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Moonlight Community Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Community foundation

Moonlight Community Foundation

The MOONLIGHT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION (mcf) supports initiatives for youth education, conservation, and under-served needs benefiting the big sky community.

$822k
Granted FY2024still arriving
25
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$110k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2024.

Environment$572kRecreation & Sports$490kHousing & Shelter$443kEducation$406kHealth$325kArts & Culture$276kPhilanthropy$263kHuman Services$250kOther$0
02FY2024 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 25 grants below total $767,200, the rows itemized in this filing. The $821,819 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $54,619 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 $10k2 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k19 grants · $415k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $338k
$20,250
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WELLNESS IN ACTION$110,000
BIG SKY COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST$85,000
BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION$75,000
MORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER$68,000
CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION$35,000
BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK$35,000
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS$30,000
GALLATIN RIVER TASK FORCE$30,000
BIG SKY ROTARY FOUNDATION$30,000
GREATER GALLATIN UNITED WAY$26,000
BIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY (BIENVENIDOS)$25,000
BIG SKY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION$25,000
FRIENDS OF BIG SKY EDUCATION$20,250
LONE PEAK HIGH SCHOOL$20,000
BIG SKY SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK ORGANIZATION (SNO)$20,000
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 (FY17–24, $504k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%BIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY (BIENVENIDOS): $25k → 10%WELLNESS IN ACTION: $110k → 10%BIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY (BIENVENIDOS): $22k → 10%WELLNESS IN ACTION: $62k → 10%WELLNESS IN ACTION: $60k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY HOUSING (HRDC): $40k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $35k → 10%BIG SKY ROTARY FOUNDATION: $30k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $25k → 10%BIG SKY ROTARY FOUNDATION: $25k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $21k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK (HRDC): $4k → 10%WOMEN IN ACTION: $10k → 10%WOMEN IN ACTION: $10k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY HOUSING (HRDC): $10k → 10%BIG SKY ROTARY FOUNDATION ON BEHALF OF SNO: $6k → 10%BIG SKY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $5k → 10%WOMEN IN ACTION: $3k → 10%BIG SKY ROTARY FOUNDATION: $2k → 10%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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 7% of Moonlight Community Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 100% of the giving stays in MT; by stated purpose, 93%.

Moonlight Community Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 4.9% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.9M · 32 repeat orgs$163k to everyone else

32 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
12

Total granted

$2.9M
$101k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+89%
+98%

Still filing today

94%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $62k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsArts & CultureOther
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

  • BS
    BIG SKY COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST BSCHT
    5× · 2020–2024 · $375k · revenue ×12
  • BS
    BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $362k · revenue +298%
  • WI
    WELLNESS IN ACTION
    6× · 2017–2024 · $254k · revenue +319%

Funded once

  • BD
    Bozeman Deaconess Foundation
    one grant, 2021 · $25k · revenue +3%
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GALLATIN VALLEY INC
    one grant, 2020 · $18k · revenue -8%
  • BO
    BIG OPPORTUNITIES
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -50%
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
Scenic Montana Trails
—
2
Big Sky Resort Association Inc

Serving as the voice of business, the big sky chamber of commerce champions a healthy economy and works collaboratively with community stakeholders as a conveyor and a catalyst to improve the overall quality of life in the region.

—
3
Visit Big Sky

As the community's official destination management and marketing organization, visit big sky leads the development and promotion of authentic tourism experiences through research and stakeholder collaboration to grow big sky's economy…

Community Improvement
4
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
5
Our Big Sky Ranch
—
6
Montana Conservation Corps Inc

Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) inspires young people through hands-on conservation service to be leaders, stewards of the land and engaged citizens who improve their communities.

Civil Rights
7
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
8
Save our Gallatin Front Inc
Environment
9
Gallatin Watershed Council Inc

The Gallatin Watershed Council guides collaborative watershed stewardship in the Gallatin Valley for a healthy and productive landscape.

Environment
10
Big Sky Economic Development Corporation

To promote, stimulate, and advance the general welfare and economic development for billings, yellowstone county, and the state of montana.

Community Improvement
11
The Greater Montana Foundation
Philanthropy
12
Gallatin Wildlife Association

Promote research and actions to save wildlife.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Friends of Big Sky Education; the most unlike its peers is Wildlife Conservation Society. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

44 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. 44 of the 50 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
22
Early backer (in before they grew)
44/44
Grantees still filing
35/44
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $362,334 · EnvironmentBIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIO…Gallatin River Task Force: $164,297 · EnvironmentGallatin River Task ForceBIG SKY SNO INC: $116,917 · EnvironmentBIG SKY SNO INCTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $74,144 · EnvironmentTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCECLIMATE CONSERVATION DBA CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION: $57,500 · EnvironmentCLIMATE CONSERVATION DBA CENT…GROW WILD INC: $52,400 · EnvironmentGROW WILD INC+5 more: $58,000 · Environment+5 moreWELLNESS IN ACTION: $254,425 · Human ServicesWELLNESS IN ACTIO…HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF DISTRICT IX INC: $139,710 · Human ServicesHUMAN RESOURCE DE…Big Sky Rotary Foundation: $62,500 · Human ServicesBig Sky Rotary Fo…BIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY: $47,300 · Human ServicesBIENVENIDOS A GAL…YELLOWSTONE CLUB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $206,476 · PhilanthropyYELLOWSTONE CLUB…FRIENDS OF BIG SKY EDUCATION: $153,170 · PhilanthropyFRIENDS OF BIG S…ONE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · PhilanthropyONE VALLEY COMMU…GREATER GALLATIN UNITED WAY INC: $41,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER GALLATIN…Bozeman Deaconess Foundation: $25,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $22,500 · PhilanthropyBIG SKY SCHOOL DISTRICT: $107,567 · OtherBIG SKY SCHOOL DISTR…ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY: $73,634 · OtherARTS COUNCIL OF BIG …BIG SKY SKI EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $73,000 · OtherBIG SKY SKI EDUCATIO…BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF BIG SKY COUNTRY: $62,500 · OtherBIG BROTHERS BIG SIS…RIMROCK FOUNDATION: $49,595 · OtherRIMROCK FOUNDATIONBIG SKY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION: $45,000 · OtherBIG SKY SCHOOL PAREN…THRIVE INC: $29,500 · OtherHATCH: $89,000 · OtherHATCH+8 more: $81,000 · Other+8 moreBIG SKY COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST BSCHT: $375,000 · Housing & ShelterBIG SKY COMMU…HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GALLATIN VALLEY INC: $17,500 · Housing & ShelterMORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER INC: $195,154 · EducationMORNINGSTAR…BIG SKY DISCOVERY SCHOOL INC dba BIG SKY DISCOVERY ACADEMY: $57,829 · EducationBIG SKY DIS…World Language Initiative MT: $36,000 · EducationWorld Langu…Montana State University Foundation Inc: $29,000 · EducationMontana Sta…FRIENDS OF THE BIG SKY COMMUNITY LIBRARY: $15,500 · Education+1 more: $8,000 · EducationCROSSCUT MOUNTAIN SPORTS CENTER: $90,000 · Recreation & SportsBIG SKY FUTBOL CLUB: $15,500 · Recreation & SportsDIRT CONCERN - SOUTHWEST MONTANA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $3,500 · Recreation & Sports
Environment$885,592Human Services$503,935Philanthropy$498,146Other$610,796Housing & Shelter$392,500Education$341,483Recreation & Sports$114,000

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 COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST BSCHT: $375,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetBIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: $362,334 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetWELLNESS IN ACTION: $254,425 over 6y, 12% of budgetYELLOWSTONE CLUB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $206,476 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetMORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER INC: $195,154 over 8y, 5.1% of budgetGallatin River Task Force: $164,297 over 8y, 5.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF BIG SKY EDUCATION: $153,170 over 7y, 4.3% of budgetHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF DISTRICT IX INC: $139,710 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBIG SKY SNO INC: $116,917 over 4y, 23% of budgetCROSSCUT MOUNTAIN SPORTS CENTER: $90,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetHATCH: $89,000 over 6y, 4.0% of budgetTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $74,144 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY: $73,634 over 7y, 2.2% of budgetBIG SKY SKI EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $73,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetBig Sky Rotary Foundation: $62,500 over 4y, 46% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF BIG SKY COUNTRY: $62,500 over 6y, 2.7% of budgetBIG SKY DISCOVERY SCHOOL INC dba BIG SKY DISCOVERY ACADEMY: $57,829 over 4y, 3.9% of budgetCLIMATE CONSERVATION DBA CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION: $57,500 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetGROW WILD INC: $52,400 over 6y, 8.0% of budgetONE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetRIMROCK FOUNDATION: $49,595 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY: $47,300 over 2y, 16% of budgetGREATER GALLATIN UNITED WAY INC: $41,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetWorld Language Initiative MT: $36,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetTHRIVE INC: $29,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetMontana State University Foundation Inc: $29,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBozeman Deaconess Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $18,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GALLATIN VALLEY INC: $17,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BIG SKY COMMUNITY LIBRARY: $15,500 over 2y, 6.5% of budgetBIG SKY FUTBOL CLUB: $15,500 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetRED LODGE AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMONTANA WILDERNESS SCHOOL: $12,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetBIG OPPORTUNITIES: $10,000 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetRILEY'S URGENT FUND FOR FRIENDS: $10,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetBIG SKY PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION BSPTO: $8,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetEagle Mount: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDIRT CONCERN - SOUTHWEST MONTANA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetMONTANA RAPTOR CONSERVATION CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetFRIENDS OF MONTANA SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKS: $5,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetMADISON RIVER FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 3.6% 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.

Yellowstone Club Comm…Spanish Peaks Communi…One Valley Community …Montana Community Fou…Dennis & Phyllis Wash…The Arthur M Blank Fa…The Rieschel Foundati…M J Murdock Charitabl…Otto Bremer TrustKnight Foundation CO …First Interstate Banc…Town Pump Charitable …
Yellowstone Club Community FoundationMT74.8× affinity33 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Yellowstone Club Community Foundation · Spanish Peaks Community Foundation · One Valley Community Foundation · Montana Community Foundation Inc · Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · The Arthur M Blank Family Foundation · The Rieschel Foundation · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Otto Bremer Trust · Knight Foundation CO M Scholz · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Town Pump Charitable Foundation

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Moonlight Community Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Moonlight Community Foundation 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 50 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 Moonlight’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