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Elks National Foundation Inc

The foundation's mission is to help the benevolent and protective order of elks of the united states of america (bpoe) build stronger communities by offering college scholarships, funding programs that build the character and confidence of youth, serving veterans, and providing elks lodges and state associations with resources they need…

$40M
Granted FY2026still arriving
1,536
Grants FY2026still arriving
51
States reached
$6.3M
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Community Improvement$90MRecreation & Sports$65MHuman Services$35MHealth$11MYouth Development$5.7MArts & Culture$4.2MEducation$3.9MPhilanthropy$1.7MOther$0
02FY2026 · 1536 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1,536 grants below total $36,489,888, the rows itemized in this filing. The $40,399,917 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $3,910,029 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 · FY2026

  • Under $10k699 grants · $6.0M
  • $10k–50k787 grants · $8.9M
  • $50k–250k30 grants · $3.6M
  • $250k+20 grants · $18M
$10,000
Median grant
51
States reached
$954M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ELKS NATIONAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMISSION$6,314,345
ELKS VETERANS MEMORIAL RESTORATION TRUST$2,000,000
CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC$1,684,670
ELKS NATIONAL DRUG AWARENESS COMMISSION$1,001,380
ELKS VETERANS MEMORIAL RESTORATION TRUST$813,080
FLORIDA ELKS CHARITIES INC$645,950
N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC$644,330
NEW YORK ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC$503,090
OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST$438,380
ARIZONA ELKS ASSOCIATION$405,180
PENNSYLVANIA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC$404,110
MASSACHUSETTS ELKS CHARITABLE TRUST$374,430
ILLINOIS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST$367,180
TEXAS ELKS ENDOWMENT INCORPORATED$365,630
COLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC$360,680
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 (FY23–26, $12.6M) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 86% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $1.7M → 19%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $1.7M → 19%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $1.6M → 19%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $1.5M → 19%OKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $109k → 10%OKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $102k → 15%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $66k → 20%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $102k → 10%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $438k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $52k → 10%OKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $101k → 10%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $63k → 20%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $84k → 10%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $423k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $49k → 10%OKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $98k → 10%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $63k → 20%CONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $233k → 12%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $77k → 10%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $370k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $48k → 10%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $59k → 20%CONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $222k → 12%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $71k → 10%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $369k → 5%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $783k → 11%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $44k → 10%CONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $204k → 12%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $644k → 11%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $598k → 11%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $562k → 11%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
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
HI
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$254M · 1626 repeat orgs$2.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

1626 repeat relationships: 1493 still active in FY2026, 133 since wound down; 39 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

1626
93

Total granted

$254M
$2.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
0%

Still filing today

95%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $458k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Membership BenefitPhilanthropyHuman ServicesEducationCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • EN
    ELKS NATIONAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMISSION
    9× · 2017–2026 · $36M · revenue +122% · 97% of their budget
  • EV
    ELKS VETERANS MEMORIAL RESTORATION TRUST
    10× · 2017–2026 · $8.5M · revenue +228% · 76% of their budget
  • CE
    CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC
    4× · 2023–2026 · $6.5M · revenue +16% · 28% of their budget

Funded once

  • ED
    ELKS DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM INC
    one grant, 2025 · $1.0M · revenue 0% · 95% of their budget
  • BP
    BENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS CONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2023 · $198k
  • IE
    INDIANA ELKS ASSOCIATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $194k · revenue +49%
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
Wooster Elks Lodge No 1346 Charitable Fund
Philanthropy
2
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa

Charitable Organization

—
3
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge #2313

Supporting state and local special needs projects and providing members and families a social environment

—
4
Elkton Lodge No 851 Loyal Order of Moose

The organization unites its members in the bond of fraternity,benevolence,and charity.this is accomplished through a year round schedule of social & recreational activities for members & families(590)

—
5
Loyal Order of Moose No 741

The lodge unites its members in the bonds of fraternity., benevolence and charity. this is accomplished through a year-round schedule of social and recreational activities for members and their families.

—
6
Kalkaska Lodge 2348 Loyal Order of Moose

The organization unites its members in the bonds of fraternity benevolence and charitly. this is accomplished through a year-round schedule of social and recreational activities for the members and their families estimated at 415.

Membership Benefit
7
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa Summit County Lodge No 2561

To provide benevolent activities and support for seniors, youth, veterans, and the local community

—
8
Greater Pine Island Elks Charitable Trust Inc
Philanthropy
9
Parkersburg Loyal Order of Moose 1118

The lodge unites members in the bonds of fraternity, benevolence, and charity this is accomplished through a year round schedule of social and recreational activities

—
10
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks #115

To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity to recognize a belief in God to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members to quicken the spirit of American patriotism to cultivate good…

—
11
Enid Lodge No 1740 Loyal Order of Moose

This organization unites its members in the bonds of fraternal benevolence and charity. This is accomplished through a year-round social and recreational activities for its members and their families, estimated at 475.

—
12
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 142 Milwaukie-Portland

The milwaukie-portland elks lodge is a fraternal social order dedicated to serving members and the greater community.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks 1416 Blackfoot; the most unlike its peers is Camp Idlewild of Florida Inc. 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

1665 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. 1665 of the 1,760 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.

97
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
292
Early backer (in before they grew)
1639/1665
Grantees still filing
1065/1665
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ELKS STATE ASSOCIATIONS: $57,779,272 · OtherELKS STATE ASSOCIATIONSIndividual grant recipient: $54,779,728 · OtherIndividual grant recipient+167 more: $23,071,914 · Other+167 moreELKS NATIONAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMISSION: $35,862,621 · PhilanthropyELKS NATIONAL VETERANS…Massachusetts Elks Charitable Trust: $1,417,490 · Philanthropy+7 more: $4,489,990 · Philanthropy+7 moreCALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $6,545,520 · Human ServicesNEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC C/O ROBERT D MAURO: $2,587,100 · Human ServicesOHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TR: $1,600,690 · Human ServicesCONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $658,190 · Human Services+4 more: $1,188,750 · Human ServicesELKS VETERANS MEMORIAL RESTORATION TRUST: $8,511,424 · HealthELKS NATIONAL DRUG AWARENESS COMMISSION: $2,545,410 · HealthPennsylvania Elks Major Projects Inc: $1,413,330 · HealthOREGON ELKS ASSOCIATION TRUST: $1,683,840 · EducationWASHINGTON STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $1,218,380 · EducationTENNESSEE ELKS CHARITABLE TRUST: $485,350 · EducationAlaska State Elks Association Charitable Trust: $384,969 · EducationRI STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $356,010 · EducationMONTANA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $300,580 · EducationKANSAS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE INC: $299,970 · EducationARKANSAS STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $256,070 · EducationFLORIDA ELKS CHARITIES INC: $2,571,450 · Youth DevelopmentMISSISSIPPI ELKS CHARITIES: $245,320 · Youth DevelopmentCOLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $1,496,760 · Food & Nutrition
Other$135,630,914Philanthropy$41,770,101Human Services$12,580,250Health$12,470,164Education$4,985,169Youth Development$2,816,770Food & Nutrition$1,496,760

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$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetELKS NATIONAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMISSION: $35,862,621 over 9y, 97% of budgetELKS VETERANS MEMORIAL RESTORATION TRUST: $8,511,424 over 10y, 76% of budgetCALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $6,545,520 over 4y, 28% of budgetNEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC C/O ROBERT D MAURO: $2,587,100 over 4y, 88% of budgetELKS NATIONAL DRUG AWARENESS COMMISSION: $2,545,410 over 3y, 81% of budgetNEW YORK ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $1,964,060 over 4y, 40% of budgetOREGON ELKS ASSOCIATION TRUST: $1,683,840 over 4y, 78% of budgetILLINOIS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $1,682,940 over 4y, 99% of budgetOHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TR: $1,600,690 over 4y, 71% of budgetCOLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $1,496,760 over 4y, 75% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA: $1,475,410 over 4y, 66% of budgetMassachusetts Elks Charitable Trust: $1,417,490 over 4y, 100% of budgetPennsylvania Elks Major Projects Inc: $1,413,330 over 4y, 25% of budgetTEXAS ELKS ENDOWMENT INC: $1,309,560 over 4y, 54% of budgetMaryland Delaware and District of Columbia Elks Assoc: $1,277,880 over 4y, 45% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $1,218,380 over 4y, 79% of budgetMICHIGAN ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION: $1,167,590 over 4y, 99% of budgetMISSOURI ELKS CHARITABLE FUND INC: $1,046,960 over 4y, 100% of budgetELKS DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 95% of budgetWISCONSIN ELKS BENEVOLENT FUND INC: $839,580 over 4y, 47% of budgetVirginia Elks Fund Inc CO TAMARA SYMONS: $714,790 over 4y, 81% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $672,250 over 4y, 56% of budgetCONNECTICUT ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $658,190 over 3y, 46% of budgetMAINE ELKS ASSOCIATION: $641,170 over 4y, 30% of budgetNEVADA STATE ELKS CHARITIES FUND INC: $633,060 over 4y, 97% of budgetMINNESOTA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $602,740 over 4y, 100% of budgetINDIANA ELKS CHARITIES INC: $588,250 over 3y, 30% of budgetTENNESSEE ELKS CHARITABLE TRUST: $485,350 over 4y, 84% of budgetNew Hampshire State Elks Association: $479,270 over 4y, 78% of budgetSouth Carolina Elks Charitable Trus: $464,500 over 4y, 51% of budgetOKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $409,330 over 4y, 73% of budgetIOWA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST INC: $404,000 over 4y, 46% of budgetAlaska State Elks Association Charitable Trust: $384,969 over 4y, 24% of budgetRI STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $356,010 over 4y, 67% of budgetUTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION BENEVOLENT TR: $334,830 over 4y, 47% of budgetIDAHO STATE ELKS YOUTH INC: $326,090 over 4y, 79% of budgetMONTANA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $300,580 over 4y, 46% of budgetKANSAS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE INC: $299,970 over 4y, 71% of budgetVERMONT ELKS CHARITIES INC: $281,410 over 4y, 19% of budgetWYOMING ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $265,620 over 4y, 100% of budgetARKANSAS STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $256,070 over 4y, 44% of budgetALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $252,140 over 4y, 49% of budgetMISSISSIPPI ELKS CHARITIES: $245,320 over 4y, 77% of budgetNEW MEXICO ELKS CHARITIES INC: $217,870 over 2y, 90% of budgetNAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME: $209,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetKENTUCKY ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $196,350 over 2y, 95% of budgetSouth Dakota Elks Major Projects Inc: $192,450 over 4y, 58% of budgetNORTH DAKOTA ELKS CHARITABLE TRUST: $130,620 over 3y, 9.9% 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.

Elks National Veterans Service CommissionIL236.5× affinity200 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Elks National Veterans Service Commission · Elks Disaster Relief Program Inc · Ndc Housing & Economic Development Corporation - Group Return · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Elks National Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Elks National Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 300%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    30get no government money at all
    16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 Elks National Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Elks National Foundation Inc 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 1760 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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