What Elks National Foundation does

The Elks National Foundation (ENF) is the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPO Elks), a private nonprofit fraternal benefit society headquartered at 2750 North Lakeview Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1928 and operating within a fraternal organization whose roots trace to 1868, ENF runs a portfolio of community programs delivered through a network of more than 1,000 local Elks Lodges across the United States. Its core products include the Community Investments Program (CIP) — which disburses Beacon, Gratitude, Spotlight, Impact, and Freedom Grants to local lodges — scholarships (Most Valuable Student, Legacy Awards, Emergency Educational grants, and Weigel Medical School scholarships), veterans services (direct volunteer support in 330+ facilities each month, plus emergency assistance, Focus Grants, Freedom Grants, and Welcome Home Kits), the Drug Awareness Program (recognized as the largest volunteer drug awareness program in the United States), the Hoop Shoot youth basketball program for ages 8–13, and stewardship of the 1926 Elks National Memorial.

The organization's technology footprint is modest: a public website (elks.org), a member portal, scholarship application interfaces, and lodge-management tools such as CLMS2Web for lodge secretaries, plus a My ENF member resource hub and a Leadership Dashboard. There is no proprietary platform architecture, AI/ML capability, or third-party SDK layer disclosed. Service delivery is fundamentally physical and volunteer-driven, anchored in lodge buildings, event spaces, and community programs.

ENF is funded through member dues, voluntary donations, and lodge-level fundraising — a recurring-contribution model — with no equity investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, or public-market activity. Its customer base is structurally diffuse, spanning four primary beneficiary segments: adult community members (fraternal fellowship), youth and students (scholarships), veterans and active-duty military members, and youth in drug prevention programming. Operating geographies are exclusively domestic (United States), and the organization employs 51–100 staff at the national level, supplemented by volunteer labor at the lodge tier.

Name

Elks National Foundation

Legal name

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

Website

https://elks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Elks National Foundation is the charitable arm of the BPO Elks fraternal society, delivering scholarships, veterans services, drug awareness education, and community grants through more than 1,000 local lodges across the United States. It serves adult members, students, veterans, and youth, funded by member dues and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Endowments (Universities, Foundations, Nonprofits) (FSAAAGAC)

Keywords

• Fraternal charitable foundation
• Scholarship grant programs
• Veterans service programs
• Drug awareness education
• Community grant programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Dues and Donations: The Elks National Foundation is funded through member dues, voluntary donations, and fundraising activities conducted by local lodges and the national organization. The Donor Bill of Rights document indicates philanthropy is central to supporting ENF programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Elks National Foundation (ENF) is the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) and administers programs supporting youth scholarships, veterans services, drug awareness education, youth basketball (Hoop Shoot), and community investment grants distributed through a nationwide network of more than 1,000 local Elks Lodges. The foundation is funded primarily through member dues, donations, and lodge fundraising activities.

Product overview

Elks National Foundation operates as a fraternal charitable organization with a platform of interconnected programs. The core offering is the Foundation itself, which administers grant programs (primarily the Community Investments Program) supporting local Elks lodges. Supporting programs include Veterans Services providing support to veterans and military members, Scholarships offering various educational grants, the Drug Awareness Program (the largest volunteer drug awareness program in the U.S.), Hoop Shoot youth basketball program, and the Elks National Memorial. The Lodge Membership Portal provides members access to lodge operations, meeting schedules, and member resources. These programs work together to fulfill the organization's mission of serving communities through youth programs, veterans services, and community development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarship: Scholarship program administered by the Elks National Foundation
• Elks National Drug Awareness Program (DAP)
• Elks National Veterans Service Commission (ENVSC)
• Community Investments Program (CIP)

Products and services

• Community Investments Program (CIP)
• ENF Scholarships
• Elks Veterans Services
• Elks National Drug Awareness Program (DAP)
• Hoop Shoot
• Elks National Memorial

Quantifiable outcome

• Direct service provided to veterans in more than 330 facilities each month
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Legion: The American Legion is a veterans-focused fraternal organization operating community-service programs, scholarships, and youth programs (e.g., Boys State) through local posts — comparable to ENF's veterans-services and scholarship programming.
• Shriners International: Shriners International is a fraternal organization with its own charitable arm (Shriners Hospitals for Children), operating a comparable lodge-based model for community service and grantmaking focused on pediatric healthcare. It mirrors ENF's structure of member dues funding philanthropy via a national lodge network.
• Kiwanis International Foundation: Kiwanis International is a fraternal service organization with an affiliated foundation funding youth scholarships, community grants, and service leadership programs through local clubs — directly comparable to ENF's youth and scholarship programming.
• Knights of Columbus: Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal benefit society with a substantial charitable arm offering scholarships, community grants, and volunteer programs through local councils — a closely comparable fraternal/charitable structure to the Elks.
• Rotary Foundation: The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is a globally recognized grantmaking foundation that funds scholarships, community grants, and humanitarian programs via a network of local Rotary clubs — a near-direct parallel to ENF's lodge-based model and CIP grant portfolio.
• Lions Clubs International Foundation: Lions Clubs International Foundation is the grantmaking arm of Lions Clubs International, another fraternal service organization running comparable community grant programs, scholarships, and youth programs through a distributed local-club model analogous to ENF's lodge network.
• VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Foundation: VFW is a veterans service organization with an associated foundation funding scholarships, disaster relief, and veterans welfare programs via local posts — directly comparable to ENF's veterans-service and scholarship missions.
• Masonic Foundation of North America: The Masonic Foundation is the charitable arm of the Freemasons, another fraternal organization operating community grants, scholarships, and member-funded philanthropy through local lodges — a structural analog to ENF and the BPOE.

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society: American Cancer Society is a large incumbent grantmaking nonprofit funding research grants, scholarships, and community programs nationwide — sharing ENF's grantmaking-and-scholarships model but focused on a single cause area.
• United Way Worldwide: United Way Worldwide is a broader incumbent community-foundation and grantmaking organization funding education, veterans, and health programs through local affiliates — overlapping with ENF on community investment and grantmaking but operating at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights2 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ElksNationalFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elks-national-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Elks National Foundation