Dear Friends,
This summer rushed in with unprecedented flooding in Southern Montana. Communities were quick to take action doing their best to withstand the devastation. Over the past few years, many local community foundations developed their own community-specific disaster toolkit which has proven to be an important resource in communities hit by disasters.
Many communities established disaster recovery and relief funds. As these communities begin to recover, they are going to need our continued support to rebuild local infrastructure and housing and support the needs of local organizations and businesses, which takes time and resources.
Learn how you can support local funds and relief efforts here.
Please consider making a contribution to this fund. Our goal is to raise a total of $100,000 which will provide grants for local recovery efforts. You can help us get there by donating to the Montana Disaster Relief Fund here.
Your commitment to Montana continues to inspire me. During my recent vacation, I reflected on what a special place Montana is, and how very special the people here are. Thank you for everything you do to make Montana The Last Best Place.
Sincerely,
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Local Community Foundations Put Their Disaster Toolkits to Work in Time of Disaster |
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While we can never predict when disaster is going to strike our communities, we can always hope for the best by preparing ourselves for the worst.
For Red Lodge Area Community Foundation (RLACF), their disaster preparedness efforts helped them respond quickly and efficiently when Rock Creek flooded the town of Red Lodge last month.
In 2019, RLACF participated in MCF’s Community Disaster Preparedness Toolkit program and developed a disaster preparedness toolkit for their community that helped identify their role during and after a disaster.
Jo Ann Eder, MCF and RLACF board member, was pleased to share that having the Disaster Preparedness Toolkit already in place made it easier to respond during and after the flooding.
RLACF also received a Next Steps Grant to help support that role. This was made possible through MCF’s involvement with Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency, and Emergency Partnership (PPREP), a program of The Funder’s Network. PPREP provides participating community foundations with knowledge, skills, tools, and resources about disasters and the unique roles that community foundations can play within the cycle of disaster. In total, MCF granted $25,000 across participating community foundations to support disaster preparedness efforts, thanks to support from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and the Funder’s Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities.
Additionally, Helena Area Community Foundation (HACF), also a participant in the program, was able to put their toolkit to work over the 4th of July weekend when flash flooding hit Helena.
RLACF and HACF were 2 of 17 local community foundations in Montana to participate in the Disaster Preparedness Toolkit program and a testament to the importance of planning for disaster.
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MCF Awards More than $800,000 in Scholarships to Montana Students |
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The Montana Community Foundation (MCF) is pleased to award $833,192 in scholarships to more than 200 Montana students as they head to college or technical school this fall.
Each year, MCF awards scholarships ranging from $500 to $40,000 to deserving students across Montana. While qualifications for each scholarship vary, each student goes through a competitive application process to be considered. Some scholarships are renewable, meaning students may receive funding for multiple years.
This is nearly double the amount MCF normally awards annually. The increase is largely due to significant increases in contributions. One example is the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund. Donors to this fund doubled the number of Montana students who are eligible to receive a scholarship from the fund and increased the annual scholarship amount each student will receive from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. The maximum cumulative amount awarded to any one student will be $40,000
Students can begin applying online for MCF scholarships on January 1, 2023. With a variety of scholarships to offer, MCF urges all students to dream big and take part in its scholarship application process.
MCF also receives hundreds of requests for scholarships each year but is unable to fulfill every request, leaving some students without the support they need to attend college or technical school. The Montana Scholars Fund was created to help bridge the gap to provide more scholarship funding to deserving Montana students in pursuit of educational opportunities.
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The William B. Pratt Fund Awards Grants to Support Montana Indigenous, Folk, Traditional, and Media Arts |
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MCF is proud to announce the recipients of $2,500 in grant dollars from the William B. Pratt Endowment Fund to support Montana indigenous, folk, traditional, and media arts.
This year’s grant recipients include:
- $2,000 to Montana Playwrights Network (Clancy) to support live performances.
- $500 to the Lewis and Clark Foundation (Great Falls) to support the performance and interpretative activities of dance.
Learn more about the William B. Pratt Fund here.
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Marvin Quinlan, Jr. balanced his life as a local rancher in Rosebud County with his interest in the community, charitable organizations, community building, and philanthropy. Marvin heard about the explosive growth of community foundations taking place in neighboring states and wanted to see that happen in Rosebud County, where he lived most of his life. The opportunity to start a local community foundation occurred when the Wolf Family from Nebraska created a challenge grant from the estate of their uncle Swede Schlessinger, a rancher from Ingomar. The challenge provided funds to start a local community foundation. Marvin took on the challenge and the community foundation he helped start now has assets of almost $450,000 and makes grants to benefit the towns of Forsyth, Angela, Ingomar, and Rosebud.
Marvin served as the local contact for the Community Foundation for Northern Rosebud County during the successful challenge campaign. He also volunteered with projects to provide training and education to community foundation leaders statewide. He never stopped being involved in advocacy for the nonprofit sector and the community foundations serving rural Montana. He will be dearly missed.
Learn more about Marvin here.
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"Eric Feaver, left behind an unforgettable legacy. Eric’s political advocacy for Montana education spanned over four decades as one of the most prolific political influencers in Montana.
“Eric grew up in Oklahoma and was sent to Vietnam as a conscientious objector and U.S. Army combat medic in 1968. He came to Helena in 1974, where he landed a teaching job at Helena Junior High School (now Helena Middle School). That position also ushered Eric into the state’s labor movement, setting the stage for a career spent shaping education policy and the union landscape in Montana.”
Eric was “pithy,” he was “cordial,” he “never stopped” and he was determined to be “the last one standing at the end of every legislative session.”
More than anything, though, he was remembered as a constant presence in Montana politics, one whose sudden absence many are finding difficult to process.”
Learn more about Eric here.
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Consider Making Grant Recommendations Now |
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If you have a Donor Advised Fund at MCF, now is a great time to make grant recommendations. Due to the high volume of recommendations that are made in December, your grant awards may be significantly delayed if you wait until the end of the year.
It’s easy to make your year-end recommendations on our donor portal. Not registered? Register here. (Please allow at least 1-2 business days after you register to complete the process.) If you need assistance, please contact Cathy Cooney, Director of Donor Services, at 406-441- 4954 or ccooney@mtcf.org.
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