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· Public charity

Elks National Veterans Service Commission

In partnership with thousands of elks volunteers, the commission's programs offer direct service to veterans and military members in need throughout the nation.

$5.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
158
Grants FY2025still arriving
43
States reached
$82k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
01

What you funded, over time

By grantee IRS cause code (NTEE).

A cause breakdown isn’t shown here: 78% of ELKS NATIONAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMISSION’s grantee dollars fall outside its nine largest cause areas, whether because the recipient carries no IRS cause code or because its cause sits in the long tail. A chart would be mostly one residual band and misrepresent the portfolio.

02FY2025 · 158 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 158 grants below total $2,477,679 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $5,035,599 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $2,557,920 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k47 grants · $342k
  • $10k–50k109 grants · $2.0M
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $150k
$10,000
Median grant
43
States reached
$708k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOPKINS MN NO 2221$82,088
EUREKA-PACIFIC MO NO 2644$67,607
LYNNWOOD WA NO 2171$48,671
COLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION$48,575
EL PASO TX NM NO 187$48,573
CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS ASSOCIATION$47,590
RALEIGH NC NO 735$45,509
COCOA BEACH FL NO 2387$44,866
OSSINING NY NO 1486$43,087
GAINESVILLE FL NO 990$42,310
VANCOUVER WA NO 823$39,873
EAU CLAIRE WI NO 402$35,107
PORTSMOUTH NH NO 97$34,379
FOUNTAIN HILLS AZ NO 2846$34,202
ELGIN IL NO 737$33,509
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

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

show:

Your human-services grants (FY21–25, $562k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 51% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS ASSOCIATION: $50k → 19%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION: $16k → 7%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $9k → 8%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION: $25k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS HOSP FUND: $12k → 10%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $48k → 19%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION: $15k → 7%UTAH ELKS VETERAN SVC COMM: $8k → 8%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION: $23k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $11k → 10%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS ASSOCIATION: $48k → 19%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $14k → 7%UTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION INC BENEVOLENT TRUST FUND: $8k → 8%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $22k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS HOSP FUND: $11k → 10%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC: $44k → 19%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC: $14k → 7%UTAH ELKS VETERAN SVC COMM: $8k → 8%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION: $21k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC: $11k → 10%CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS ASSOCIATION: $43k → 19%ALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION: $12k → 7%UTAH ELKS VETERAN SVC COMM: $8k → 8%OHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $21k → 5%SOUTH DAKOTA ELKS HOSP FUND: $9k → 10%NEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION: $12k → 7%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $12k → 7%NEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION: $10k → 7%N J STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC: $10k → 7%NEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION: $8k → 7%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

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

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$11M · 145 repeat orgs$635k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +21% since the first grant, against +14% for the ones you funded once.

145 repeat relationships — 116 still active in FY2025, 29 since wound down; 34 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

145
38

Total granted

$11M
$290k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+14%

Still filing today

92%
82%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $345k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
PhilanthropyHuman ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • HL
    HOPKINS LODGE NO 2221 OF THE BENEV PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA
    5× · 2021–2025 · $246k · revenue +155%
  • CE
    CALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $233k · revenue +27%
  • CE
    COLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $221k · revenue +43%

Funded once

  • SC
    ST CLOUD ELKS LODGE 2843
    one grant, 2024 · $14k
  • VM
    VA MEDICAL CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $12k
  • BP
    Benevolent Protective Order Elks North Arlington #1992graduated
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue +38%

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

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks

Fraternal organization

Membership Benefit
2
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 1528 Bpoe

To provide for the members and the community

—
3
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge 175

To provide a social meeting place

—
4
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Mobile Lodge

Fraternal and charity

—
5
Benevolent & Protective Order Elks 2266

To inculcate the principles of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity

—
6
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa

Fraternal Organization

—
7
Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks of the Usa

Benevolent Organization Whose Purpose is to help the Youth, Elderly, and Veterans in the Community

—
8
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa

Dedicated to service in the state and local community through veterans'' services, furtherance of Americanism, care of the needy, activities for youth, various works of community betterment and charitable activities and programs

—
9
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge 1670

We are a benevolent and protective order. we primarily are involved in charitable causes. we pay special attention to those who are experiencing misfortune in any form, especially economically disadvantaged.

—
10
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa

This lodge unites its membership 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 guests.

—
11
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Brewster Lodge 2101

To inculate the principles of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity; to regognize 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…

—
12
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the Usa

We are a fraternal order with nearly a millioin members and a 141 year history. A network of nearly 2000 lodges in communities all over the county. A generous charitable foundation that each year gives millions in scholarships to youth, a…

—

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Glendale Lodge No 1289 and the most unlike its peers is Bugles Across America Nfp. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 75 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%2%<5yr14%1%5–10yr19%4%10–20yr16%10%20–35yr13%17%35–55yr16%67%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%2%<5yr14%2%5–10yr19%5%10–20yr16%17%20–35yr13%23%35–55yr16%52%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 2% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%4/215
the rest of the field
13%
240,394/1,819,350

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

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

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2026, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 202 of the 217 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

14
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
52
Early backer (in before they grew)
196/202
Grantees still filing
124/202
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

Individual grant recipient — $2,812,380 · OtherIndividual grant recipient+174 more — $6,854,962 · Other+174 moreCALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC — $233,110 · Human ServicesOHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TR — $111,828 · Human ServicesALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC — $69,860 · Human ServicesSouth Dakota Elks Major Projects Inc — $53,415 · Human ServicesOKLAHOMA ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $52,305 · Human ServicesNEW JERSEY STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC C/O ROBERT D MAURO — $52,110 · Human ServicesUTAH ELKS ASSOCIATION BENEVOLENT TR — $41,820 · Human ServicesWISCONSIN ELKS BENEVOLENT FUND INC — $107,688 · PhilanthropyMassachusetts Elks Charitable Trust — $100,385 · PhilanthropyNORTH CAROLINA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $77,720 · PhilanthropyMICHIGAN ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION — $69,695 · PhilanthropyWEST VIRGINIA ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC — $64,435 · PhilanthropyVirginia Elks Fund Inc CO TAMARA SYMONS — $61,650 · PhilanthropySouth Carolina Elks Charitable Trus — $38,525 · PhilanthropyWYOMING ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $30,000 · PhilanthropyRe-Creation USA Inc — $398,288 · Arts & CultureWASHINGTON STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $82,475 · EducationARKANSAS STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $74,355 · EducationAlaska State Elks Association Charitable Trust — $57,705 · EducationTENNESSEE ELKS CHARITABLE TRUST — $43,985 · EducationKANSAS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE INC — $42,530 · EducationOREGON ELKS ASSOCIATION TRUST — $33,785 · EducationCOLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC — $220,570 · Food & NutritionFLORIDA ELKS CHARITIES INC — $129,954 · Youth DevelopmentMISSISSIPPI ELKS CHARITIES — $49,294 · Youth Development
Other$9,667,342Human Services$614,448Philanthropy$550,098Arts & Culture$398,288Education$334,835Food & Nutrition$220,570Youth Development$179,248

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetRe-Creation USA Inc — $398,288 over 4y, 46% of budgetHOPKINS LODGE NO 2221 OF THE BENEV PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA — $246,305 over 5y, 19% of budgetCALIFORNIA-HAWAII ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC — $233,110 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetCOLORADO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITIES INC — $220,570 over 5y, 11% of budgetBenevolent&Protective Order of Elks — $196,239 over 5y, 33% of budgetBenevolent and Protective Order of Elks - Lodge 744 — $174,892 over 4y, 60% of budgetEL PASO ELKS LODGE #187 OF THE BENEVOLENT ORDER — $172,873 over 5y, 50% of budgetLYNNWOOD ELKS 2171 — $165,910 over 3y, 20% of budgetVancouver Elks Lodge #823 — $161,488 over 5y, 15% of budgetBPOE ELKS LODGE #339 — $148,532 over 5y, 32% of budgetILLINOIS ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $140,200 over 5y, 7.7% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF EL 2644 — $138,600 over 5y, 16% of budgetELGIN ELKS LODGE NO 737 — $136,713 over 5y, 90% of budgetNEW YORK ELKS MAJOR PROJECTS INC — $135,600 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetLAKE NORMAN ELKS LODGE 392 INC — $130,698 over 5y, 71% of budgetFLORIDA ELKS CHARITIES INC — $129,954 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetMINNESOTA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $128,960 over 5y, 22% of budgetMISSOURI ELKS CHARITABLE FUND INC — $128,635 over 5y, 13% of budgetPORTSMOUTH LODGE OF ELKS 97 — $127,978 over 5y, 8.2% of budgetPennsylvania Elks Major Projects Inc — $124,455 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetOHIO ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TR — $111,828 over 5y, 6.1% of budgetWISCONSIN ELKS BENEVOLENT FUND INC — $107,688 over 5y, 7.6% of budgetBALLARD ELKS LODGE 827 — $107,667 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetTEXAS ELKS ENDOWMENT INC — $103,325 over 5y, 6.5% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA - LOUDOUN LODGE 2406 — $100,667 over 5y, 10% of budgetMassachusetts Elks Charitable Trust — $100,385 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetKENTUCKY ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $95,630 over 5y, 24% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS YORKTOWN LODGE #2324 — $94,924 over 4y, 11% of budgetWASHINGTON STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $82,475 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetMaryland Delaware and District of Columbia Elks Assoc — $82,095 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetBenevelent & Protective Order of — $81,619 over 5y, 30% of budgetCHANDLER ELKS LODGE NO 2429 — $79,848 over 4y, 9.3% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $77,720 over 5y, 5.5% of budgetNew Hampshire State Elks Association — $76,480 over 5y, 14% of budgetARKANSAS STATE ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE TRUST — $74,355 over 5y, 12% of budgetALABAMA ELKS ASSOCIATION INC — $69,860 over 5y, 12% of budgetMICHIGAN ELKS ASSOCIATION CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION — $69,695 over 5y, 5.9% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF THE ELKS — $68,197 over 2y, 34% of budgetWEST VIRGINIA ELKS MAJOR PROJECT INC — $64,435 over 5y, 58% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA — $63,270 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetBENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS #735 — $62,215 over 2y, 15% of budgetBPO ELKS LODGE 990 GAINESVILLE — $62,028 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetVirginia Elks Fund Inc CO TAMARA SYMONS — $61,650 over 5y, 5.6% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF — $60,797 over 5y, 17% of budgetAlaska State Elks Association Charitable Trust — $57,705 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetSouth Dakota Elks Major Projects Inc — $53,415 over 5y, 15% of budgetBENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS LODGE NO 1880 — $53,389 over 5y, 20% of budgetBENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS OF THE USA — $52,608 over 2y, 21% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

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

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Elks National Foundat…Elks Disaster Relief …The Bank of America C…Network for GoodAmerican Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Elks National Foundation IncIL236.5× affinity200 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Elks National Foundation Inc · Elks Disaster Relief Program Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Elks National Veterans Service Commission funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 340%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    34get no government money at all
    17report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Elks National Veterans Service Commission?

    Find your warmest path to Elks National Veterans Service Commission 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 217 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    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 camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home
    State money flows
    the interactive map of money crossing state lines