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Paws Up Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Paws Up Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$306k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$253k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$425kEnvironment$94kAnimals$77kFood & Nutrition$56kRecreation & Sports$46kHealth$41kCommunity Improvement$29kEducation$26kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k13 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $25k
  • $250k+1 grant · $253k
$2,500
Median grant
5
States reached
$659k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM$252,500
BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE$15,000
WESTERN MONTANA FAIR AND LIVESTOCK SALE$10,048
YOGA HAVEN$5,000
ST JUDES CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL$5,000
BRAVE HEARTS$3,000
WORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATION$2,500
BIG BLACKFOOT CHAPTER OF MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED$2,500
AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE FOUNDATION$2,500
HUMANE SOCIETY OF WESTERN MONTANA$1,500
EBONY HORSEWOMEN$1,500
WILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER$1,090
WATSON CHILDREN'S CENTER$1,000
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION$1,000
ALPINE ARTISANS$1,000
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, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 24% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WATSON CHILDRENS SHELTER: $5k → 9%JUSTIN COWBOY CRISIS FUND: $1k → 9%BRAVE HEARTS: $3k → 6%WATSON CHILDRENS SHELTER: $3k → 9%WATSON CHILDRENS SHELTER: $2k → 9%ST JUDE RANCH FOR CHILDREN: $5k → 13%GREATER MISSOULA FAMIY YMCA: $2k → 9%GREATER MISSOULA FAMIY YMCA: $1k → 9%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

MT
IL
NY
NV
CT
CA
CO
KY
VA
MD
DC
OK
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$738k · 23 repeat orgs$100k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against -4% for those funded once.

23 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
43

Total granted

$738k
$76k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
-4%

Still filing today

74%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $24k 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
AnimalsHuman ServicesEnvironmentArts & CultureHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • NC
    NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC
    2× · 2017–2024 · $264k · revenue +364%
  • BC
    BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $88k · revenue +162%
  • MF
    MISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER
    5× · 2017–2023 · $43k · revenue +38%

Funded once

  • LV
    LAS VEGAS VICTIMS' FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • MC
    MISSOULA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
    one grant, 2018 · $7k
  • A
    AQHA
    one grant, 2020 · $6k
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
The Nevada Bighorns Foundation
Education
2
Nevada Wild Horses

Wild horse protection, preservation, rescue and care work.

Animals
3
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

The american wild horse campaign is the nation's leading conservation organization dedicated to preserving the freedom and habitat of wild horses and burros. through its initiatives in advocacy, conservation, land preservation, and legal…

Animals
4
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
5
Wolfe Ranch Rescue
Animals
6
Healthy Nevada
Health
7
Scenic Montana Trails
—
8
World Ranch Horse Association
Animals
9
Saving America's Mustangs
Education
10
Sky Dog Sanctuary Inc

To rescue wild horses and burros from auctions or kill pens, blm short term holding pens or other situations that are dangerous for the welfare of a wild horse or burro. as well as reunite wild horse families to keep them together.

Animals
11
Rocky Mountain Horse Foundation
Science & Tech
12
Mustangs of America Foundation

Looking after and caring for wild mustangs

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is American Quarter Horse Foundation; the most unlike its peers is St Judes Ranch for Children 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

38 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. 38 of the 73 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
37/38
Grantees still filing
19/38
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COWGIRL MUSEUM: $147,364 · OtherCOWGIRL MUSEUMWESTERN MONTANA FAIR AND LIVESTOCK: $32,512 · OtherWESTERN MONTANA FAIR AND LIVESTOCKWORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATION: $22,500 · OtherWORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATIONAMERICAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION: $18,000 · OtherYoga Haven: $16,225 · Other+47 more: $120,308 · Other+47 moreNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $263,800 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF…+2 more: $2,836 · Arts & CultureBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $88,000 · EnvironmentBLACKFOOT CH…+3 more: $5,500 · Environment+3 moreMISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER: $42,850 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $1,000 · Food & NutritionANGEL HORSES INC: $11,000 · AnimalsHUMANE SOCIETY OF WESTERN MONTANA: $9,000 · AnimalsWILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER INC: $2,675 · AnimalsAMERICAN QUARTER HORSE FOUNDATION: $2,500 · AnimalsEAGLE VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $2,500 · AnimalsNOAH'S ANIMAL HOUSE FOUNDATION: $2,500 · AnimalsMISSOULA ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP: $29,000 · Community ImprovementWATSON CHILDREN'S SHELTER INC: $9,500 · Human ServicesST JUDES RANCH FOR CHILDREN INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesBRAVEHEARTS THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER: $3,000 · Human ServicesGREATER MISSOULA FAMILY YMCA: $2,500 · Human ServicesJustin Cowboy Crisis Fund Inc: $1,100 · Human Services
Other$356,909Arts & Culture$266,636Environment$93,500Food & Nutrition$43,850Animals$30,175Community Improvement$29,000Human Services$21,100

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 budgetNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $263,800 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $88,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetMISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER: $42,850 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetMISSOULA ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP: $29,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetAMERICAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION: $18,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetYoga Haven: $16,225 over 3y, 21% of budgetANGEL HORSES INC: $11,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWATSON CHILDREN'S SHELTER INC: $9,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF WESTERN MONTANA: $9,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $7,400 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNRA FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEbony Horsewomen Inc: $4,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetBRAVEHEARTS THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER INC: $2,675 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetGREATER MISSOULA FAMILY YMCA: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSPRINGS PRESERVE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLAS VEGAS NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN QUARTER HORSE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEAGLE VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $2,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetNOAH'S ANIMAL HOUSE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSEELEY LAKE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALPINE ARTISANS INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetJustin Cowboy Crisis Fund Inc: $1,100 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNAPLES CHILDREN FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHREE SQUARE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CHILDHOOD CANCER ORGANIZAT: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR RECOVERY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBITTERROOT THERPEUTIC RIDING: $1,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetSHARE OUR STRENGTH: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMuseum of Modern Art: $336 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INC: $100 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.

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.

NV Energy Charitable …Montana Community Fou…Dennis & Phyllis Wash…First Interstate Banc…Werler Family Charita…Providence Health & S…The Bill & Rosemary G…Headwaters Health Fou…Town Pump Charitable …Gs Donor Advised Phil…Charities Aid Foundat…The Bank of America C…
NV Energy Charitable FoundationNV15.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: NV Energy Charitable Foundation · Montana Community Foundation Inc · Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Werler Family Charitable Foundation · Providence Health & Services - Montana · The Bill & Rosemary Gallagher Foundation · Headwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana · Town Pump Charitable Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation 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 Paws Up Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Paws Up Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 18%
  • Ebony Horsewomen Inc: 18% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 73 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-PF 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 Paws Up’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