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International Elephant Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

International Elephant Foundation

International Elephant Foundation (IEF) creates a sustainable future for elephants.

$892k
Granted FY2023
1
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its 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, FY2017 to 2023.

Health$291kAnimals$231kEducation$87kScience & Tech$33k
02FY2023 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1 grants below total $15,750, the rows itemized in this filing. The $892,382 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $876,632 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.
$15,750
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Trustees of Tufts College$15,750
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 89% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Trustees of Tufts College: $16k → 16%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $247k → 16%TULSA ZOO: $10k → 15%SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $10k → 14%CHICAGO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $9k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS: $12k → 19%Rutgers The State University of New Jersey: $60k → 8%GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: $11k → 6%Johns Hopkins University: $25k → 19%WKU RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $12k → 18%Baylor College of Medicine: $84k → 16%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $20k → 19%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $20k → 16%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $20k → 19%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $14k → 16%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $20k → 19%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $10k → 16%Johns Hopkins University: $20k → 19%HOUSTON ZOO INC: $7k → 16%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $15k → 19%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

IL
MA
NJ
KY
VA
MD
DC
OK
TX

Grants abroad, by region: $956k on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 3 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Sub-Saharan Africa$845k · 88% · 15 grants

Stated purpose: elephant conservation

East Asia and the Pacific$62k · 6% · 2 grants

Stated purpose: elephant conservation

South Asia$49k · 5% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: elephant conservation

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its 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
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
3
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
4
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
5
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
6
University of Iowa Facilities Corporation

The university of iowa facilities corporation acquires and holds property for the benefit and use of the university of iowa.

—
7
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
8
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of…

Community Improvement
9
Western University of Health Sciences

To produce, in a humanistic tradition, health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that will enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities.

—
10
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges

The association of governing boards of universities and colleges advances higher education as a public good by preparing college, university, and foundation governing boards to fulfill their fiduciary duties and exemplify the highest…

Education
11
University of Florida Health Corporation

UF Health's mission is to promote health through outstanding and high-quality patient care, innovative and rigorous education in the health professions and biomedical sciences, and high-impact research across the spectrum of basic,…

—
12
Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Mitchell hamline school of law is an independent law school that advances its mission through a combination of legal education, public service, and community engagement. it is dedicated to preparing students to practice law, while also…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Zoological Society; the most unlike its peers is Smithsonian Institution. 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

9 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. 9 of the 11 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
8/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHI ST LUKE'S HEALTH BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE MEDICAL CENTER: $374,942 · HealthCHI ST LUKE'S HEALTH BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE MEDICAL CENTERJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $120,000 · EducationJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITYTrustees of Tufts College: $15,750 · EducationTrustees of Tufts CollegeUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $12,150 · EducationUniversity of Illinois Fou…RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · OtherRUTGERS THE ST…Western Kentucky University Research Foundation Inc: $12,000 · OtherWestern Kentuc…GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: $10,720 · OtherGEORGE MASON U…TULSA ZOO MANAGEMENT INC: $10,000 · AnimalsChicago Zoological Society: $9,018 · AnimalsHouston Zoo Inc: $7,400 · AnimalsSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $10,000 · Arts & Culture
Health$374,942Education$147,900Other$82,720Animals$26,418Arts & Culture$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCHI ST LUKE'S HEALTH BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE MEDICAL CENTER: $374,942 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $120,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $15,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $12,150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWestern Kentucky University Research Foundation Inc: $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTULSA ZOO MANAGEMENT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChicago Zoological Society: $9,018 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $7,400 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization International Elephant Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from International Elephant Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
0rely 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 11 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $959k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

Source object · view filing

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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