Badger Creek Corporation

Badger Creek Corporation is a private operating foundation based in Stilwell, Kansas (suburban Kansas City), that directs the vast majority of its $27.2 million in assets toward running its own land conservation programs rather than distributing funds to external organizations. Founded in 2012 with an initial $25 million contribution, the organization holds an IRS classification as a Section 4942(j)(3) operating foundation — a meaningful structural distinction from traditional grantmaking foundations. It actively manages land, livestock, and wildlands in Arizona and New Mexico rather than primarily deploying capital through grants.

The three-person leadership team — President Nelson D. Shirley, Vice President Bradley Siebert, and Secretary Lori Kelly — operates without compensation and without any public-facing staff. This structure is consistent with a family or closely held private foundation where funding decisions are made through direct personal relationships rather than formal review panels or program officers. There is no grants portal, no published application form, no LOI process, and no identified annual review cycle.

External grantmaking is rare and modest by design. The only documented third-party grant in available records is a $2,000 charitable contribution to the New Mexico Junior Livestock Foundation — a targeted, mission-coherent gift reflecting the foundation's livestock stewardship work in New Mexico. Typical external grant size per IRS filings is $2,000–$3,000 (median: $2,000; average: $2,333 across three documented grants). Larger disbursements in earlier IRS filings ($700K in FY2019, $1.2M in FY2020, $3.6M in FY2015) likely reflect land easement purchases, conservation property transactions, or program-related investments rather than conventional nonprofit grant awards.

First-time applicants must understand that this is not a funder that responds to cold outreach. The foundation is explicitly tagged as 'preselected only' in IRS and nonprofit databases, and its absent application infrastructure confirms this. Any viable funding relationship begins with cultivating trust through the Southwest conservation community — specifically through ranching associations, land trusts, or livestock organizations active in New Mexico and Arizona that may have existing relationships with Shirley, Siebert, or Kelly.

The foundation's dual programmatic focus — land and livestock stewardship paired with wildlands biodiversity preservation — offers a strategic opening for organizations that bridge these two sometimes-competing interests. Working ranches and conservation organizations that manage for native grasses, wildlife corridors, or water retention across New Mexico or Arizona landscapes are the clearest archetype Badger Creek appears to support.

Badger Creek Corporation's financial structure requires careful parsing: the foundation's headline 'total giving' figures in IRS filings reflect its own internal program expenditures, not grants distributed to external nonprofits.

Total annual program expenditures have ranged from $3.3 million (FY2014) to $5.3 million (FY2020), with a consistent $4–5 million annual spend across FY2019–FY2023. The two largest program areas in the most recent available filings are: (1) land acquisition, improvements, equipment, and livestock at $4,838,950 in expenses, and (2) preservation and promotion of biodiversity of wildlands at $757,906. Together these account for approximately $5.6 million in annual charitable activities — all internally directed operations, not external grant distributions.

External grants to third-party organizations represent a separate, much smaller pool. Documented external grant disbursements by fiscal year: FY2024 — $46,500; FY2023 — $0 in direct grants (ProPublica reports $1,502,454 in broader charitable disbursements, likely including program-related expenditures); FY2022 — $2,000; FY2021 — $11,000; FY2020 — $1,200,000; FY2019 — $700,000; FY2015 — $3,626,011; FY2014 — $1,478,527; FY2013 — $3,953,948. The large pre-2016 and 2019–2020 figures most likely reflect land acquisition transactions, conservation easement purchases, or program-related investments in land protection rather than conventional nonprofit grants.

The documented external grant range for organizational support is $2,000–$3,000 per award (median: $2,000; average: $2,333), derived from three recent grant records. New Mexico is the only documented grant geography. Given FY2024 charitable disbursements of $46,500, an upper boundary for organizational grants in recent cycles appears to be approximately $50,000 in any given year.

Revenue in FY2023 was $5,167,664, nearly exactly matching total program expenses — leaving minimal surplus for external grantmaking. Revenue sources include net investment income ($398,129), contributions from related parties ($520,000 in FY2023), and income from land and livestock operations. Assets have declined from $40.4M (FY2012) to $27.2M (FY2024), a cumulative drawdown of $13.2M over 12 years, reflecting sustained operational spending in excess of investment returns. This trajectory suggests the foundation is operating with a finite resource runway unless additional major contributions are received.

The table below compares Badger Creek Corporation to four asset-comparable environment-focused foundations in its identified peer group:

Badger Creek leads this peer tier by assets at $27.2 million but stands out as the most operationally focused of the group. While all five foundations share an environmental NTEE classification (Major: C — Environment), Badger Creek's structure as an IRS operating foundation distinguishes it fundamentally from peers that primarily make external grants. Grant seekers comparing funders in this asset range should treat Badger Creek as a conservation operating entity that occasionally makes small targeted disbursements — not as a conventional grantmaker with an annual award cycle. Green South Foundation (GA) and Elliotsville Foundation (NC) maintain more publicly accessible grantmaking programs and may be more appropriate funding targets for organizations seeking open-cycle grants in the $25,000–$100,000 range. Badger Creek's narrowly defined Southwest geographic focus (AZ, NM) also limits relevance for organizations outside those states.

No news announcements, leadership changes, or new program launches specific to Badger Creek Corporation were identified through web research conducted in June 2026. Targeted searches across multiple query types — grants awarded, news, funding priorities, and 2025–2026 announcements — returned results about geographically unrelated Badger Creek watershed projects in Colorado and Wisconsin, and about unrelated public companies using the 'Badger' name. The domain badgercreek.org, listed as the foundation's website, resolves to a Montana film production organization and contains no foundation-related content.

The most recent IRS data (FY2024) reports total assets of $27.2 million and revenue of $6.8 million. ProPublica documents $46,500 in FY2024 charitable disbursements — a significant reduction from the approximately $1.5 million in FY2023 (which likely included program-related conservation transactions). This declining external disbursement trend is consistent across FY2021–FY2024.

Leadership has been entirely stable across at least three consecutive IRS filing years. Nelson D. Shirley (President), Bradley Siebert (Vice President), and Lori Kelly (Secretary) appear in FY2021, FY2022, and FY2023 filings with no personnel changes. All three remain uncompensated, consistent with the foundation's entire documented history.

Assets showed a modest one-year recovery from $26.1M (FY2023) to $27.2M (FY2024), possibly reflecting investment gains or a new contribution, after a decade-long drawdown trend. No RFPs, public grant competitions, or calls for proposals were identified as of mid-2026.

Badger Creek Corporation does not maintain a public grants portal, accept unsolicited proposals, or publish application instructions. The foundation's IRS filings and nonprofit database records confirm it operates as a preselected-only funder — leadership identifies and contacts preferred organizations rather than reviewing inbound submissions. The following tips are specific to Badger Creek's documented structure and operating model.

Confirm geographic fit before any outreach. The foundation's declared geographic focus is Arizona and New Mexico. Organizations without active programs in these states should not pursue Badger Creek. New Mexico appears to be the stronger target based on the only documented grantee record (New Mexico Junior Livestock Foundation).

Match the mission vocabulary precisely. Badger Creek's program descriptions center on 'land acquisition,' 'land improvements,' 'equipment and livestock,' and 'biodiversity of wildlands.' Any pitch or letter should mirror these exact terms. Avoid broad environmental advocacy framing, climate policy language, or urban conservation themes — they signal misalignment to this funder.

Pursue a warm introduction through Southwest ranching and conservation networks. With three uncompensated officers and no staff, all funding decisions flow through Shirley, Siebert, and Kelly personally. Mutual contacts in New Mexico land trusts, Arizona ranching associations, or Kansas City conservation circles are far more effective than cold correspondence. Investigate whether local partners — NM Junior Livestock, AZ Cattlemen's Association, or state-level conservation districts — have existing relationships with the foundation.

Initiate contact via phone or physical mail, not email. Reach Secretary Lori Kelly at (913) 599-5010 or by mail at % Lori Kelly, 6500 W. 194th St., Stilwell, KS 66085-9401. Keep initial outreach brief: one page describing the organization, the specific AZ or NM work, and a request for a conversation — not a formal proposal package.

Calibrate the ask to documented grant levels. External grants for organizational support appear to fall in the $2,000–$10,000 range. Lead with a modest, operationally concrete request — a specific piece of equipment, a conservation stewardship event, direct rangeland work — rather than general operating support or large capacity-building proposals.

Avoid generic grantwriting formats. Do not submit a standard LOI or foundation proposal template. A direct personal letter from an executive director or ranch manager describing specific on-the-ground work will resonate more than formal proposal boilerplate. Reference named places — specific counties, watersheds, or ranch names in AZ or NM.

Be patient and follow up. Given the preselected model, initial outreach may receive no response. A single follow-up after 60–90 days, referencing any mutual contacts or a concrete program update, is appropriate.