Charles M. Bair Family Trust
/OVERVIEW: The Charles M. Bair Family Trust supports education, hospitals, arts and culture, civic service organizations, and human services in Montana.
FUNDING AREAS: Education, hospitals, arts and culture, civic service organizations, human services
IP TAKE: This trust funds a broad range of local interests and is accessible to new groups.
PROFILE: Established in 1993, the Charles M. Bair Family Trust is a private family foundation in Montana. It commemorates the last surviving member of this influential Montana family, Alberta M. Blair, who passed away in May 1993. The family patriarch, Charles Bair, moved to Montana in 1883 from Ohio, worked as a Northern Pacific Railroad conductor, ran one of the world’s largest sheep ranches, founded Midland Bank in Billings, and was involved in state politics. The funder’s grantmaking includes education, hospitals, arts and culture, civic service organizations, and human services.
This foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and governmental entities in Montana. Education grants support public and private colleges and universities in the state. Health grants fund hospitals, hospices, blood banks, medical research, and health maintenance organizations. Cultural grants invest in performing and visual arts groups, museums, zoos and historical centers. Civic service grants support community development and public services. Finally, human services grants aid the poor, handicapped, children and senior citizens. In addition to grants, the trust also awards a scholarship that was established by the last will and testament of Marguerite Bair Lamb, Alberta M. Bair’s late sister.
The foundation does not provide an online database to review past grants. Grantmaking is solely focused on the state of Montana, and the three counties of preference here are Meagher, Wheatland, and Yellowstone. On the funder’s website, the trust provides PDF and Word document links to its grant application guidelines and the grant application form itself.
The Bair Family Trust accepts unsolicited grant requests, and applications are due on March 1 of each year. Download grant application forms on the funder’s website and submit the application by mail. Both the Charles M. Bair Family Trust and the Charles M. Bair Memorial Trust are managed by U.S. Bank Trust. Contact the foundation at by calling 406-657-8139 or emailing Penny Doak at penny.doak@usbank.com.
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