The High Stakes Foundation
Missoula, MT · EIN 20-5815274. Reported 311 grants totalling $5,903,328 to 168 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The High Stakes Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $20,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $160 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Plains Resource Council | Billings, MT | $140,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Community Food and Agriculture Coalition | Missoula, MT | $125,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Maps Media Institute | Hamilton, MT | $120,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Montana Environmental Information Center | Helena, MT | $116,200 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Montana Free Press | Helena, MT | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Park County Environmental Council | Livingston, MT | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Producers Partnership | Livingston, MT | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Montana Watershed Coordination Council | Helena, MT | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| The Vital Ground Foundation | Missoula, MT | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Code Girls United | Kalispell, MT | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Empower Mt | Missoula, MT | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mountain Mamas | Bozeman, MT | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bitter Root Land Trust | Hamilton, MT | $90,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Garden City Harvest | Missoula, MT | $90,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Forest Foundation | Missoula, MT | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Missoula Interfaith Collaborative | Missoula, MT | $85,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Prickly Pear Land Trust | Helena, MT | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Nature Conservancy | Fairfax, VA | $80,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Climate Smart Missoula | Missoula, MT | $78,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Leadership Montana | Bozeman, MT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Montana Budget and Policy Center | Helena, MT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Seeley Lake Community Foundation | Seeley Lake, MT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Winnett Aces | Winnett, MT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Youth Homes | Missoula, MT | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Big Hole Watershed Committee | Divide, MT | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Montana Land to Hand | Whitefish, MT | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Continental Divide Trail Coalition | Golden, CO | $69,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| ACLU Montana | Missoula, MT | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Farm to School of Park County | Livingston, MT | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Livingston Food Pantry of Park County | Livingston, MT | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Red Lodge Area Community Foundation | Red Lodge, MT | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs Inc | Calabasas, CA | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tiny News Collective | Chicago, IL | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Arlee Community Development Corporation | Arlee, MT | $58,760 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Montana Wilderness Association Dba Wild Montana | Helena, MT | $55,000 | 3 | 2 | 2025 |
| Trust Montana | Missoula, MT | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Upper Seven Law | Helena, MT | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Common Good Montana | Missoula, MT | $53,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Friends of Scotchman Peaks | Sandpoint, ID | $52,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Montana World Affairs Council | Missoula, MT | $50,660 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mainstreet Uptown Butte | Butte, MT | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| North-Missoula Community Development Corporation | Missoula, MT | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance | East Glacier Park, MT | $47,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Western Enviromental Law Center | Eugene, OR | $46,300 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gallatin Valley Foundation for Economic Development | Bozeman, MT | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Missoula Writing Collaborative | Missoula, MT | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund | Billings, MT | $45,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| North Missoula Cdc | Missoula, MT | $45,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Park County Community Foundation | Livingston, MT | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Families for a Livable Climate | Missoula, MT | $42,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Women in Ranching | Cohagen, MT | $42,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Red Lodge Community Foundation | Red Lodge, MT | $40,533 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hopa Mountain Inc | Bozeman, MT | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Montana Conservation Corps | Bozeman, MT | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Red Ants Pants Foundation | White Sulphur Springs, MT | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Western Native Voice | Billings, MT | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Whitefish Legacy Partners | Whitefish, MT | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Montana Two Spirit Society | Missoula, MT | $38,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Yaak Valley Forest Council | Troy, MT | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Home Resource | Missoula, MT | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Montana Human Rights Network | Helena, MT | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Paradise Center | Paradise, MT | $34,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lake County Community Development | Ronan, MT | $33,188 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Big Sky Film Institute | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Empowermt | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Forward Mt Foundation | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Forward Montana Foundation | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Great Burn Study Group | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Heart of the Rockies Initiative | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Piikani Lodge Health Institute | Browning, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Quivira Coalition | Santa Fe, NM | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Thunderheart Media Inc | Gallatin Gateway, CO | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Montana Foundation - Evst | Missoula, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Western Landowners Alliance | Denver, CO | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wild Montana | Helena, MT | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bitter Root Water Forum | Hamilton, MT | $28,750 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Citizens for a Better Flathead | Kalispell, MT | $28,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Bitter Root Resource Conservation and Development Area Inc Fbo Cultivating | Hamilton, MT | $27,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Auricle Productions | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Habitat for Humanity International Inc | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation (mist) | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Missoula Urban Demonstration Project | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Montana Budget and Policy | Helena, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Montana Freshwater Partners | Livingston, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Natural History Center | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ncat | Butte, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Neighborworks Montana | Great Falls, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Our Childrens Trust | Eugene, OR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Pulp | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Western Organization of Resource Councils Education | Billings, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Glacier Queer Alliance | Kalispell, MT | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Aero | Helena, MT | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Auricle Productions | Baileys Hbr, WI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Blackfoot Challenge Inc | Ovando, MT | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Buffalo Field Campaign | West Yellowstone, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Large Landscape Conservation | Bozeman, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Farm Hands Nourish the Flathead | Whitefish, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Indij Public Media | Phoeniz, AZ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Cooperative Development Center Inc | Great Falls, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Wilderness Association | Helena, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nakoda-Aaniiih Credit Agency | Harlem, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Missoula, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| See Fbo Families for a Livable Climate | Calabasas, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Western Organization of Resource | Billings, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Missoula Transportation and Restoration | Missoula, MT | $18,800 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| American Rivers | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Blackfoot Pathways | Lincoln, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Earthworks | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Flathead Land Trust Inc | Kalispell, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends Forever Mentoring | Polson, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of Montana PBS Inc | Bozeman, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Hatch | Bozeman, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mist Dba Free Cycles | Missoula, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Center for Appropriate Technology Inc | Butte, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Montana | Bozeman, MT | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| People's Partner for Community Development | Lame Deer, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Vibrant Lives of Montana | Dillon, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Western Montana Lgbtq Community Center | Missoula, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montpirg Leadership Fund | Missoula, MT | $14,400 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sanders County Cdc | Thompson Falls, MT | $13,900 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Montpirf | Missoula, MT | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| O'hara Commons and Sustainability Center | Hamilton, MT | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sage Gardeners | Bozeman, MT | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Backcountry Hunters and Anglers | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cascade County Council of the Society of St Vincent De Paul | Great Falls, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ecology Project International | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fast Blackfeet | St Mary, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Future West | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Great Burn Study Group Dba Great Burn Conservation Alliance | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Great Falls Development Authority Inc | Great Falls, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jeanette Rankin Peace Center | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kootenai River Development Council Inc | Libby, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mist | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Msu Foundation | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Missoula Community Foundation | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Missoula Family YMCA | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana State Parks Foundation | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Plenty Doors Cdc | Crow Agency, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sierra Club Foundation | Oakland, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wider Stand Consulting | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Recyclingworks | Missoula, MT | $9,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bee Girl | Ashland, OR | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana West Economic Development Foundation | Kalispell, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| North Valley Food Bank | Whitefish, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Paradise Elementary School Preservation | Paradise, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Soil Cycle | Missoula, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Beaverhead Trails Coalition | Dillon, MT | $6,900 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Womens Voices for the Earth | Denver, CO | $5,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Western Landowners Alliance | Santa Fe, NM | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Clearwater Resource Council | Seeley Lake, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of the Clearwater | Moscow, ID | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Lolo Watershed Group | Lolo, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Organic Montana | Belgrade, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Recycling Works | Missoula, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Salish Institute | St Ignatius, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mtb Missoula | Missoula, MT | $3,337 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Brovold Community Orchard | Missoula, MT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Trails Coalition | Clancy, MT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ksanka Food Pantry | Polson, MT | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Nonprofit Association | Helena, MT | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Sapphire Community Health Fbo Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ravalli | Hamilton, MT | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cut Bank Trails | Cut Bank, MT | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Tides Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Troy Farmers Market | Troy, MT | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Badrock Farmers Fellowship | Columbia Falls, MT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mission Falls Farmers Market | Saint Ignatius, MT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Blackfoot Community College | Browning, MT | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
74 of 168 (44%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 39%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 238 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | $733,533 | $12,000 |
| 2022 | 63 | $1,155,300 | $20,000 |
| 2023 | 49 | $944,220 | $20,000 |
| 2024 | 84 | $1,944,938 | $20,000 |
| 2025 | 62 | $1,125,337 | $20,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
88% of its giving went to organizations in Montana. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $20,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Montana.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The High Stakes Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 129 W Alder, Missoula, MT, 59802. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 20-5815274 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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