|
Montana Community Foundation Awards $80,000 in grants to local community foundations The Montana Community Foundation is pleased to announce the award of more than $80,000 in grants to local community foundations across Montana. The Montana Community Foundation’s Local Community Foundation Program supports the development of affiliate community foundations in cities and small towns. The community foundations work to build endowments that act as community savings accounts, providing permanent support for community projects. During the last fiscal year, local community foundations raised more than $400,000 for their endowments. The Montana Community Foundation provides a 20% incentive grant for every dollar the local community foundations raise for endowment. Over $80,000 in matching grants was dispersed to local community foundations across the state. The top five endowment builders were Roberts Community Foundation, Greater Polson Community Foundation, Seeley Lake Community Foundation, Musselshell Valley Community Foundation and Red Lodge Area Community Foundation. "The Roberts Community Foundation's fundraising success was a culmination of events,” said Elta Ayre, Vice-Chair of the Roberts Community Foundation board of directors. “We hold an annual Golf Scramble and rely heavily on our loyal supporters for memorials and donations. Our greatest gift this past year, however, was a very generous bequest we received from the estate of Karen Abrahamson. Karen maintained her ties to the community and has been a loyal supporter of the Roberts Community Foundation for several years. Though we are very sad to lose her, we are extremely grateful for her generosity and belief in our little community." “The Greater Polson Community Foundation applied for and received a Leadership Grant from the Montana Community Foundation to help us be the convener of the Envision Polson! project,” said Penny Jarecki, a Greater Polson Community Foundation board member. “Envision Polson! has proposed a set of goals to move Polson toward a brighter future. GPCF’s grant process now dovetails with those goals. The incentive grant plus the interest from our endowment allowed us to give $11,700 in grants to nine non-profit organizations for special projects advancing these community goals.” “The Local Community Foundation Program, now in its sixth year, helps people all over Montana determine the future of their community,” said Linda E. Reed, President and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation. “Each community foundation does the hard work of building their endowment, and in return the program provides money they can put to work immediately. We’re so proud of the work our affiliates do to make their communities great places to live, work and raise families.” About the Montana Community Foundation
The Montana Community Foundation has awarded $45,000 in grants to six affiliate community foundations across Montana. Each grant will fund a unique project developed by each invidivual community foundation to accomplish important community goals. $2,500 was awarded to the Columbus Community Foundation. The grant will help to fund a series of workshops for local nonprofits on governance, fundraising, strategic planning and other topics of interest. Read more. $2,500 was awarded to the F.A.I.R. Community Foundation. The grant will help to fund an ongoing project to increase career opportunities for youth in northern Rosebud County and sustain existing rural businesses. $6,000 was awarded to the Greater Polson Community Foundation. The grant will help to fund the Community Foundation’s community visioning project, Envision Polson. $7,500 was granted to the Roberts Community Foundation. The grant will help to sponsor two community forums to discuss potential community needs and assess growth potentials in Roberts. $8,000 was granted to the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation (RLACF). The grant will help to fund Education Now!, a series of workshops for local nonprofits on governance, fundraising, volunteer management, and other topics. $18,500 was awarded to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation to support their ongoing project to improve air quality in Seeley Lake. "These organizations are our best example of the value a community foundation can bring to a community," said Linda Reed, President and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation. "They're increasing the capacity of nonprofits, creating partnerships, and addressing important community needs. We're so proud to support their work." About the Montana Community Foundation
The Montana Community Foundation is partnering with HRDC Head Start to sponsor a two day training for early childhood educators. 40 Head Start teachers, administrators and parents will attend Early Childhood Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (EC-LETRS) training April 14-15 at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Bozeman. Dr. Lucy Hart Paulson, Chair of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education of the University of Montana, will conduct the training. Dr. Hart Paulson is a nationally recognized expert on early childhood literacy development. The training will increase educators’ competency in helping young children build a strong foundation in early literacy skills. The program creates a deeper understanding of the development of language and literacy in young children and offers practical strategies for building these skills. Teachers from HRDC Head Start as well as K-3rd grade teachers from Belgrade Public Schools will attend, as the training is geared to help preschool and kindergarten children as well as early elementary students experiencing difficulty with literacy. “LETRS is a research based program that links the acquisition of language to literacy,” said Caroline Carr, Education Coordinator at HRDC Head Start. “It’s the clearest research anyone has done about how language develops and how that affects literacy later on. The training will improve our ability to know where each child is in their literacy development and know how to support them moving to the next phase.” One in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that of proficient readers, according to a study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Overall, 22 percent of children who have lived in poverty do not graduate from high school, compared to 6 percent of those who have never been poor. “For every dollar we spend educating a Head Start child, it saves $13 in later special education costs,” Caroline said. “We serve children who are at risk. Children form opinions about their abilities at a very early age. Head Start helps children learn skills and behaviors, like the ability to read, that build their concept of themselves as successful people. That confidence translates into success in elementary school, in high school, and in their adult lives. Early intervention is the key.” “This training was made possible by a generous grant from an anonymous local donor,” said Linda Reed, President and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation. “The Montana Community Foundation recognizes that the earliest years of education, starting in preschool and continuing through the third grade, set the stage for life-long success. We’re really pleased to support HRDC Head Start’s efforts to help young children enter school prepared to succeed.” About HRDC Head Start About the Montana Community Foundation
The Montana Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the Latigo Fund, a component fund of the Foundation, will award $13,000 in grants to two Billings nonprofits. $10,000 will be awarded to Zoo Montana, and $3,000 to the Yellowstone River Parks Association. The grant to Zoo Montana will be used for general purposes. The grant to Yellowstone River Parks Association will be used for the development of the John H. Dover Memorial Park. The Latigo Fund was created in 1989 in honor of Montana’s Centennial Celebration. To celebrate Montana’s pioneer history and raise money for a permanent endowment, the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive was held in Billings. Proceeds from the cattle drive created the Latigo Fund to further the healthful development, education and welfare of Montana citizens. “Zoo Montana is an important part of what makes Billings a great place to live,” said Linda Reed, President and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation. “The John H. Dover Memorial Park will conserve open land the preserve a piece of Montana history, which is a key goal of the Latigo Fund. We’re delighted to support the work of both organizations.” About the Montana Community Foundation CONTACT:
The Montana Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the Big Sky Carvers Endowment Fund, a component fund of the Foundation, will award a $10,000 grant to the Manhattan High School Vocational Education Program. The grant will be used to purchase machinery, software, materials or other items that would not be available through the vocational program’s regular budget. The Big Sky Carvers Endowment Fund is making the Manhattan High School Vocational Education Program the designated beneficiary of the fund, and will make an annual distribution of at least $10,000 each year to support the program. “We’re excited about the grant for the good it can do in the local school and the community that our business has been a part of for so long,” said Marc Pierce, Co-Founder and President of Big Sky Carvers. “My father believed, and I believe that woodworking, welding, and mechanics are noble trades, and that we need to provide an opportunity in high school for kids to experience the trades in the event that they want to go to a trade school instead of a university. Whether someone wants to pursue it as a vocation or a hobby, they should gain some of that foundational education while in high school.” “We are excited and grateful for the opportunity. It could not have come at a better time, since there may be significantly reduced funding for vocational programs at the state and federal levels,” said Mike Houghton, Industrial Technology Teacher at Manhattan High School. “I am interested in expanding and updating my program and have several purposes in mind for the grant.” Marc Pierce recommends this grant in memory of his father, Eric Pierce, with whom he co-founded Big Sky Carvers in 1980. In 1997, Eric and Marc created Big Sky Carvers Endowment Fund at the Montana Community Foundation to give back to the community that has supported their thriving business. “Dad thought, and I agree, that there’s an overemphasis on university level education these days. People go to high school and learn that you either go to college or university or else you get a job. There’s a space between there that Dad felt was underserved, and that’s the student that wants to learn about the trades,” Marc said. “We’re delighted that Big Sky Carvers is investing in Manhattan High School, especially in its vocational education program,” said Linda E. Reed, President and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation. “Many good paying jobs in Montana only require competency in a skill or trade. Getting a solid foundation in a vocation in high school will leverage an investment in post-secondary school. This investment by Big Sky Carvers is building the capacity of the Manhattan High School and that in turn increases the likelihood that the community will continue to be a place where families want to live, work, and raise children.” Marc Pierce and Linda E. Reed will present the grant check to the school on Thursday, March 31 at 9:30 a.m. at the Manhattan High School Vocational Education Classroom. About the Montana Community Foundation CONTACT: |
||||
 |
The Montana Community Foundation | 1 N.
Last Chance Gulch, Suite 1 | Helena, MT 59601 Phone: (406) 443-8313 | Email Us |
