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The Billings Community Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt, innovative community foundation governed by local citizens promoting philanthropy and charitable giving. Our service encompasses many highly rural communities of south-central and south eastern Montana located in Yellowstone, Musselshell, Rosebud, Custer, Treasure, Bighorn, Carbon, Stillwater, and Fergus County. Our clients include community funds throughout this service area, as well as numerous non-profits and philanthropic minded individuals.

Our Mission is: “To help individual donors and charitable organizations meet the needs of the Greater Yellowstone Region.”

As these needs change from year to year, the focus of our grant program will also change.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR GRANTS

BCF Grant Awardees

Bernard Rose Family Advised Fund

Montana Wilderness School

 

David and Martha Redmon Family Advised Fund

Veteran’s Navigation Network

Volunteers of America Northern Rockies

 

James A Wrightson Educational Fund

Western Heritage Center

Community Leadership and Development

 

Matthews-Dousman Memorial Endowment Fund at Montana Community Foundation

Eagle Mount Billings

Big Sky Senior Services

 

Tancy and Ralph Spence Family Advised Fund

Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools

 

Obert Undem Endowment for Community Vitality

CASA of Yellowstone County

 

Thomas and Amoretta Wilkins Endowment Fund

Billings Community Foundation Capital Campaign

 

Muryl and Lu Myhre Foundation Endowment (by invitation only)

Boys and Girls Club of Billings

Family Promise Yellowstone Valley

Family Service

Great Plains Gathering

Special K Ranch

United Campus Ministry

YWCA

Bernard Rose Family Advised Fund

Yellowstone River Parks Association

Montana Wilderness Association

 

Billings Community Foundation Endowment

Chinook Horses

 

David and Martha Redmon Family Advised Fund

Horses Spirits Healing

 

Foundation for Community Vitality Advised Fund

Montana State Parks Foundation

 

Gerstner Adam Lay Advised Fund

Community Leadership and Development

 

James A Wrightson Educational Fund

Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools

Montana Wilderness School

 

Matthews-Dousman Memorial Endowment Fund at Montana Community Foundation

Helping Hands in Hardin

Family Service

St. Vincent de Paul Billings

Family Promise

Billings Mediation Center

 

Richard L. Cox and Chari A Cox and Family Advised Fund

Billings Public Library

Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale

 

Tancy and Ralph Spence Family Advised Fund

Community Leadership and Development

Billings Public Schools

 

Obert Undem Endowment for Community Vitality

Zoo Montana

 

Thomas and Amoretta Wilkins Endowment Fund

Billings Community Foundation Capital Campaign

 

Muryl and Lu Myhre Endowment (by invitation only)

Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County

Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley

Family Service

Friendship House of Christian Service

Great Plains Gathering

Montana Rescue Mission

Special K Ranch

United Campus Ministry at MSU Billings

United Way of Yellowstone County

YWCA Billings

Billings Community Foundation Endowment Fund

Western Heritage Center
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Billings Community Foundation Permanent Endowment – Support to continue to promote an appreciation of history and culture.

 

Capacity Building Grants

Billings Public Library Foundation, Inc.
Yellowstone 
Preparing for the Future in a COVID-19 World – Operations support for monthly virtual training events, along with board and donor meetings.

Dress for Success Billings
Bighorn; Carbon; Musselshell; Stillwater;Yellowstone
Strategic Planning and Board Development – Operations support for Strategic Planning and Board Development Training sessions.

 

Collaborative Grants

Big Brothers Big Sisters Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
Lunch Buddies Program – Operational support to restart the lunch program after COVID-19 restrictions.

Billings Cultural Partners
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Stillwater; Yellowstone
High Plains BookFest – Program support to purchase books and great reading group “Book Bags”.

Moss Mansion/Billings Preservation Society
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Original Theatrical Production: Yellowstone Repertory Theatre and Moss Mansion Collaboration – Program support to share original production with the community in a safe, sustainable way.

Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale
Yellowstone
Sukin Series at the Depot – Program support to share new performances with the community in a safe, sustainable way while bringing more traffic to downtown Billings and increasing accessibility to a younger and more diverse demographic.

Yellowstone County Museum
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Yellowstone County Museum & MSU Billings Native American Achievement Center Collaborative Grant – Program support to create and develop a Native American Achievement Center, sharing history with their many patrons.

 

Community & Regional Impact Grants

Boys & Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
Learning Loss – Operational support to reopen all Clubhouses with all health and safety precautions to reach as many youth in the community as safely as possible.

CASA of Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
CASA Impact Growth 2021 – Program support to provide additional volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children in the Yellowstone County foster care system.

Chinook Horses
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Serving Those in Need due to COVID-19 with Equine-assisted Therapy and Learning – Operational support to continue to serve individuals and families with their equine-facilitated therapy and learning programs throughout the pandemic, along with launching a new learning program for neurodiverse youth.

Community 7 Television
Stillwater; Yellowstone
Closed Captioning – Program support to add closed captioning to community television shows.

Community Leadership Development, Inc. (CLDI)
Yellowstone
Hannah House Food Pantry – Program support to continue to operate the Hannah House Pantry, a home for women seeking recovery after addiction or incarceration and working towards reunification with their children.

Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools
Yellowstone
Reading Rocks – Program support to purchase and distribute books into the hands of Billings youth in the summer of 2020.

Family Promise of Yellowstone County
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Wrap Around and Break the Cycle of Poverty – Program support to continue to help homeless families achieve independence through a series of steps designed to break the cycle of poverty.

Junior League of Billings
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Montana Women’s Leadership Conference – Operational support to virtually host a women’s leadership conference for the Montana community.

Montana State University Billings Foundation
Yellowstone
Veteran Program Expansion – Program support to expand the Veteran program focused on helping, supporting, and easing the transition our Veterans are making back into civilian life.

Planned Parenthood of Montana
Bighorn; Rosebud; Yellowstone
The Healthy Native Youth Expansion Project – Program support to address and reduce the reproductive health disparities experienced by rural Native American youth.

 

Myhre Family Foundation Grants

Boys & Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
Summer Program Experience – Program support to enhance protocols, procedures, and staffing models to remain open to members, especially those facing barriers such as homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity.

Family Promise of Yellowstone County
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Wrap Around and Break the Cycle of Poverty – Program support to continue to help homeless families achieve independence through a series of steps designed to break the cycle of poverty.

Family Service
Bighorn; Fergus; Yellowstone
One-time Rent and Utility Assistance Promotes Stability – Program support to provide one-time, emergency funding for rent or utility assistance or deposits for new housing after homelessness.

Friendship House of Christian Service
Yellowstone
Lowering At-Risk Children Risks in South Billings – Operational support to ensure a stable, healthy, and educational environment during summer for children experiencing poverty in Billings.

Montana Rescue Mission
Yellowstone
Refrigerated Truck to Deliver Donated Food to Montana Rescue Mission & Community Partners – Operational support to continue to deliver thousands of meals to the hungry and homeless with the purchase of a low mileage and high efficiency refrigerated food truck.

Special K Ranch
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Stillwater; Yellowstone
Development Department and Home Appliance Enhancement of Special K Ranch – Operational support to purchase a high-quality Canon EOS camera, an essential tool for producing the Ranch’s 2020 online fundraiser.

United Campus Ministry at MSU Billings
Yellowstone
Student Community Building at MSU Billings – Program support to develop an Autism club, support the work of Out at MSUB, and support their program Table Talk.

YWCA Billings
Bighorn; Carbon; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Saving and Changing the Lives of Victims of Violence – Operational support to continue to provide emergency shelter, employment counseling and job skills training, financial counseling, legal services, affordable housing, and coordination with other partner social service agencies.

Billings Community Foundation Endowment Fund

Chinook Horses
Bighorn; Rosebud; Yellowstone
Planning for Growth Capacity Building Grant – Operations support for organizational strategic planning and sustainable growth.

Montana History Foundation
Bighorn; Custer
Carnegie Libraries Traveling Exhibit Community Grant – Program support to bring the Montana Carnegie Exhibit and The Best Gift: Montana’s Carnegie Libraries”, author Kate Hampton to Hardin, Miles City, and Billings. One permanent panel will stay in each community Library following the presentation and exhibit.

Montana Non-profit Association
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Ferguson; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Non-profit Leadership Development Community Grant – Sponsorship support for the Annual MNA Leadership Conference, BREAKTHROUGH, to be held in Billings, MT on October 2-4, 2019.

The Matthews-Dousman Memorial Endowment in partnership with the Montana Community Foundation
In 1999, a bequest from Judith Dousman Matthews laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the Billings Community Foundation.  Today, earnings from Judith’s gift are integral in funding our granting program. Following are the recipients of this year’s grants from the Matthews-Dousman Memorial Endowment Fund of the Montana Community Foundation:

Billings Community Foundation
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Non-profit Training Community Grant – Operations support for monthly Non-profit Networking and training events in the Billings area.

CASA of Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
Recruitment and Growth Community Grant – Operations support for Volunteer Recruitment and Retention of 100 new Court Appointed Special Advocates to serve children in the foster care system.

Alzheimer’s Association
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Volunteer-Powered Program Delivery Community Grant – Program support for expanding the Volunteer-Powered Program Delivery Initiative, to expand the reach of care and support programs to better serve the escalating number of individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementia throughout the region.

Billings Cultural Partners
Bighorn; Yellowstone
The Big Read Community Grant – Program support to bring The Big Read with US Poet, Laureate Joy Harjo, to under-served populations in the Yellowstone Valley and to teach the importance and value of individual life stories.

Helping Hands in Hardin Inc.
Bighorn
Emergency Food Program Community Grant – Program support to help fight hunger in Big Horn County by providing emergency food boxes and healthy food choices to at risk families.

Montana Audubon Center
Yellowstone
Nearby Nature and Outdoor Classrooms Community Grant – Program support to assist the Montana Audubon Society and the Yellowstone River Parks Association in habitat restoration and outdoor classroom development.

Muryl and Lu Myhre Family Foundation Endowment

Billings Community Foundation
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Capacity Building Grant – Operational support to assist in securing matching funds for the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust grant, allowing the Foundation to continue building capacity within the organization and expanding services and training opportunities to non-profits throughout the community.

Boys and Girls Club of Yellowstone County
Yellowstone
Summer Scholarship Community Grant – Program support to allow families who are struggling to participate in club activities and child care, which provides children and a safe, positive, and educational environment, as well as adult mentors to tutor and give guidance on healthy living for life-changing opportunities.

Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley
Yellowstone
Wrap Around Community Grant – Program support to expand the Wrap Around and Break the Cycle of Poverty program, which assists homeless families in achieving self-sufficiency and sustainable independence through housing, case management, and needs assessments to overcome barriers to success.

Family Service
Bighorn; Fergus; Yellowstone
Rent and Utility Assistance Community Grant – Program support to continue and expand the Rent and Utility assistance program, which provides one time emergency assistance to at-risk individuals and stabilizes families by preventing hunger and homelessness and alleviating poverty.

Friendship House of Christian Service
Yellowstone
Summer Enrichment Scholarship Community Grant – Program support of the Summer Enrichment program which provides quality, safe, and affordable childcare options to working parents that also assists children with academic success and charter building.

Great Plains Gathering
Yellowstone
Kids and Teens Summer Enrichment Community Grant – Program support to expand opportunities for youth to experience fun and mentoring in nature through overnight camping and guided exploration of our natural environment.

Montana Rescue Mission
Yellowstone
Walk in Food Locker and Freezer Community Grant – Operations support to replace the malfunctioning compressor in two of the cooling units, which ensure the safe storage of donated and purchased food that is provided to homeless and hungry individuals.

Special K Ranch
Yellowstone
Technology Capacity Building Grant – Operational support to purchase laptops and programs which will allow for greater efficiency and effectiveness for development and program implementation.

United Campus Ministry at MSU Billings
Yellowstone
Relationship Building  Community Grant – Program support of the many opportunities that facilitate diversity Education and connections between university students with different backgrounds. This grant will also fund student participation in the 2020 Habitat for Humanity Build in Denver, CO.

YWCA Gateway House
Yellowstone
Gateway House Community Grant – Operational support of the Gateway House which provides safe housing to victim of domestic violence, and transitional services that empower individuals to break free of the cycle of violence, including case management, employment training, and counseling.

Rose Family Donor Advised Fund

Humanities Montana
Civic Engagement Capacity Building Grant – Operational support for leadership to attend two state-wide conferences with a focus on strengthening civil engagement and civil society in Montana.

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation
Voices from Yellowstone Community Grant – Operational support of the publication of Voices from Yellowstone’s Capstone: A Narrative Atlas of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness to raise awareness about the wealth of, and the risks to, this soul-stirring place in the heart of Montana.

Montana Audubon, Montana Wilderness Association, & Montana Wildlife Federation
Executive Leader Capacity Building Grant – Operational funding to send Executive Leadership from each of these three organizations to Washington, D.C. to sit down together with our own congressional delegation, staffers, and lobbyists.

Tancy and Ralph Spence Family Endowment

Billings Depot, Inc.
Yellowstone
STEAM Fest Collaborative Grant – Program support of the 2019 SteamFest to provide hands-on learning activities for children and champion the concept of STEAM learning to excite future generations.

The Family Tree Center
Yellowstone
Voices of Incarceration Project Community Grant – Program support to assist in the reunification of families after incarceration and decrease recidivism rates in our community.

Obert Undem Community Vitality Endowment

Child Bridge
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Fergus; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
Endowment Challenge Grant – Matching funds will be added to the Child Bridge Permanent Endowment fund held at the Billings Community Foundation. Child Bridge will have until the end of the year to raise matching funds on a 1:2 basis (Each dollar from the Foundation leverages two additional dollars.)

Thomas and Amoretta Wilkens Endowment
The Thomas and Amoretta Wilkins Endowment was established in 2007 to be used for the capital funding of building projects that benefit the general public in the city of Billings. Each year, the Billings Community Foundation is honored to award grants organizational projects that align with the original donor’s intent.

Family Service
Bighorn; Fergus; Yellowstone
The Launching Place Building Campaign Community Grant – Operational support to replace two fire doors and complete the capital campaign which has allowed for increased services, new programming and expanded programs to be developed.

MSUB Foundation
Bighorn, Yellowstone
Healing Sweat Lodge Community Grant – Operational support to build a sweat lodge at MSUB’s Native American Achievement Center (NAAC) which will connect students to their rich heritage and promote healing and growth to foster an environment where education can occur.

James A. Wrightson Educational Endowment

Burlington Elementary School
Yellowstone
Embracing our Community Academic Success Community Grant – Program support to our special needs students with proper equipment and learning activities to meet their sensory, auditory, physical and social needs while strengthening relationships with 4th and 5th grade peer tutors.

Institute for Peace Studies
Bighorn; Carbon; Musselshell; Stillwater; Yellowstone
Festival of Cultures Community Grant – Program support to improve and expand the annual Festival of Cultures event at RMC which educates our community on the variety and history of cultures that make our community diverse and inclusive place to live.

Western Heritage Center
Bighorn; Carbon; Custer; Musselshell; Rosebud; Stillwater; Treasure; Yellowstone
The Fight for Women’s Rights Community Grant – Program support to create an educational traveling exhibit to various libraries, museums, schools, and public spaces in south-central and southeast Montana highlighting, Hazel Hunkins, local suffragette, and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which provided women and men with equal voting rights.

Alternatives Inc.
This grant will assist the organization’s Billings Groundswell therapeutic gardening program, which collaborates with Passages, a woman’s correctional facility, to provide food for the Friendship House of Christian Service and the south side community.

Angela’s Piazza: Woman’s Drop-In Center
This grant will assist in funding this organization’s three educational programs: Domestic Violence Education, Nurturing Parenting Program, and the Daughters of Tradition program, which promotes making safer choices.

Ballantine United Lunch & Food Box
This past January, the program’s old oil furnace broke and they had to replace the system. This grant will assist in getting the system up and running by purchasing a new propane fuel tank.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Yellowstone County
This grant will support the lunch buddies program, which provides one-to-one mentoring for children at risk. This is a collaborative effort between Rocky Mountain College and Highland Elementary School.

Big Horn County Library
This grant will support the Libraries Rock summer reading program for preschool through 6th grade children during the summer months.

Billings School District 2: Medicine Crow School
This grant will provide developmentally appropriate exercise equipment for special needs students at the school.

Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale
This grant will assist the Explore Music Program which is held at the Billings Public Library. This program provides access to the arts for the underserved youth in our community.

Boys & Girls Club of Red Lodge & the Beartooth Front
This grant will assist in supporting the organization’s after school meals program.

Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools
The Reading Rocks program is provided in conjunction with schools’ free lunch program in the parks. This grant will assist the program in helping to reverse low-income students’ loss of reading achievement.

Helping Hands in Hardin Food Bank
Helping Hands fights hunger in Big Horn County. This grant will assist in providing emergency food boxes to poverty-stricken families.

High Plains Book Awards & Friends of the Billings Public Library Foundation Collaborative Grant
This grant will assist in purchasing the books from the 2018 awards program for the library book clubs.

Laurel FFA Alumni
This grant will assist in expansion of technology in the Legacy Greenhouse Lab, which provides innovative agricultural education for school-aged children.

Montana Audubon Center
This grant will assist with funding for the scholarship program, which provides outdoor education and learning for low income and at-risk youth.

Montana Rescue Mission
This grant will assist in remodeling the Woman and Children’s Shelter lobby area to provide much needed security for the facility.

Montana Wilderness Association
This grant will assist in funding the trail stewardship volunteer program that will improve trail conditions for the Nichols Trail at the base of the Red Lodge Ski area on Forest Service land.

Rocky Mountain College & Wise Wonders Children’s Museum Collaborative Grant
This grant will assist with the mobile outreach science program that provides hands-on STEM activities introducing children to a culture of learning and discovery.

Western Heritage Center
This grant will assist in funding the long-term travelling displays of the “Not in Our Town” posters. This program provides education toward reducing hatred and intolerance.

Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter
This grant will assist with a variety of animal care services for those not able to pay standard veterinary rates. The program includes spay/neuter clinics, medical care, vaccinations, and critical medical care. These programs greatly assist in lowering the number of unwanted and stray animals in our community.

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