Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
![Logo of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks](/Images/godic/202412/24/BPOE_logo4237.png"){kind=logo}
![Grand Lodge in Chicago, Illinois](/Images/godic/202412/24/BPOE_Chicago4237.JPG")
![1919 Flag Day Resolution barring membership from people perceived as unpatriotic.](/Images/godic/202412/24/Elks_Flag_Day_Resolution_19194237.jpg")
![The Elks building in downtown Trinidad, Colorado](/Images/godic/202412/24/BPO_Elks,_Trinidad,_CO_IMG_50264237.JPG")
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded by Joseph M. Norcross in 1868 originally as a social club in New York City, United states. Today headquartered at Elks National Veterans Memorial in Chicago, Illinois, it is one of the leading fraternal orders in the United States, claiming nearly one million members.