RMEF is dedicated to ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc Group Return directs almost all of its recent grantmaking back into its own operations, with three large support grants to Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc in Missoula across 2023, 2024, and 2025. The pattern shows a funder that uses major internal support grants to sustain the organization behind elk and habitat conservation, rather than spreading funds across a wide external portfolio. Its stated mission centers on ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat, and hunting heritage. The active RMEF Grant Program aligns with that mission by supporting conservation and hunting-heritage projects tied to habitat stewardship, wildlife management and research, land conservation and access, and hunting heritage. The foundation’s broader focus areas also include conservation education and outreach, reflecting work that reaches beyond land and species protection to public engagement. Across the latest filings, the recipient footprint is entirely U.S.-based, and the giving is geographically local. Leadership is listed under Shane Cronk, and the foundation funds organizations rather than individuals.
Habitat stewardship and wildlife management are central to the foundation’s stated program work. Through the RMEF Grant Program, it supports projects in habitat stewardship, wildlife management and research, land conservation and access, and hunting heritage. Conservation education and outreach is another defined focus area, connecting field-based conservation with public understanding. The beneficiary profile is similarly specific: elk, Rocky Mountain ecosystems, and hunting and outdoor recreation communities. The taxonomy also identifies elk conservation, wildlife habitat restoration, species-specific conservation, Rocky Mountain regional conservation, and conservation education/outdoor recreation. Those categories frame the foundation’s grantmaking as a conservation funder with a strong species-specific emphasis, rather than a generalist environmental grantmaker.
The typical grant size is very consistent: p25 of $24,442,684, median of $24,453,764, and p75 of $24,464,843. Recent grants also show a recurring pattern, with support going to the same recipient in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The foundation is structured as a group return, funds organizations rather than individuals, and does not make program-related investments. Its active grant program accepts unsolicited proposals, and the stated geography for that program is the United States.
Current and upcoming funding from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc Group Return that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Applicants must be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) entity, or be a federal, state, local, or tribal government entity, sportsmen's organization, or educational institution. All applicants must have an IRS-issued EIN. RMEF does not offer grants to individuals.
Deadline: Next grant cycle opens in July 2026; no closing date provided on the scraped pages.
$25.2M
$0
$25.2M
$25.2M
Most grants fall between $24.4M and $24.5M, with a median of $24.5M.
25th Percentile
$24.4M
Median
$24.5M
75th Percentile
$24.5M
About 100% of grants go to recipients in MT.
SHANE CRONK
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Giving is local and entirely U.S.-based in the latest grants data. All recent grants were made to recipients in Montana, and Montana is the top state by grant count. The recent recipient city listed is Missoula, which appears in all three top grants. The country distribution is 100% US, with no non-U.S. recipient countries appearing in the grant list.
The RMEF Grant Program supports conservation and hunting-heritage projects in habitat stewardship, wildlife management and research, land conservation and access, and hunting heritage. The foundation also lists conservation education and outreach among its focus areas.
Yes. The active RMEF Grant Program accepts unsolicited proposals for projects in the United States.
The recent grants list shows support going to Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Inc in Missoula, MT, with three large grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The foundation funds organizations, not individuals.
Its grant sizes are extremely clustered: p25 is $24,442,684, the median is $24,453,764, and p75 is $24,464,843. Recent grants also sit in that same range.
Its giving is local and entirely U.S.-based in the latest data. Montana is the top state by grant count, and 100% of grants in the recipient country distribution went to US recipients.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC | MISSOULA, MT | $25,237,191 | 2025 | SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION |
| ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC | MISSOULA, MT | $24,431,604 | 2024 | SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION |
| ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC | MISSOULA, MT | $24,475,923 | 2023 | SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION |
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC
$25,237,191SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC
$24,431,604SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION INC
$24,475,923SUPPORT OPERATIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION