Montana · Nonprofit
YELLOWSTONE FOREVER
YELLOWSTONE FOREVER (Montana) receives grants from 248 organizations whose IRS filings report $17,220,133 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($3,012,520). 151 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $42M
- Funders on record
- 248
- Grants received
- $17M
- Net assets
- $69M
What Yellowstone Forever does
Mission
Yellowstone Forever ("yf") serves as the official non-profit partner for yellowstone national park ("park"). Yf's purpose is to provide grants and in-kind support to the park through philanthropic and educational initatives
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Yellowstone Forever funds priority projects that protect yellowstone's ecosystem and wildlife, preserve the park's heritage, history, and trails and enhance visitor experiences and education. Wildlife grant funding supported native fish restoration; grizzly bear, wolf and cougar research; and a variety of species of birds that are critical to yellowstone's natural ecosystem. In partnership with the national park service (nps) and through tribal consultation, Yellowstone Forever (yf) leads the operations and programming of the yellowstone tribal heritage center. Located at old faithful, the center serves as a vital space where indigenous artists, scholars, and presenters from the 27 associated tribes of yellowstone national park directly engage with visitors through education and engagement. During the summer, approximately 320,000 visitors experienced the center. The center hosted 33 tribal demonstrators and featured a total of 155 artist days. Presenters represented 19 of the 27 tribes associated with the park. Through diverse demonstrations, the center provides a unique platform for cultural exchange and enhancing visitor understanding.
$13,115,300 spentof which $12,534,004 as grants70% of program spendingYellowstone Forever (yf) offers transformative educational programming that fosters a deep connection to the wildlife, geology, and cultural history of yellowstone national park. Our extensive array of programs provides unparalleled opportunities for individuals of all ages to experience and appreciate yellowstone. Collaborating closely with the national park service (nps), we ensure the highest quality educational experiences with the intent to create future stewards who are deeply committed to preserving and protecting this iconic national treasure. This year, approximately 4,273 visitors participated in yf educational programs, resulting in a total of 54,531 contact hours, demonstrating our significant impact on enhancing public understanding and appreciation of the greater yellowstone ecosystem.
$2,705,026 spent$2,124,317 earned by the program14% of program spendingYellowstone Forever (yf) had over 327,673 transactions at 11 stores (9 in the park, 1 in gardiner, mt and 1 at quake lake visitor center). Visitors to yellowstone national park and the surrounding area purchased trip planning materials, educational games, art, apparel, outdoor gear, books, and collectibles. Several of the items sold are one-of-a-kind or produced directly by yf. All items sold by yf in the stores are approved by the national park service and help foster a deeper understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of yellowstone and its surrounding ecosystem. Every purchase supports vital projects and programs in yellowstone national park.
$2,919,073 spentof which $11,896 as grants$4,860,530 earned by the program16% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $18,739,399.
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 2024 to 2025, from $46M to $71M (+54%).
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: 2021 2% · 2022 10% · 2023 3% · 2024 2% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
82% of YELLOWSTONE FOREVER’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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
Lisa Diekmann
President & CEO
Board chair
Doug Spencer
Chair of the board
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 36 funders to 108 funders, grant income rose $404k → $2.0M.
35 of 248 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 51% 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 YELLOWSTONE FOREVER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 248 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
YELLOWSTONE FOREVER has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 8 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 8 funders to its left
53% 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 YELLOWSTONE FOREVER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 19% · 2018 10% · 2019 16% · 2020 26% · 2021 23% · 2022 13% · 2023 18% — broadly stable.
“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 YELLOWSTONE FOREVER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% 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
51% of YELLOWSTONE FOREVER'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 $8.4M that is directly attributable, 94% of it comes from funders outside Montana, across 36 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $8.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 23 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
YELLOWSTONE FOREVER runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 210 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like YELLOWSTONE FOREVER
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
63% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
96%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 32 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for YELLOWSTONE FOREVER: 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 YELLOWSTONE FOREVER?
- YELLOWSTONE FOREVER (Montana) receives grants from 248 organizations whose IRS filings report $17,220,133 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($3,012,520). 151 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does YELLOWSTONE FOREVER have?
- IRS filings report 248 organizations giving $17,220,133 in grants to YELLOWSTONE FOREVER, 151 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of YELLOWSTONE FOREVER?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $3,012,520 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like YELLOWSTONE FOREVER 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.
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 248 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing