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Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc

The mission of the rocky mountain elk foundation (rmef) is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.

$9.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
112
Grants FY2024still arriving
27
States reached
$1.7M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its 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 2024.

Environment$23MAnimals$6.3MRecreation & Sports$2.0MScience & Tech$402kHuman Services$160kYouth Development$153kPublic Benefit$106kReligion$39kOther$0
02FY2024 · 112 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 112 grants below total $8,411,536, the rows itemized in this filing. The $9,219,469 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $807,933 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 $10k35 grants · $248k
  • $10k–50k48 grants · $983k
  • $50k–250k22 grants · $2.6M
  • $250k+7 grants · $4.6M
$13,000
Median grant
27
States reached
$152M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UTAH DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES$1,693,707
USDA FOREST SERVICE$1,100,022
PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION$582,300
TENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES AGENCY$358,655
MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF FISH WILDLIFE & PARKS$316,047
COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE$281,719
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY$250,000
PHEASANTS FOREVER$232,893
KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES$224,626
IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH & GAME$222,500
WYOMING GAME & FISH DEPARTMENT$175,857
SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF GAME FISH AND PARKS$145,935
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE$134,740
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES$125,030
ILLINOIS CONSERVATION FOUNDATION$125,000
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 (FY19–24, $145k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 8% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CUTTING FENCES FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%RAISED AT FULL DRAW: $38k → 7%YOUTH OUTDOORS UNLIMITED: $12k → 14%RAISED AT FULL DRAW: $35k → 7%RAISED AT FULL DRAW: $35k → 7%RAISED AT FULL DRAW: $6k → 7%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
VT
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
CA
UT
CO
NE
KY
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$28M · 91 repeat orgs$4.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

91 repeat relationships: 55 still active in FY2024, 36 since wound down; 53 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

91
126

Total granted

$28M
$2.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+25%

Still filing today

42%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.4M 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
EnvironmentAnimalsRecreation & SportsEducationYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitOther
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

  • IC
    Illinois Conservation Foundation
    6× · 2019–2024 · $775k · revenue +30%
  • MM
    Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation
    5× · 2019–2024 · $613k · revenue +91%
  • WM
    WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $505k · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • CP
    Coloradans Protecting Wildlife
    one grant, 2020 · $283k · 36% of their budget
  • AC
    ASOTIN COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT
    one grant, 2022 · $139k
  • BR
    BABBITT RANCHES LLC
    one grant, 2020 · $110k
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
Wyoming Wildlife Federation

Wyoming wildlife federation delivers leadership in conservation for the state's wildlife, hunters, anglers, and conservationists through policy, education, advocacy, and habitat.

Animals
2
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
3
Arizona Wildlife Federation

Arizona Wildlife Federation's purpose is to promote and encourage the conservation, propagation, development and management of fish, game and other wildlife; to promote and encourage the wise use, conservation and restoration of waters,…

Animals
4
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
5
Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

To promote science-based wildlife management that fosters ecosystem health and dynamic equilibrium between species throughout the state of wyoming.

Animals
6
Inland Northwest Wildlife Council

Promote interest, education, and conservation regarding hunting and fishing and aid in the protection of wildlife. promote sportsman like hunting methods and improve hunter/landowner relations.

Animals
7
Wildlife Conservation Foundation

1. To preserve land and wildlife for the use and education of future generations.2. To assist in wildlife management programs that protect and preserve land and wildlife.3. To provide education regardign the importance of hunting and its…

Animals
8
Idaho Wildlife Federation

The Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF) promotes the conservation of Idaho's wildlife heritage and legacy of sporting opportunities for the current and future generations.

Animals
9
Wyoming Outdoor Council

The wyoming outdoor council's mission is to protect wyoming's environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

Environment
10
Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation Inc

The mission of the Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation is to provide a legacy for Colorado through support of environmental stewardship conservation of wildlife and the protection of critical habitat.

Animals
11
Minnesota Wildlife Federation

A coalition of individuals, groups, and communities dedicated to outdoor recreation and the conservation and ethical use of minnesota's natural resources by all, for all, with all.

Environment
12
Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation

The mission of the organization is to educate the public and outdoorsmen about wildlife and wildlife conservation and to raise funds for conservation grants.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Integral Ecology Research Center. 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

114 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. 114 of the 273 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.

8
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
111/114
Grantees still filing
71/114
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE (USDA): $7,629,737 · OtherAGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE (USDA)STATE OF UTAH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: $2,299,576 · OtherSTATE OF UTAH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTBUREAU OF LAND MANAGMENT: $1,636,327 · OtherBUREAU OF LAND MANAGMENTPENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION: $1,012,224 · OtherCOLORADO ENERGY OFFICE: $947,973 · OtherWYOMING GAME & FISH DEPARTMENT: $946,335 · Other+132 more: $12,149,157 · Other+132 moreIllinois Conservation Foundation: $775,000 · EnvironmentSouthern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy: $250,000 · EnvironmentRUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY: $202,425 · EnvironmentNATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION INC: $112,532 · EnvironmentThe Sierra Fund: $69,999 · Environment+15 more: $367,672 · EnvironmentNEVADA WILDLIFE RECORD BOOK: $606,275 · AnimalsTENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $491,282 · AnimalsARIZONA BIG GAME SUPER RAFFLE INC DBA CONSERVATION FIRST USA: $211,919 · AnimalsTHE UNITED STATES SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 · AnimalsOREGON WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $80,000 · AnimalsARKANSAS GAME AND FISH FOUNDATION: $73,297 · Animals+7 more: $158,438 · AnimalsFIRST HUNT FOUNDATION INC: $397,653 · Recreation & SportsSWVA SPORTSMEN INC: $301,069 · Recreation & SportsWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES: $300,000 · Recreation & SportsNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $68,855 · Recreation & SportsWYOMING DISABLED HUNTERS INC: $47,566 · Recreation & Sports+9 more: $117,523 · Recreation & SportsUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $117,500 · EducationWASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationTACOMA SPORTSMAN'S CLUB INC: $50,000 · EducationMontana State University Foundation Inc: $30,000 · Education+1 more: $10,044 · EducationRAISED AT FULL DRAW: $113,500 · Human ServicesCUTTING FENCES FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Human ServicesYOUTH OUTDOORS UNLIMITED: $11,500 · Human ServicesMONTANA CONSERVATION FUND: $10,000 · Human ServicesHUNT WITH HEART INCORPORATED: $10,000 · Human ServicesPASS IT ON - OUTDOOR MENTORS INC: $68,750 · Youth DevelopmentThe CHFC Foundation: $19,600 · Youth DevelopmentRio Salado Target Terminators: $16,100 · Youth DevelopmentMONTANA OUTFITTERS AND GUIDES EDUCATION INSTITUTE: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentFATHERS IN THE FIELD: $10,000 · Youth Development
Other$26,621,329Environment$1,777,628Animals$1,766,211Recreation & Sports$1,232,666Education$307,544Human Services$165,000Youth Development$124,450

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$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetIllinois Conservation Foundation: $775,000 over 6y, 21% of budgetMax McGraw Wildlife Foundation: $612,500 over 5y, 3.7% of budgetWILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE INC: $505,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetTENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC: $491,282 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $416,881 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFIRST HUNT FOUNDATION INC: $397,653 over 6y, 62% of budgetPHEASANTS FOREVER INC: $383,393 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetONE MONTANA: $375,000 over 6y, 26% of budgetSWVA SPORTSMEN INC: $301,069 over 6y, 32% of budgetWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES: $300,000 over 2y, 5.8% of budgetColoradans Protecting Wildlife: $282,500 over 1y, 36% of budgetSouthern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy: $250,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetARIZONA BIG GAME SUPER RAFFLE INC DBA CONSERVATION FIRST USA: $211,919 over 3y, 16% of budgetRUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY: $202,425 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE UNITED STATES SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC: $145,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $117,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRAISED AT FULL DRAW: $113,500 over 4y, 21% of budgetNATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION INC: $112,532 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN'S FOUNDATION: $105,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetOREGON WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBACKCOUNTRY HORSEMEN OF CALIFORNIA INC - STATE FILING: $77,571 over 2y, 49% of budgetARKANSAS GAME AND FISH FOUNDATION: $73,297 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetThe Sierra Fund: $69,999 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetNATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION: $68,855 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPASS IT ON - OUTDOOR MENTORS INC: $68,750 over 5y, 5.4% of budgetHANDS OF A SPORTSMAN INC: $62,204 over 6y, 13% of budgetIntegral Ecology Research Center: $55,847 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetSTILLWATER VALLEY WATERSHED COUNCIL: $55,390 over 6y, 8.7% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTACOMA SPORTSMAN'S CLUB INC: $50,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetMULE DEER FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPLATTE RIVER BASIN ENVIRONMENTS IN: $50,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetBuffalo Bill Memorial Association: $47,718 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWYOMING DISABLED HUNTERS INC: $47,566 over 5y, 21% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR TX WILDLIFE: $44,882 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetHEART OF THE ROCKIES INITIATIVE: $42,786 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetWILDLIFE ECOLOGY INSTITUTE: $41,444 over 1y, 39% of budgetPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER: $40,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCROSS THE DIVIDE: $30,045 over 3y, 5.9% of budgetMontana State University Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIdols Aside Ministries Inc: $28,840 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetWARRIORS & QUIET WATERS FOUNDATION INC: $28,416 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetWYOMING COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $27,550 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWALLOWA RESOURCES INC: $27,028 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE WYLDLIFE FUND: $22,959 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetBOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS FOUNDATION: $22,808 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetIUP RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $20,274 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCUTTING FENCES FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 15% 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.

  • Who funds Illinois Conservation Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NEVADA WILDLIFE RECORD BOOK ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds FIRST HUNT FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds PHEASANTS FOREVER INC ↗
  • Who funds ONE MONTANA ↗
  • Who funds SWVA SPORTSMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES ↗
  • Who funds Coloradans Protecting Wildlife ↗
  • Who funds Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds ARIZONA BIG GAME SUPER RAFFLE INC DBA CONSERVATION FIRST USA ↗
  • Who funds RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE UNITED STATES SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Kentucky Research Foundation ↗
  • Who funds RAISED AT FULL DRAW ↗

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.

National Fish and Wil…Bass Pro Shops & Cabe…NRA Foundation IncThe Nature ConservancyNational Forest Found…Recreational Boating …Cabelas Outdoor FundSafari Club Internati…Investor Protection T…Resources Legacy FundMidway USA Foundation…Whitetails Unlimited …
National Fish and Wildlife FoundationDC44.9× affinity42 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Bass Pro Shops & Cabelas Outdoor Fund · NRA Foundation Inc · The Nature Conservancy · National Forest Foundation · Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation · Cabelas Outdoor Fund · Safari Club International Foundation · Investor Protection Trust · Resources Legacy Fund · Midway USA Foundation Inc · Whitetails Unlimited 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 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Northwest Youth Corps: 100% of income from government
  • Wildlife Management Institute Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Wallowa Resources Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation: 16% of income from government
  • Oregon State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
13report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
3rely 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 273 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 Rocky Mountain Elk’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