The Greater Montana Foundation
Helena, MT · EIN 81-6009847. Reported 102 grants totalling $1,751,922 to 64 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The Greater Montana Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $14,750. Half of everything it gave fell between $8,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $3,000 and the largest $50,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Broadcasters Association | Bonner, MT | $193,672 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Maps Media Institute | Hamilton, MT | $183,000 | 7 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of Montana PBS | Bozeman, MT | $162,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| From the Heart Productions | Oxnard, CA | $133,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Montana School of Journalism | Missoula, MT | $117,250 | 6 | 5 | 2025 |
| Montana Free Press | Helena, MT | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Montana Public Radio | Missoula, MT | $97,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Maps Media Lab | Hamilton, MT | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Montana Television Network | Helena, MT | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Montana PBS | Bozeman, MT | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Television Networkkxlh | Helena, MT | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Montana History Foundation | Helena, MT | $28,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Extreme History Project | Bozeman, MT | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Maps Fort Belknap | Hamilton, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| National Geographic Society | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Montana Foundation | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Bear Hug Cattle Company | Manhattan, MT | $23,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Benchmark Wrestling | Augusta, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Friends of Montana PBS (cooke City Avalanche) | Bozeman, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Granite County Historical Society | Philipsburg, MT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Uss Montana Committee | Big Fork, MT | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Montana International Film Festival | Billings, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| One Montana | Bozeman, MT | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Western Native Voice | Billings, MT | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Kids Co-Op | Polson, MT | $14,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Common Ground Project | Emigrant, MT | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Big Sky Film Institute | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Big Sky Film Institute (when They Were Here) | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of Yellowstone Public Radio | Billings, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Glacier National Park Conservancy (rise Up Montana) | Columbia Falls, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Helena Civic Television | Helena, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Inclusive Outdoors Project (lotus Producers) | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Leadership Montana | Helena, MT | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Meagher Country Stewardship Council | White Sulphur Springs, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mineral County Museum and Historical Society | Superior, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Casagal Association | Missoula, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana Historical Society | Helena, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montana State University Foundation | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Montana State University School of Film & Photography | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Simulation in Motion | Helena, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Turtle Island Tales | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Vox Box Arts Collective (fireside Films) | Glendale, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Working Quiet Butte (beyond Yellowstone) | Butte, MT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cine Billings (beartooth Films) | Billings, MT | $9,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alternative Energy Resources Organization | Helena, MT | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Montana Constitution | Billings, MT | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| North Missoula Community Development Corporation | Missoula, MT | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Sweet Grass Arts Alliance | Big Timber, MT | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Philipsburg Arts Fund | Philipsburg, MT | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Archie Bray Foundation | Helena, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Myrna Loy | Helena, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Crow Language Consortium | Billings, MT | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Winnett Aces | Winnett, MT | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Missoula Butterfly House | Missoula, MT | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Billings Good Evening LLC | Billings, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Crazy Mountain Museum | Big Timber, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nate Chute Foundation | Whitefish, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tell US Something | Missoula, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| United Way of Missoula County | Missoula, MT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Television Networkkrtv | Great Falls, MT | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Yellowstone Western Heritage Center Foundation | Billings, MT | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Center for Restorative Youth Justice | Kalispell, MT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Code Girls United | Kalispell, MT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Montana Playwrights Network | Helena, MT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
15 of 64 (23%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 46%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Friends of Montana PBS
SUPPORT FOR NUMEROUS PROGRAMS INCLUDING BACKROADS OF MONTANA, 11TH AND GRANT, AND NEW PROGRAMS. - Montana Broadcasters Association
EB AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING AND SUPPORT FOR A U.S. SENATE DEBATE. - Montana Television Network
CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE STORY-TELLING SERIES, "UNDER THE BIG SKY." - Montana Television Networkkxlh
TO SUPPORT THE ONGOING STORYTELLING SERIES, "UNDER THE BIG SKY," ABOUT THE DRIVERS OF COMMERCE IN MONTANA. - Montana PBS
FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE FRIENDS OF MONTANA PBS PROGRAM FUND. - From the Heart Productions
SUPPORT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE FILM "HEALING UNDER THE BIG SKY" ABOUT EQUINE THERAPY IN MONTANA AND CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF "THE MONTANA SESSIONS" NEXT SEASON OF EPISODES.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 52 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | $327,135 | $19,750 |
| 2022 | 20 | $348,300 | $13,500 |
| 2023 | 22 | $344,500 | $14,500 |
| 2024 | 20 | $359,737 | $10,000 |
| 2025 | 22 | $372,250 | $12,500 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
90% of its giving went to organizations in Montana. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $14,750. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Montana.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Greater Montana Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 1750 N Washington St, Helena, MT, 59601. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 81-6009847 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.