providing research and recommendation on public policy

Social Science
2
Working Montanans

Working Montanans' mission is to advocate for an economy that works for working people and other critical issues.

—
3
Four for Montana Action Fund

To promote social welfare including, but not limited to, advocating for electoral reforms that give montanans more choice in candidates for elections.

—
4
Montana Wildlife Federation

The montana wildlife federation is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting wildlife, wildlife habitat, and public access for outdoor recreation.

Animals
5
Montana Wilderness Association

Uniting and mobilizing communities to keep montana wild.

Environment
6
Montana Weed Control Association Inc

Strengthen and support noxious weed management

Environment
7
Montana Public Interest Research Group

The montana public interest research group (montpirg) is a student directed non-partisan organization dedicated to creating positive change by educating, organizing, mobilizing, and empowering the next generation of civic leaders.

—
8
Montana Association of Conservation Districts

To heighten the public's awareness of conservation districts and their activities as well as to promote soil and water conservation.

—
9
A Better Big Sky

A better big sky works to inform and engage montanans on issues related to public education, public lands access, voting rights, the environment, sustainable energy, women's health, tribal sovereignty, access to courts, economic justice,…

Community Improvement
10
Montana Contractors Association Inc

Promotion and development of montana's construction industry.

—
11
Montanas Outdoor Legacy Foundation

To collectively serve as a catalyst for engagement and bonding of people to our wildlife and public lands in montana through a sense of place, education, access, research and stewardship.

Environment
12
Montana Conservation Elders
Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Montana Conservation Voters Inc; the most unlike its peers is Catalyst Impact Montana. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

19 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 19 of the 27 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/19
Grantees still filing
11/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MONTANA VALUES ACTION FUND: $1,905,000 · OtherMONTANA VALUES ACTION FUNDWESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS: $1,095,500 · OtherWESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILSMONTANANS FOR LIBERTY AND JUSTICE: $600,000 · OtherMONTANANS FOR LIBERTY AND JUSTICEBIG SKY VOTES PAC: $495,000 · OtherBIG SKY VOTES PACMONTANA STATE AFL-CIO: $361,000 · OtherMONTANA STATE AFL-CIOMONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $280,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES: $235,000 · Other+7 more: $504,600 · Other+7 moreBIG SKY FIFTY FIVE PLUS: $1,641,900 · Public BenefitBIG SKY FIFTY FIVE PLU…MONTANA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $310,000 · Public BenefitMONTANA PUBLIC INTERES…ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS: $500,000 · Civil RightsALLIANCE …FORWARD MT: $246,800 · Civil RightsFORWARD M…CATALYST MONTANA: $50,000 · Civil RightsCATALYST …CATALYST IMPACT MONTANA: $32,900 · Civil RightsWestern Native Voice Inc: $650,000 · Community ImprovementWESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS EDUCATION PROJECT: $105,000 · Community ImprovementAmerica Votes: $33,000 · Community ImprovementWILD MONTANA ACTION FUND: $560,000 · EnvironmentMONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $129,650 · Environment+1 more: $20,000 · EnvironmentMIDDLE FORK STRATEGIES INC: $275,000 · Human Services
Other$5,476,100Public Benefit$1,951,900Civil Rights$829,700Community Improvement$788,000Environment$709,650Human Services$275,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBIG SKY FIFTY FIVE PLUS: $1,641,900 over 4y, 45% of budgetWESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS: $1,095,500 over 4y, 10% of budgetWILD MONTANA ACTION FUND: $560,000 over 2y, 77% of budgetALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS: $500,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetMONTANA STATE AFL-CIO: $361,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetMONTANA PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $310,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetMONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $280,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetMIDDLE FORK STRATEGIES INC: $275,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetFORWARD MT: $246,800 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Advocates of Montana: $142,600 over 2y, 23% of budgetMONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $129,650 over 3y, 15% of budgetWESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS EDUCATION PROJECT: $105,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetVOTEVETS ACTION FUND INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetINDIGENOUS VOTE: $50,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetCATALYST MONTANA: $50,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetAmerica Votes: $33,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCATALYST IMPACT MONTANA: $32,900 over 1y, 18% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Sixteen Thirty FundAmerica VotesTides FoundationAll Hands on Deck Net…Western Organization …Western Futures Fund …New Venture FundNorth FundTides AdvocacyWestern Conservation …The High Stakes Found…American Federation o…
Sixteen Thirty FundDC27.4× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sixteen Thirty Fund · America Votes · Tides Foundation · All Hands on Deck Network Inc · Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project · Western Futures Fund Inc · New Venture Fund · North Fund · Tides Advocacy · Western Conservation Action · The High Stakes Foundation · American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization A Better Big Sky funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from A Better Big Sky. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to A Better Big Sky?

    Find your warmest path to A Better Big Sky through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 27 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on A Better Big Sky’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home