Tennessee · Nonprofit
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS (Tennessee) receives grants from 40 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,766,472 to it, the largest being HEAD & HEART FOUNDATION TR 12319 ($825,000). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 55% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.4M
- Funders on record
- 40
- Grants received
- $2.8M
- Net assets
- $3.2M
What Global Sanctuary for Elephants does
Mission
See schedule odedicated to rescuing, protecting and providing sanctuary for elephants worldwide. Our founding directors and elephant care specialist consult internationally for the wellbeing of captive elephants. Currently based in brazil, working directly with brazilian ngo santuario de elefantes brasil, our founding directors are focused primarily on the continued development of the first sanctuary for captive elephants in south america. With the arrival of the first residents, Global Sanctuary for Elephants and santuario de elefantes brasil have gained international exposure and support to further the mission of Global Sanctuary for Elephants. This increased exposure, success and rapid progress has spurred additional interest from throughout south america, as santuario de elefantes brasil is quickly being recognized as the solution for ailing captive elephants.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
As part of their global outreach initiatives described in the program description on 4b, the ceo/president collaborates with other elephant sanctuary organizations. While the ceo/president has offered assistance in the past, the organization considers these collaborations to be an expansion of their mission.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
The founding directors are working on-site in brazil, providing hands-on expertise and training to support the recovery of rescued elephants and strengthen the operational capacity of santuario de elefantes brasil as a self-sustainable organization. Through this work, the organization has facilitated the transfer of 11 elephants to the sanctuary, contributing to the end of elephant captivity in argentina after more than 120 years. Planned phases of elephant habitat expansion have been completed, and additional phases are underway to support future rescues.continues on schedule oGlobal Sanctuary for Elephants maintained accreditation by the global federation of animal sanctuaries and continues to be the only accredited elephant sanctuary outside of the us.
$1,412,762 spentof which $1,097,101 as grants91% of program spendingGse invests significant effort in educating about the true depth and impact of captivity and the transformational recovery that is possible within spacious, autonomous elephant sanctuaries. We believe that the best way to educate is to transparently share the history, as well as the complex recovery, of the elephants following years of trauma, neglect, and abuse. With this shared knowledge, gse helps to lead positive and progressive change, encouraging the public to use their voice and knowledge gained to promote a positive and respectful future, pivotal to reshaping the lives of captive elephants. Continues on schedule ogse collaborates with international elephant sanctuaries for the recovery and well-being of elephants globally. The unique history and wealth of knowledge of our founders are shared liberally to help advance sanctuary development internationally, encouraging progressive vision to yield the highest level of autonomy, care, and recovery for captive elephants.
$143,059 spent$17,953 earned by the program9% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,555,821.
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 2023 to 2024, from $485k to $2.5M (+424%).
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.
96% of GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (74% 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
Scott D Blais
CEO & board president
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $142k → $367k.
12 of 40 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 55% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 40 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
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS leans on a few funders — its largest provides 30% of grant income and the top three 70%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
57% 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 GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 28% · 2018 44% · 2019 45% · 2020 73% · 2021 66% · 2022 49% · 2023 54% — growing more concentrated.
“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
50% of GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% 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
55% of GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS'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 $1.3M that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Tennessee, across 17 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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
GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 717 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 717 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS
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 Tennessee
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
88% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 39 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Associacao Santuario de Elefantes Brasil · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS: 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 GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS?
- GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS (Tennessee) receives grants from 40 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,766,472 to it, the largest being HEAD & HEART FOUNDATION TR 12319 ($825,000). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 55% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS have?
- IRS filings report 40 organizations giving $2,766,472 in grants to GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS?
- HEAD & HEART FOUNDATION TR 12319 is the largest funder on record, with $825,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GLOBAL SANCTUARY FOR ELEPHANTS find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Tennessee. 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 Global Sanctuary for Elephants →
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 40 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