
Dedicated to the preservation, promotion and enhancement of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and the values it represents through a partnership with the National Park Service.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society’s latest reported grant was a single $1,554,599 award to the Department of Interior - NPS - Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota, listed as aid to the park. That one grant mirrors the society’s overall role: it funds Mount Rushmore National Memorial directly and supports work inside the memorial grounds rather than a broad portfolio of outside organizations. The society’s stated purpose is the preservation, promotion, and enhancement of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and the values it represents through a partnership with the National Park Service. Its active programs show that this includes seasonal ranger staffing, cultural and interpretive programming, natural resource monitoring, sculpture preservation, and an interpretive internship program. The result is a grantmaker tied closely to the park’s daily operations, visitor experience, and long-term stewardship. The most visible pieces of that support include funding for seasonal rangers, who help deliver educational and cultural programs, and directed preservation support for the sculpture itself. It also backs programming that brings together ranger talks, presidential re-enactors, and tribal cultural presentations, linking interpretation and preservation in one place.
In interpretation and visitor services, the society funds seasonal ranger positions at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, with approximately $125,000 per year dedicated to that work. Those rangers support educational and cultural programs delivered by park staff. Its cultural programming support reaches visitor-facing activities such as presidential re-enactors, tribal cultural presentations, flute players, storytellers, dance exhibitions, and ranger talks. The society also supports an annual interpretive internship program, the Kay Jorgensen Interpretive Internship Program, which provides stipends, housing, and transportation for approximately six young adults each year. On the preservation side, the society directs funding to sculpture preservation and monitoring, including the Ropes Team inspections and the Rock Block Monitoring System. It also supports natural resource monitoring and conservation projects within Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
The society’s typical grant size is $1,554,599 at the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile, which reflects a single reported grant level rather than a spread of awards. The latest 990 year on file is 2023, and the recent grant record shows one award in that year. This is a public charity, not a private foundation, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The active program list includes one initiative that accepts unsolicited applications: the Kay Jorgensen Interpretive Internship Program. Other listed programs are directed funding for Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
$1.6M
$17.9M
$2.1M
$3.5M
Most grants fall between $1.6M and $1.6M, with a median of $1.6M.
25th Percentile
$1.6M
Median
$1.6M
75th Percentile
$1.6M
About 100% of grants go to recipients in SD.
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Grantmaking is entirely local and entirely in South Dakota: 100% of grants in the provided data go to recipients in the HQ state, and the top state by grant count is SD. The recent grant list places the recipient in Keystone, and the active programs are all tied to Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA. The recipient-country distribution is 100% US, with no non-U.S. grants shown.
It funds work tied to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, including seasonal ranger staffing, cultural and interpretive programming, natural resource monitoring, sculpture preservation, and an interpretive internship program. Its stated purpose is to preserve, promote, and enhance the memorial and the values it represents through partnership with the National Park Service.
The reported grant size is $1,554,599 at the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile. The latest recorded grant is also a single $1,554,599 award in 2023, which suggests a very concentrated grant pattern in the data provided.
The available data shows a local grantmaking pattern centered on Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. The grant recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, and all grants in the data go to recipients in the HQ state of South Dakota.
Yes. The Kay Jorgensen Interpretive Internship Program is listed as accepting unsolicited applications. The other active programs shown are directed funding programs tied to specific memorial operations and do not indicate unsolicited access in the data provided.
2023
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2023.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Interior - NPS - Mount Rushmore National Memorial | Keystone, SD | $1,554,599 | 2023 | Aid to the Park |
Department of Interior - NPS - Mount Rushmore National Memorial
$1,554,599Aid to the Park