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Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor Fund at a glance

· Public charity

Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor Fund

The outdoor fund's mission is to support conservation and education initiatives in conserving fish and wildlife habitat, introducing new audiences to the outdoors, and protecting our hunting and fishing heritage.

$10.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
123
Grants FY2024still arriving
40
States reached
$750k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Animals$14MEnvironment$7.9MRecreation & Sports$6.1MArts & Culture$1.0MHealth$446kYouth Development$340kHuman Services$223kReligion$185kOther$0
02FY2024 · 123 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 123 grants below total $7,810,345, the rows itemized in this filing. The $9,961,903 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $2,151,558 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k15 grants · $95k
  • $10k–50k74 grants · $1.2M
  • $50k–250k26 grants · $3.1M
  • $250k+8 grants · $3.4M
$15,000
Median grant
40
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DUCKS UNLIMITED$750,000
CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FND$550,000
NATIONAL FISH HABITAT FUND$500,000
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION INC$500,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FND$382,000
TROUT UNLIMITED$250,000
MULE DEER FND$250,000
MISSOURI CONSERVATION HERITAGE FND$250,000
THE WYLDLIFE FUND$210,000
NATIONAL DEER ASSOC$200,000
PHEASANTS FOREVER$200,000
FISH AND WILDLIFE FND OF FLORIDA$200,000
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY$200,000
OUR COMMUNITY OUR FUTURE$200,000
WILD SHEEP FND$150,000
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 (FY19–24, $233k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 81% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CUTTING FENCES FND: $10k → 9%TEXAS ROWING FOUNDATION INC: $7k → 10%WAYMAKER OFF ROAD WHEELCHAIRS: $21k → 21%NAPLES TAKE A SOLDIER FISHING: $6k → 10%RAISED AT FULL DRAW: $10k → 7%DAVIDS CHAIR OUTDOOR MOBILITY: $25k → 13%THE DALE JR FOUNDATION: $32k → 10%ROWAN-CABARRUS YMCA: $10k → 15%COASTAL GEORGIA COUNCIL INC: $15k → 16%BEYOND BOUNDRIES: $10k → 22%OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $10k → 13%YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE: $15k → 9%TEXAS ROWING FND: $8k → 10%HARVEST FOR THE HUNGRY: $10k → 16%BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO: $15k → 14%YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE: $10k → 9%YMCA OF METROPOLITAN OF CHICAGO: $10k → 14%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $10k → 14%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.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$26M · 95 repeat orgs$4.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

95 repeat relationships: 62 still active in FY2024, 33 since wound down; 59 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

95
131

Total granted

$26M
$2.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+14%

Still filing today

92%
84%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.7M went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentHealthOther
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

  • CS
    CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FOUNDATION
    6× · 2019–2024 · $2.2M · revenue +34%
  • NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC
    3× · 2020–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +25%
  • PC
    PARK CITIES QUAIL INC
    3× · 2019–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +93% · 73% of their budget

Funded once

  • OG
    OZARK GREENWAYS INC
    one grant, 2023 · $321k · revenue -52%
  • NC
    NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE HABITAT FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $202k · revenue +22%
  • GN
    GEORGIA NATURAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $200k
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 Wildlife Federation

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

Animals
2
Florida Wildlife Federation

To safeguard Florida's water, wildlife, and wild spaces by taking action today to prevent irreversible loss tomorrow.

Animals
3
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
4
Wyoming Outdoor Council

The wyoming outdoor council's mission is to protect wyoming's environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

Environment
5
Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Found

To conserve, protect, enhance, and support the fisheries, wildlife, and habitat resources of nc; increase and maintain access to the resources for all outdoorenthusiasts, sportspersons, conservationists, biologists, and scientificpartners,…

Environment
6
Minnesota Wildlife Federation

A coalition of individuals, groups, and communities dedicated to outdoor recreation and the conservation and ethical use of minnesota's natural resources by all, for all, with all.

Environment
7
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
8
Wyoming Wildlife Federation

Wyoming wildlife federation delivers leadership in conservation for the state's wildlife, hunters, anglers, and conservationists through policy, education, advocacy, and habitat.

Animals
9
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
10
Idaho Wildlife Federation

The Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF) promotes the conservation of Idaho's wildlife heritage and legacy of sporting opportunities for the current and future generations.

Animals
11
Running Rivers

Our mission is to conserve and restore native fish ecosystems by educating and inspiring a diverse community of recreationists to engage in conversation through responsible and thoughtful recreation, informed advocacy and philanthropy, and…

Human Services
12
Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation

we ensure the availability of critical field data that accelerates conservation and climate solutions. we achieve our mission by mobilizing and training outdoor enthusiasts and local communities to collect high-quality scientific data that…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Platte Development Corporation. 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

265 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 265 of the 287 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
57
Early backer (in before they grew)
261/265
Grantees still filing
156/265
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PARK CITIES QUAIL INC: $1,200,000 · AnimalsPARK CITIES QUAIL INCFISH & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA I: $1,200,000 · AnimalsFISH & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF FLORID…ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC: $1,182,000 · AnimalsROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INCMULE DEER FOUNDATION: $905,321 · AnimalsMULE DEER FOUNDATIONTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $600,000 · AnimalsTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PART…NATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $598,375 · AnimalsNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATIONWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION: $596,000 · AnimalsWILD SHEEP FOUNDATIONTHE WYLDLIFE FUND: $535,000 · AnimalsTHE WYLDLIFE FUNDTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $469,675 · AnimalsWILD SALMON CENTER: $450,000 · AnimalsTHE UNITED STATES SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $375,000 · AnimalsSAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL: $326,500 · Animals+20 more: $1,311,591 · Animals+20 moreDUCKS UNLIMITED: $2,254,235 · OtherDUCKS UNLIMITEDCONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FOUNDATION: $2,200,000 · OtherCONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FOUNDATIONNATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION: $1,400,000 · OtherNATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATIONROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC: $600,000 · OtherROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INCPHEASANTS FOREVER INC: $591,591 · OtherPHEASANTS FOREVER INCNATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION INC: $500,500 · Other+67 more: $2,335,028 · Other+67 moreNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,256,792 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY…Ducks Unlimited Inc: $879,000 · EnvironmentDucks Unlimited IncTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $520,000 · EnvironmentTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATIO…MISSOURI CONSERVATION HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $508,000 · EnvironmentMISSOURI CONSERVATION HE…National Fish Habitat Fund Inc: $500,000 · EnvironmentNational Fish Habitat Fu…OZARK GREENWAYS INC: $321,000 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR SPORTFISHING POLICY: $275,000 · Environment+49 more: $2,147,057 · Environment+49 moreNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $595,000 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL ARCHERY IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMS INC: $500,000 · Recreation & SportsBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC: $255,000 · Recreation & SportsUSA CLAY TARGET LEAGUE: $250,000 · Recreation & SportsFLORIDA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL ARCHERY ASSOCIATION OF THE US: $110,000 · Recreation & Sports+15 more: $380,000 · Recreation & SportsJOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $662,286 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC: $200,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $37,592 · Arts & CultureUniversity of Maine Foundation: $320,000 · EducationTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationBILLION OYSTER PROJECT INC: $25,000 · EducationMinority Outdoor Alliance: $20,000 · Education+1 more: $15,000 · EducationCASTING FOR RECOVERY: $275,000 · HealthWARRIORS & QUIET WATERS FOUNDATION INC: $35,000 · HealthKT Team Inc: $25,000 · HealthPROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING INC: $25,000 · HealthSERIOUSFUN CHILDREN'S NETWORK: $15,000 · Health+3 more: $30,000 · Health
Animals$9,749,462Other$9,881,354Environment$6,406,849Recreation & Sports$2,265,000Arts & Culture$899,878Education$480,000Health$405,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FOUNDATION: $2,200,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1,256,792 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetPARK CITIES QUAIL INC: $1,200,000 over 3y, 73% of budgetFISH & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA I: $1,200,000 over 3y, 9.2% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC: $1,182,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetMULE DEER FOUNDATION: $905,321 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $879,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJOHNNY MORRIS' WONDERS OF WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $662,286 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INC: $600,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetNATIONAL DEER ASSOCIATION: $598,375 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetWILD SHEEP FOUNDATION: $596,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $595,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetPHEASANTS FOREVER INC: $591,591 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE WYLDLIFE FUND: $535,000 over 3y, 17% of budgetTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $520,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetMISSOURI CONSERVATION HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $508,000 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetNATIONAL ARCHERY IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMS INC: $500,000 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $469,675 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER: $450,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetTHE UNITED STATES SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $375,000 over 4y, 4.6% of budgetSAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL: $326,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetOZARK GREENWAYS INC: $321,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetUniversity of Maine Foundation: $320,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $320,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $300,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetCASTING FOR RECOVERY: $275,000 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetCENTER FOR SPORTFISHING POLICY: $275,000 over 5y, 6.1% of budgetBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB FOUNDATION INC: $255,000 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetUSA CLAY TARGET LEAGUE: $250,000 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE HABITAT FOUNDATION INC: $201,500 over 1y, 24% of budgetOUR COMMUNITY OUR FUTURE: $200,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetINTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC: $200,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetSOUTH CAROLINA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION: $190,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetFLORIDA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION INC: $175,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $158,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNEBRASKA LUTHERAN OUTDOOR MINISTRIES: $150,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetDALLAS ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: $130,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetBOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB: $118,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetHOUSTON SAFARI CLUB FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetNEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS FOUNDATION: $111,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetNATIONAL ARCHERY ASSOCIATION OF THE US: $110,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetCoastal Prairie Conservancy: $100,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetRIVER RELIEF INC D/B/A MISSOURI RIVER RELIEF: $100,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetTaking Care of Texas: $100,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetOregon Parks Forever: $100,000 over 2y, 8.9% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $100,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $100,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHE GEORGE W BUSH FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

National Fish and Wil…Cabelas Outdoor FundRocky Mountain Elk Fo…National Forest Found…The Nature ConservancyNational Park Foundat…PatagoniaorgRei Cooperative Actio…Dsc Foundation IncNational Wildlife Fed…Richard King Mellon F…Whitetails Unlimited …
National Fish and Wildlife FoundationDC50.6× affinity51 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Cabelas Outdoor Fund · Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc · National Forest Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · National Park Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Rei Cooperative Action Fund · Dsc Foundation Inc · National Wildlife Federation · Richard King Mellon Foundation · Whitetails Unlimited Inc

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 Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 180%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Wallowa Resources Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Wild Salmon Center: 49% of income from government
  • Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc: 46% of income from government
  • Northwoods Stewardship Center: 40% of income from government
  • Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Youth Environmental Alliance Inc: 18% of income from government
  • Hunters of Color: 4% of income from government
  • International Game Fish Association Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida I: 1% of income from government
  • East Coast Zoological Society of Florida Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Western Rivers Conservancy: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
18get no government money at all
45report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
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.

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 287 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 Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor’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