Montana grants for Nonprofits

This funding opportunity is designed for research institutions and organizations within the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit to study the interactions and resource use among cattle, wildlife, and wild horses in Utah's fragile ecosystems.

This funding opportunity supports landowners, watershed groups, and nonprofits in Montana to improve fish habitats and populations by restoring natural stream channels, enhancing fish passage, and protecting essential spawning areas.

The Social Justice Fund NorthWest (SJF) is offering the 2024 Base Building Grant, aimed at strengthening grassroots organizations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. This grant directly aligns with SJF's mission to foster social justice by investing in community organizing as a primary strategy. The program focuses on "Base Building," defined as a tactic that expands the number and engagement of people who share a vision for social justice and actively work to achieve it through organized strategies. This approach underscores SJF's strategic priority of empowering communities to drive systemic change. The grant targets organizations committed to community organizing and led by those most directly affected by the issues they address. Specifically, SJF prioritizes organizations with at least 51% leadership from Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, or those working predominantly in reservation, rural, or small-town communities. The impact goals are to build collective power, widen the base of engaged individuals, develop strong leadership within communities, and implement effective long-term strategies. The expected outcomes include a critical mass of collective power capable of winning and defending policy, cultural, or institutional changes, as well as a diverse and actively engaged membership. SJF's community organizing framework emphasizes four key areas: Collective Power, Widening the Base, Leadership Development, and Strategy and Long-Term Planning. Under Collective Power, the focus is on building a diverse membership and achieving policy or cultural wins. Widening the Base involves fostering authentic relationships with those most affected, recruiting new people, and using varied, tailored communication methods, including face-to-face engagement. Leadership Development ensures clear entry points to leadership, accessible political education, and continuous engagement and agitation. Finally, Strategy and Long-Term Planning requires organizations to develop and adapt a comprehensive base-building plan with clear goals, timelines, infrastructure, and accountability structures. The grant, providing $100,000 over two years ($50,000 annually), is open to nonprofit organizations, tribal agencies, or fiscally sponsored groups with 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 status, or federally recognized American Indian tribal governments. This funding mechanism directly supports SJF's theory of change, which posits that sustained investment in community-led organizing, focused on these core elements, will lead to meaningful and lasting social justice outcomes in the specified regions.

This grant provides funding for organizations to conduct research and enhance habitats for invertebrate species at military sites in Colorado, focusing on biodiversity conservation and ecological management.

This grant provides funding to support projects that improve mental health services and treatment for individuals with serious mental illness in Montana, focusing on prevention, crisis intervention, and transitional support.

This grant provides $100,000 over two years to grassroots organizations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming that focus on building community power and leadership among diverse groups, with a priority for those led by BIPOC and working in rural or reservation areas.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to tribal governments, nonprofits, and educational institutions for solar energy projects that enhance energy independence and benefit low-to-moderate income communities.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for organizations to deliver specialized services to victims of crime, ensuring their unique needs are met across diverse communities.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and government units for projects that directly benefit the residents of Blaine County, Montana, addressing important community needs.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and public entities that serve the residents of Park County, Montana, and Mammoth, Wyoming, to support community initiatives that align with local priorities and demonstrate clear benefits to the community.

Our grantees work to build on the entrepreneurial spirit, strong community ties, and untapped potential within Native nations, communities of color, rural communities, and other resilient communities who have fewer opportunities to thrive on their own terms. We envision strong, vibrant communities where people are connected to good jobs and have the financial capability to build their assets and provide a secure future for their families and communities. A Need to Close the Opportunity Gaps Our economic system doesn’t work for everyone. It widens income and opportunity gaps, restrains economic mobility, and traps people and communities in a cycle of poverty and injustice. A disproportionate number of Native Americans, people of color, refugees, immigrants, and rural Americans are living in crisis—or just a paycheck away from it. Nationally, six in 10 families of color don’t have the cash on hand to cover basic expenses—like rent, medical emergencies, or the need to fix a car—for three months.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is inviting proposals for its ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation program, which is specifically designed to advance bird species and habitat conservation. This program directly aligns with NFWF's mission to address the alarming loss of 3 billion birds since 1970. The foundation's strategic priority is to support projects that conserve, restore, or enhance critical habitats and to gather essential bird population data, ultimately aiming to reverse population declines. The primary beneficiaries of this program are bird populations, both migratory and non-migratory, particularly those inhabiting grassland, wetland, sage-steppe, and coastal habitats. The program's impact goals include improving habitat quality and quantity, enhancing breeding and wintering grounds, and supporting stopover periods for birds along major migratory routes. Expected outcomes include a measurable increase in bird populations, improved habitat conditions, and the collection of vital data to inform future conservation efforts. The program's priorities and focuses are centered on implementing science-driven and strategic conservation. This involves addressing habitat degradation, fragmentation, and loss. Geographic focal areas are critical, spanning major migratory routes from the northern slope of Alaska to the north-south axis of the central United States, including the Gulf Coast regions of Texas and Louisiana. The program emphasizes innovative methods for gathering lacking bird population data and conserving specific habitat types. Grant awards typically range from $100,000 to $275,000, with projects expected to be completed within two years. Eligible applicants include a broad range of non-profit organizations, government agencies (U.S. federal, state, local, municipal, tribal), and educational institutions. This inclusive eligibility criteria reflects NFWF's theory of change, which recognizes that collaborative efforts across various sectors are essential for achieving large-scale, sustainable conservation impacts for bird populations and their habitats.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks accepts applications twice annually from landowners, watershed groups, and other nonprofits for the Future Fisheries Improvement Program. This program aims to fund habitat projects that benefit Montana's wild fish, focusing on improving or maintaining fish passage, restoring or protecting natural stream channels, riparian areas, essential habitats for spawning, and enhancing stream flow. Applicants must demonstrate public benefits and alignment with specific goals to improve fishing and protect wild fish populations. Preference is given to projects restoring habitats for native fishes. Funding covers design/build, construction, and maintenance costs, excluding administration and other indirect costs. Grant renewed every year. Grant Annual Summer deadline: May 15th

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations that assist migrant and seasonal farmworkers with employment services, training, and housing solutions.

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation strives to better the human condition by supporting programs and services that give people the tools to enhance the quality of their lives and to benefit society as a whole. The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation funds direct service non-profit organizations to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing them with the tools they need to succeed. Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has funded programs around Montana and in the areas in which the Washington Companies operate. When making a grant decision, we examine each organization’s financial stability, staffing and facility capacity, and relevant partnerships. Additionally, we assess the capability of an organization to sustain a program into the future and their ability to show measurable impact on the population they serve. Finally, funding is guided toward organizations that support low income, rural, and underserved populations through one of our four main focus areas: Education, Health and Human Services, Arts and Culture, and Community Service.

The Humanities Montana Film + Video grant program is a competitive initiative designed to foster the development, production, and distribution of documentary films and series. These projects must engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways, aligning with Humanities Montana's mission to deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions. The program supports projects grounded in humanities scholarship, requiring a thoughtful, balanced, and analytical approach to subjects, while also demonstrating the potential to attract a broad general audience. The primary beneficiaries of this program are media producers collaborating with scholars, as well as the general public who will consume the resulting film and video content. The impact goals are to enhance public understanding of humanities themes, foster analytical thinking, and engage communities and cultures represented in the project content. The program aims to support projects that not only present diverse perspectives but also involve humanities scholars in all aspects, from research and script development to production and post-production. The grant prioritizes projects that focus on clearly defined humanities themes, build on sound humanities scholarship, and actively engage the general public in learning through appealing and accessible formats. Funding is categorized into three stages: Stage One for research and script development (up to $8,000), Stage Two for production (up to $10,000), and Stage Three for post-production and public distribution (up to $10,000). Each stage has specific prerequisites and expected deliverables, ensuring a structured progression of projects. Expected outcomes include the creation of completed scripts or detailed treatments in Stage One, rough cuts of films or videos in Stage Two, and fully distributed projects with public programming, outreach, and evaluation plans in Stage Three. Humanities Montana's strategic priority is to support major projects that may require multiyear support and significant stages of research, development, and production. The theory of change is that by funding high-quality, humanities-focused documentary films, they can effectively reach and engage broad audiences, thereby deepening public understanding and appreciation of the humanities.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to state and local water authorities, Indian tribes, and other eligible entities for small-scale water storage projects that improve water management and resilience in the Western United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.

This program provides funding to individuals, schools, cooperatives, and community organizations in Montana to support projects that enhance agricultural education, improve local food systems, and promote sustainable farming practices.

This grant provides funding to agricultural professionals and organizations in the Western U.S. to implement educational and demonstration projects that promote the adoption of sustainable farming practices based on previous research findings.

The Otto Bremer Trust (OBT) is implementing new grantmaking approaches to effectively invest in people, places, and opportunities in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The new model includes Strategic Grants and Community Responsive Fund grants. Strategic Grants are awarded directly by OBT to organizations with at least $500,000 in expenses from the previous year, aligning with OBT's objectives. Community Responsive Fund grants are managed by intermediary partners, focusing on organizations with less than $500,000 in expenses.