Wild Sheep Foundation

What Wild Sheep Foundation does

Wild Sheep Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, with 11 employees. Its mission is the conservation of wild sheep species and the preservation of their habitat, executed primarily through grant-making to a network of official affiliates, chapters, tribal nations, and international partner organizations. Programmatic activity spans North American bighorn and thinhorn sheep herds and, increasingly, Stone's sheep in British Columbia and wild sheep populations in Central Asia. Since 1983, the Foundation reports cumulative fundraising in excess of $156 million, with FY 2024-25 Mission Program Funding reaching a record $11.535 million.

The Foundation's commercial product surface centers on three revenue lines: an annual membership program (general members plus the Pinnacle Society tier recognizing cumulative giving of $500,000 or more), the annual Sheep Show convention (auctions, banquets, corporate sponsorships, and member acquisition, with the 49th edition held in 2026 and the 50th in 2027), and direct donations. Corporate partnerships — recent examples include a $109,000 deal with Gunwerks and a €200,000 commitment to CIC's Club 200 — are folded into Sheep Show sponsorship, conservation grants, and co-branded member programs. Governance credibility is supported by Charity Navigator 4-star and GuideStar Platinum ratings, and a membership base of more than 11,000 worldwide.

Name

Wild Sheep Foundation

Legal name

Wild Sheep Foundation

Website

https://wildsheepfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wild Sheep Foundation is a Bozeman, Montana-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1977 that funds wild sheep and habitat conservation through a network of affiliates, an 11,000+ member base, and the annual Sheep Show convention.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Animal Production (115210)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK), Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organizations (AFAEALAC)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation services
• Habitat restoration programs
• Conservation nonprofit funding
• Wildlife management grants
• Sheep population restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues and Fees: WSF generates revenue through membership fees at various levels including Regular Membership, Life Memberships, and Gift Memberships. Members receive access to benefits including WILD SHEEP Magazine, chapter networks, and program involvement.
2. Sheep Show® Auctions and Convention Revenue: The annual Sheep Show® convention is WSF's primary fundraising mechanism. It features live and silent auctions, conservation permit sales, exhibitor fees, sponsorship packages, and Super Patrons. In fiscal year 2024-25, the event raised record amounts supporting mission program funding of $11.535 million. A conservation permit sold for $1 million at the 2026 show.
3. Merchandise Sales: WSF operates a web store (Sheep Shop on Shopify) selling branded merchandise, apparel, and conservation-related products. Ships to US, Canada, and select international countries.
4. Donations and Planned Giving: The organization receives charitable donations through its Ways to Give platform, including the Chadwick Ram Society, Marco Polo Society, Mountain Royalty Society, Pinnacle Society, Legacy Society, and WSLF Endowment. Pinnacle Society requires a $500,000+ commitment. Planned giving and bequests are accepted.
5. Sponsorships and Advertising: Corporate and individual sponsors support the Sheep Show and other programs through sponsorship packages. Exhibitor fees from the annual convention contribute to revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wild Sheep Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization that funds and implements wild sheep conservation programs across North America and internationally. Its core activities are raising money through memberships, donations, auctions, and sponsorships and directing that capital to state, provincial, territorial, and tribal wildlife agencies for habitat restoration, trap and transplant operations, disease surveillance, and research. The annual Sheep Show® convention in Reno, NV serves as the primary fundraising event, supplemented by the Women Hunt® program, youth education programs (YWCE, S.H.E.E.P.), and the Wild Sheep Legacy Foundation endowment.

Product overview

The Wild Sheep Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a unified technology product. Core offerings include the annual Sheep Show® convention (primary fundraising vehicle), three podcasts (Sheep Fever, Kicked Out, Ignite), WILD SHEEP Magazine publication, and an e-commerce store. Conservation initiatives include the Grant-in-Aid funding program, Conservation Vision 2030, and Thinhorn Summit conferences. Youth education spans the YWCE program and S.H.E.E.P. school curriculum. The Women Hunt program provides hunting training and mentorship for women. Supporting infrastructure includes the Wild Sheep Legacy Foundation endowment, affiliated state organizations, and membership programs ranging from individual memberships to high-level giving societies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sheep Show: Annual convention and expo for wild sheep conservation and fundraising
• Women Hunt
• S.H.E.E.P.
• Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE)
• Grant-in-Aid
• Sheep Fever Podcast
• Kicked Out Podcast
• Ignite Podcast

Products and services

• Sheep Show® Convention Annual flagship convention in Reno, NV featuring live and silent auctions, conservation permit sales, exhibitor booths, sponsorship packages, Day at the Range, awards banquets, and the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience. WSF's primary fundraising and member acquisition event, raising millions for conservation programs.
• Grant-in-Aid Program Funding mechanism directing money to state, provincial, territorial, and tribal wildlife agencies to support wild sheep conservation and management programs including trap and transplant, habitat restoration, herd health surveillance, and disease research.
• Women Hunt® Program Training, mentorship, and empowerment program for women in hunting and conservation, including annual field courses, the Ignite podcast, the Rubye Mayflower Blake Legacy Fund scholarships, and community events at the Sheep Show.
• Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE) Hands-on wildlife education program for school-aged children held during the Sheep Show, reaching 2,745-3,000+ young people and families annually with wildlife, habitat, and outdoor skills curricula.
• S.H.E.E.P. Program Shooting, Hunting & Ethics Education Program — schools-based curriculum and assembly program that educates students about wild sheep, outdoor ethics, hunting, and conservation.
• Membership Programs Tiered membership offerings including Regular Membership, Life Memberships, Gift Memberships, and <1 Clubs for sheep hunters, providing access to WILD SHEEP Magazine, chapter networks, programs, and Sheep Show benefits.
• WILD SHEEP Magazine Official WSF magazine covering wild sheep conservation, hunting stories, and organizational updates, provided to members and the broader wild sheep community.
• Sheep Shop (E-commerce Store) Online merchandise store selling WSF-branded items, apparel, and conservation-related products via Shopify, supporting conservation funding.
• Wild Sheep Legacy Foundation (WSLF) Endowment Separate 501(c)(3) supporting organization (Tax ID 46-3766422) established in 2013 to manage and invest WSF's endowment fund, providing perpetual income for the mission. All Board of Trustees are WSF Life Members.
• Thinhorn Summit Biennial technical summit bringing together wildlife professionals, researchers, and conservationists focused on Dall's and Stone's sheep across northwestern North America, with 65+ in-person and 24 virtual participants at the 2026 edition.
• Conservation Vision 2030 Long-term strategic planning framework guiding WSF's conservation priorities for wild sheep restoration through 2030, including disease management, habitat enhancement, and population targets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Bighorn sheep populations increased from ~25,000 (1950s-60s) to more than 85,000 today — more than tripling
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Griffin & Howe / Hudson FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026WSF's Women Hunt program has a new partnership with Griffin & Howe Academy and Hudson Farm for the 'Wings and Wild Places' event, providing women with wing shooting training, conservation education, and a driven pheasant shoot experience.
• Wild Sheep Society of British ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026WSF's key affiliate for Stone's sheep conservation in British Columbia. Coordinated the $1 million Grant in Aid commitment for Stone's sheep over four years. Also collaborated on prescribed burn habitat enhancement (~760 hectares restored) and lamb recruitment surveys in northeast BC.
• Crow Tribe of MontanacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Crow Tribal Fish & Game of Montana became WSF's newest Affiliate in May 2026, strengthening the growing network of partners dedicated to wild sheep and habitat conservation.
• International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026WSF committed €200,000 ($233,127 USD) to CIC's Club 200 initiative at the CIC General Assembly in Vienna, Austria. WSF and CIC jointly seek nominations for the biennial Markhor Award. CIC is a global organization promoting sustainable use conservation.
• Aibat Muzbay / Arlan Foundation (Kazakhstan)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026WSF named Aibat Muzbay as Central Asia Specialist for International Programs, working under Kurt Alt (International Program Conservation Director). Arlan Foundation advances argali restoration in Kazakhstan. Partnership includes establishment of Wild Sheep Partnership for Central Asia (WISPA-CA).
• MTNTOUGHminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025WSF partnered with Montana-based MTNTOUGH for the TOUGH SHEEP workout event at the 2026 Sheep Show, a physical fitness challenge simulating the rigors of sheep hunting.
• Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (BC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Co-funder of Stone's sheep habitat enhancement program in northeast BC. Supports prescribed burn monitoring and lamb recruitment surveys alongside WSF, Wild Sheep Society of BC, and other partners.
• Forest Enhancement Society of BCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Partner in Stone's sheep habitat enhancement program, providing funding for prescribed burn operations and habitat restoration in northeast BC.
• University of Northern British ColumbiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Academic partner in Stone's sheep habitat enhancement program, contributing research capacity and post-burn monitoring of vegetation response and wildlife use.
• British Columbia Ministry of Forests / Provincial Wildlife AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024WSF coordinates $1 million in Stone's sheep conservation funding with provincial and First Nation wildlife agencies in BC. Partnership includes habitat surveys, prescribed burns, herd health surveillance, and predator management over four years.
• Western Hunt FestminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2024WSF is title sponsor of Western Hunt Fest archery shooting, fitness, and backpack challenge events (Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada) for three years. WSF's Women Hunt program is title sponsor of the women's division.
• Association of Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters (AMMO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024AMMO partnered with WSF for the Last Frontier Hunt Giveaway, offering a Dall's sheep hunt in the Northwest Territories. Eight AMMO outfitters participated, with Arctic Red River Outfitters chosen by winner Lucas Hile.
• NWT TourismminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024NWT Tourism co-sponsored the Last Frontier Hunt Giveaway with WSF and AMMO, promoting Northwest Territories as a premier Dall's sheep hunting destination.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pheasants Forever: A upland game conservation nonprofit with a strong chapter-based fundraising model and habitat delivery programs. Analogous to WSF in mission structure (hunters funding habitat work) and grassroots chapter mechanics.
• Trout Unlimited: A coldwater fisheries conservation nonprofit with state chapters, conservation grants, and a member-driven model. Similar nonprofit conservation structure and habitat restoration delivery, focused on fish rather than sheep.
• Ducks Unlimited: The largest waterfowl conservation nonprofit in North America, operating a similar model of state chapters, major fundraising events, conservation grants to agencies, and habitat restoration programs. Comparable scale, member base, and grant-making approach to WSF.
• National Wild Turkey Federation: A hunting-conservation nonprofit with state chapters, conservation grant programs, and a convention-based fundraising model. Directly analogous to WSF in mission structure, membership model, and habitat-focused grantmaking.
• Safari Club International: A hunting advocacy and conservation organization that operates annual conventions, auctions of hunting permits, and supports wildlife conservation grants — closely mirroring WSF's Sheep Show model and hunting-led fundraising approach.
• Boone and Crockett Club: A historic North American conservation organization promoting fair-chase hunting, wildlife management, and habitat conservation. Comparable mission focus on hunting-led conservation, though with an older, smaller-scale membership model than WSF.
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to elk and wildlife habitat conservation with a similar event-driven fundraising model, state chapter network, and grant-in-aid funding to wildlife agencies. Highly comparable structure and revenue mechanics to WSF, just focused on elk instead of sheep.
• Mule Deer Foundation: A conservation-focused nonprofit dedicated to mule and black-tailed deer, with state chapters, conservation grants to wildlife agencies, and a similar grant-in-aid funding model. Directly comparable in scope and approach, but focused on deer rather than sheep.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: A much larger, broader-scale environmental conservation nonprofit that operates across many species and habitats globally. Overlaps with WSF on land conservation and habitat work but is far larger in scale and broader in mission than WSF's narrow wild sheep focus.
• International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC): An international umbrella organization promoting sustainable use conservation, with which WSF recently partnered (€200,000 commitment). Comparable advocacy and conservation mission at a global scale, though structurally different from WSF as an international NGO rather than a U.S.-headquartered nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wildsheepfound
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wildsheepfoundation/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/WildSheepFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wild-sheep-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/wildsheepfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wild Sheep Foundation