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· Community foundation

Billings Community Foundation

To enhance the capacity of donors and charitable organizations to meet the needs of the greater billings community.

$769k
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$104k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2017–2024.

Philanthropy$620kHuman Services$264kEducation$128kArts & Culture$81kRecreation & Sports$78kEnvironment$65kYouth Development$55kHousing & Shelter$48kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 15 grants below total $320,095 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $769,262 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $449,167 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $52k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $164k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $104k
$14,759
Median grant
2
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MURYL AND LU MYHRE FOUNDATION INC$104,000
MATTHEWS-DOUSMAN MEMORIAL FUND$49,285
NATALIE A DIETRICH SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT$27,603
WYOLA DEVELOPMENT FUND$21,220
Individual grant recipient$20,000
FRANK AND MARGO KELLEY DAF$16,500
JAMES WRIGHTSON EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT$15,000
YELLOWSTONE RIVER PARKS ASSOCIATION INC$14,759
VARELA FAMILY FUND DAF$9,500
STILLWATER HISTORICAL SOCIETY$8,574
TOLLEFSON AND LICHT DAF$8,500
JOLIET COMMUNITY CENTER$7,020
MONTANA AUDUBON$6,934
FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY VITALITY$5,800
EASTERN MONTANA NATUROPATHIC ONCOLOGY FUND$5,400
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY18–21, $165k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 6% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%BILLINGS FAMILY YMCA: $150k → 9%CENTER POLE: $10k → 23%TUMBLEWEED: $5k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$560k · 13 repeat orgs$635k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +47% since the first grant, against +32% for the ones you funded once.

13 repeat relationships — 5 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
22

Total granted

$560k
$373k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+32%

Still filing today

85%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 18% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $262k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEnvironmentHealthYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as “new.” Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • SH
    Stillwater Historical Society
    4× · 2018–2024 · $60k · revenue +47%
  • MA
    MONTANA AUDUBON
    5× · 2017–2024 · $55k · revenue +14%
  • YR
    YELLOWSTONE RIVER PARKS ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2020–2024 · $52k · revenue +161%

Funded once

  • BF
    BILLINGS FAMILY YMCA INC
    one grant, 2020 · $150k · revenue +2%
  • WY
    WYOLA YOUTH GROUP MIGHTY FEW
    one grant, 2022 · $33k
  • UU
    UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2020 · $20k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Scenic Montana Trails
—
2
Montana Healthcare Foundation
Philanthropy
3
Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter

Yellowstone valley animal shelter is dedicated to strengthening the human-animal bond by providing compassionate and high-quality care, education, and resources to the community.

Animals
4
Singing Waters Montana

To greatfully steward the land and singing waters with respect and care. To build a beloved community that values justice, equality, and love.

Recreation & Sports
5
Montana Conservation Elders
Environment
6
Montana Business Leadership Council

The mblc exists to encourage and enact business-friendly policies that create good-paying jobs and make montana a better place to live. the primary purpose of the mblc is to educate the public on important business issues, enable citizens…

Community Improvement
7
Yellowstone County Assistance Network

To empower people living in the big horn basin of wyoming to enhance health and employment status, overcome obsticales, and end economic hardship.

Human Services
8
The Greater Montana Foundation
Philanthropy
9
Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Greater yellowstone coalition works with all people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the greater yellowstone ecosystem, now and for future generations.

Environment
10
Montana Preservation Alliance Inc

The montana preservation alliance (mpa) saves and protects montana's historic places, traditional landscapes, and cultural heritage. we are the only statewide, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing montanans with the resources…

—
11
Colt Family Foundation Montana
Philanthropy
12
Billings Chamber of Commerce

Our mission is to develop a strong business climate and vibrant economy by serving the community in a leadership role therapy enhancing the quality of life.

—

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Yellowstone County Inc and the most unlike its peers is Muryl and Lu Myhre Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 41 years old; the field is 20. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number19%0%<5yr12%7%5–10yr18%17%10–20yr15%21%20–35yr17%31%35–55yr19%24%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value19%0%<5yr12%5%5–10yr18%6%10–20yr15%12%20–35yr17%41%35–55yr19%36%55yr+

The field is 19% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 3% lost their exemption, against 9% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
3%1/39
the rest of the field
9%
231/2,625

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

30 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 30 of the 48 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
29/30
Grantees still filing
22/30
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

WYOLA DEVELOPMENT FUND — $130,249 · OtherWYOLA DEVELOPMENT FUNDMURYL AND LU MYHRE FOUNDATION INC — $104,000 · OtherMURYL AND LU MYHRE FOUNDATION INCWYOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT #29 — $69,225 · OtherWYOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT #29Stillwater Historical Society — $60,250 · OtherStillwater Historical SocietyMATTHEWS-DOUSMAN MEMORIAL FUND — $49,285 · OtherMATTHEWS-DOUSMAN MEMORIAL FUNDWYOLA YOUTH GROUP MIGHTY FEW — $33,000 · OtherNATALIE A DIETRICH SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT — $27,603 · Other+24 more — $297,722 · Other+24 moreCENTRAL MONTANA FOUNDATION — $192,353 · PhilanthropyCENTRAL MONTANA FOUN…UNITED WAY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY INC — $63,735 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF YELLOW…+1 more — $5,500 · PhilanthropyBILLINGS FAMILY YMCA INC — $150,000 · Human ServicesBILLINGS FAMILY…FAMILY SERVICE — $25,500 · Human ServicesFAMILY SERVICECenter Pole — $10,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT INC — $8,800 · Human Services+1 more — $5,021 · Human ServicesMONTANA AUDUBON — $55,075 · EnvironmentMONTANA A…YELLOWSTONE RIVER PARKS ASSOCIATION — $52,189 · EnvironmentYELLOWSTO…MONTANA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION — $10,000 · EnvironmentMONTANA W…JOLIET COMMUNITY CENTER INC — $47,009 · HealthFAMILY PROMISE OF YELLOWSTONE VALLEY — $25,246 · HealthBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY — $22,000 · Youth DevelopmentMONTANA FFA FOUNDATION INC — $5,307 · Youth DevelopmentPLENTY DOORS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION — $10,958 · Community ImprovementFoundation for Community Vitality — $5,800 · Community Improvement
Other$771,334Philanthropy$261,588Human Services$199,321Environment$117,264Health$72,255Youth Development$27,307Community Improvement$16,758

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCENTRAL MONTANA FOUNDATION — $192,353 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetBILLINGS FAMILY YMCA INC — $150,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY INC — $63,735 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetStillwater Historical Society — $60,250 over 4y, 13% of budgetMONTANA AUDUBON — $55,075 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetYELLOWSTONE RIVER PARKS ASSOCIATION — $52,189 over 4y, 4.4% of budgetJOLIET COMMUNITY CENTER INC — $47,009 over 5y, 16% of budgetFAMILY SERVICE — $25,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF YELLOWSTONE VALLEY — $25,246 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetMONTANA RESCUE MISSION — $23,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF BILLINGS MONTANA — $22,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY — $22,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetYELLOWSTONE CASA INC — $16,712 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetBILLINGS CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION — $15,963 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBILLINGS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMONTANA STATE PARKS FOUNDATION — $11,310 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetPLENTY DOORS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION — $10,958 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetMONTANA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION — $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEADERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT INC — $8,800 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCARE CAMPS FOUNDATION — $7,750 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDSHIP HOUSE OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE INC — $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetYELLOWSTONE COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION — $6,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetFoundation for Community Vitality — $5,800 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBILLINGS ROTARY FOUNDATION INC — $5,500 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetMONTANA FFA FOUNDATION INC — $5,307 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTUMBLEWEED RUNAWAY PROGRAM INC — $5,021 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSPECIAL K RANCH — $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetALBERTA BAIR THEATER CORPORATION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

First Interstate Banc…Montana Community Fou…Dennis & Phyllis Wash…Gianforte Family Char…Donald & Carol Robert…First Interstate Bank…The Mary Alice Fortin…Treacy FoundationOtto Bremer TrustCharles M Bair Family…M J Murdock Charitabl…GE McDonald Foundation
First Interstate BancSystem Foundation IncMT43.6× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Montana Community Foundation Inc · Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · Gianforte Family Charitable Trust · Donald & Carol Roberts Foundation in Memory of Virginia K Weston Inc · First Interstate Bank Centennial Youth Foundation · The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation · Treacy Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Charles M Bair Family Trust · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · GE McDonald Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Billings Community Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending — grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12–24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 48 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph

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