Montana · Nonprofit
BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION (Montana) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $20,721,602 to it, the largest being YELLOWSTONE CLUB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($8,285,361). 42 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 82% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.1M
- Funders on record
- 67
- Grants received
- $21M
- Net assets
- $29M
What Big Sky Community Organization does
Mission
Big Sky Community Organization is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating year-round recreational programs, outdoor spaces, and community partnerships that serve all of big sky enhancing access and quality of life for everyone that lives, works, and plays here.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Parks & trails - bsco plans, constructs, and maintains an extensive network of parks and trails throughout the big sky area. These public spaces support outdoor recreation, environmental education, and community wellness. The organization actively collaborates with local partners to expand access and preserve natural resources.bsco operates and maintains ice-related recreational facilities, including the community skating rink. These programs offer seasonal opportunities for ice skating, hockey, and other winter sports, promoting active lifestyles and community engagement during colder months.
$1,455,603 spent$55,870 earned by the program38% of program spendingBase - the big sky community center serves as a central hub for recreation, education, and social connection. Bsco manages the facility and its programming, which includes fitness classes, cultural events, and meeting spaces for local organizations. The center supports bsco's broader goal of fostering a vibrant and inclusive community.
$2,008,769 spentof which $10,681 as grants$880,175 earned by the program52% of program spendingCamp big sky - this camp runs various programs for kids aged 6 to 13, while supporting working parents in the summer.
$125,478 spent$139,774 earned by the program3% of program spendingYouth development - bsco provides a variety of youth-focused programs designed to promote physical activity, social engagement, and personal growth. These include after-school activities and sports leagues that foster leadership, teamwork, and healthy lifestyles among local youth.
$78,653 spent2% of program spendingHistoric crail ranch - bsco offers guided tours and educational opportunities to help ensure this meaningful piece of shared history is not only preserved but remains accessible for everyone to enjoy.
$31,291 spent1% of program spendingFitness, wellness and recreation - bsco offers indoor and outdoor fitness classes for all levels. Bsco also offers a variety of leagues for all ability levels including softball, hockey, curling, volleyball and futsal.
$164,024 spent4% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,863,818.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $10M to $19M (+82%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 43% · 2018 39% · 2019 6% · 2020 25% · 2021 15% · 2022 17% · 2023 30% · 2024 34% · 2025 30%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
78% of BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Madeleine Feher
CEO
Board chair
John Mcguire
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021, and between the FY2024 and FY2025 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 24 funders, grant income rose $54k → $592k.
29 of 67 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 82% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $130k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Big Sky Owners Association Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION raised.
From the IRS filings of BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 67 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 40% of grant income and the top three 67%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
82% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 44% · 2018 79% · 2019 53% · 2020 69% · 2021 41% · 2022 60% · 2023 23% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
82% of BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $3.7M that is directly attributable, 76% of it comes from funders outside Montana, across 17 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $17M arriving through sponsors registered in 18 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION has grown faster than half of the 1,074 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,074 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Montana
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
80% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
97%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 21 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION?
- BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION (Montana) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $20,721,602 to it, the largest being YELLOWSTONE CLUB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($8,285,361). 42 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 82% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION have?
- IRS filings report 67 organizations giving $20,721,602 in grants to BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, 42 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION?
- YELLOWSTONE CLUB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $8,285,361 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Montana. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Big Sky Community Organization →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 67 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing