Greater Polson Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This community funder supports the Polson, Montana, area with grants once per year. Interests include youth, arts and culture, parks and recreation, health and fitness, human services, and education.
IP TAKE: This foundation gives broadly to nearly any nonprofit need in the Polson area. Grants are modest, however, collectively totaling around $26,000 per year lately.
PROFILE: The Greater Polson Community Foundation is based in Polson, Montana, and dates back to December 2007. It seeks to “promote philanthropy, financially support initiatives that build our community, collaborate and partner with others, inspire community pride and unity.” With the help of the Montana Community Foundation, GPCF evolved from a group of volunteers to a foundation with a board of directors. The first grants were made in August 2009, and grants have gone out once per year since.
Interests include youth, arts and culture, health and fitness, parks and recreation, human services, and education. Grants have recently gone to the Boys & Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation, Flathead Lake International Cinemafest, Friends of Lake County Fairgrounds, and the Helping Hands Fund. Support also went to the Polson Fairgrounds, the Polson Youth Soccer Association, and the Flathead Historical Museum. There were 17 grantees in the foundation’s ninth year of grantmaking activity and 11 the previous year.
Grants tend to be between $500 and $2,500 each, and are awarded annually to a range of nonprofits in the Greater Polson area. The application deadline typically falls in April, and the application summary sheet can be found on the GPCF website. Grant seekers must mail the foundation one original and three copies of this document, the application, and attachments.
The foundation's Envision Polson initiative consists of eight action committees that target local beautification, year-round recreation, a vibrant downtown, youth and education, health and wellness, and economic development. GPCF's website has a nonprofit directory of local groups for donors to browse and give to.
Keep up with recent foundation news and events on the funder’s website.
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