Helena Area Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder supports the following issues in Helena, Montana, and surrounding areas: arts and culture, basic community needs, economic development, education, health services, historic preservation, land and environmental conservation, and youth.
IP TAKE: Grants from this foundation tend to be small, but they also address rural needs around Helena. It will consider almost any local nonprofit need.
PROFILE: The Helena Area Community Foundation (HACF) serves the community needs in Helena, Montana, and environs. It seeks to “inspire and lead collaboration and investment for compassionate, safe, healthy, and resilient communities.” They make grants from a permanent endowment to projects and nonprofits. An affiliate foundation of the Montana Community Foundation, HACF was established in 1994 as the Lewis & Clark County Community Foundation.
In a 15-year period, the foundation made grants of over $200,000 to more than 125 local nonprofits. Grantees include the Helena YWCA, Augusta Volunteer Ambulance Service, Lincoln Public Schools, and Helena Food Share. Grants have gone to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Helena, Big Sky Institute for the Advancement of Non-Profits, and Florence Crittenton Home.
Grantmaking interests include arts and culture, basic community needs, economic development, education, health services, historic preservation, land and environmental conservation, and youth. To be eligible for a grant, organizations must benefit the citizens of Helena or the surrounding rural areas.
The foundation’s investment policy is to distribute inflation plus 5.5 percent of the average daily endowment balance over the prior three years as calculated on December 31. In the past, the application window has been mid-January to mid-March, with funding announcements in April. Other distributions have been made once per year in February. Most grants have been between $200 to $1,000, however, some have run as high as $10,000. View annual reports here.
The foundation mailing address is P.O. Box 92, Helena, Montana 59624.
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