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Billings Community Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· 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 it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

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

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 15 grants below total $320,095, the rows itemized in this filing. The $769,262 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $449,167 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized 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

Does the money reach high-need areas?

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

show:

Its 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. Its 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
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +20% for those 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%
+20%

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
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). 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
How this is measured

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

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Scenic Montana Trails
—
2
Montana Healthcare Foundation
Philanthropy
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
Montana Conservation Elders
Environment
7
The Greater Montana Foundation
Philanthropy
8
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
9
Colt Family Foundation Montana
Philanthropy
10
Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

To promote science-based wildlife management that fosters ecosystem health and dynamic equilibrium between species throughout the state of wyoming.

Animals
11
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
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.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Yellowstone County Inc; 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.
04the grantee network

30 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

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

Where the money sits, by cause and 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 grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's 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 budgetYELLOWSTONE COUNTY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetFRIENDSHIP HOUSE OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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 budgetALBERTA BAIR THEATER CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSPECIAL K RANCH: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

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

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: 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

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Billings Community Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Billings Community Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's 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
    How this is measured
    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 a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than 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 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 48 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its 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.

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

    Source object · view filing

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    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home