Montana · Public charity
Montana History Foundation
Provide development and advisory leadership for organizations dedicated to the preservation of montana's history and culture.
- $92k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 9
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 23
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 65%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $87k
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $10,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $10,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 3 to 23
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $10M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 65% of the organizations Montana History Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 67% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 33% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $147k went to new ones.
RenewedFirst-time
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
Arts & CultureCommunity ImprovementEducationEnvironmentRecreation & SportsFood & NutritionOther
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.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 9 | $87k | 67% |
| FY2024 | 23 | $221k | 65% |
| FY2023 | 20 | $180k | 70% |
| FY2022 | 20 | $180k | 90% |
| FY2021 | 16 | $116k | 94% |
| FY2020 | 12 | $97k | 92% |
| FY2019 | 3 | $26k | 67% |
| FY2018 | 12 | $60k | n/a |
100% classified
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.
Arts & Culture$935kEducation$15kScience & Tech$10kCommunity Improvement$8kEnvironment$8k
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2018 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter County Geological Society | $36,750 | 4 | 8% |
| Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana | $31,500 | 4 | 3% |
| Fort Benton Community Improvement Association | $31,084 | 3 | 5% |
| Extreme History Project | $30,500 | 4 | 13% |
| Department of Public Health & Human Services | $25,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Treasure County 89 Ers Inc | $20,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Missoula Art Museum | $20,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust Incorporated | $20,000 | 2 | 8% |
| The Montana Dinosaur Center | $19,400 | 2 | 6% |
| Cascade County Historical Society | $16,540 | 2 | 3% |
Show all 92 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter County Geological Society | $36,750 | 4 | 8% |
| Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana | $31,500 | 4 | 3% |
| Fort Benton Community Improvement Association | $31,084 | 3 | 5% |
| Extreme History Project | $30,500 | 4 | 13% |
| Department of Public Health & Human Services | $25,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Treasure County 89 Ers Inc | $20,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Missoula Art Museum | $20,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust Incorporated | $20,000 | 2 | 8% |
| The Montana Dinosaur Center | $19,400 | 2 | 6% |
| Cascade County Historical Society | $16,540 | 2 | 3% |
| The University of Montana Foundation | $16,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Dillon Friends of the Library | $16,000 | 2 | n/a |
| The City-County of Butte-Silver Bow Mt | $15,900 | 1 | n/a |
| Western Heritage Center | $14,070 | 2 | 2% |
| Yellowstone County Museum Foundation | $13,500 | 2 | 3% |
| Old Trail Museum | $13,000 | 2 | 23% |
| Montana State Parks Foundation | $12,300 | 2 | 4% |
| Bigfork Art and Cultural Center | $10,000 | 1 | 6% |
| Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization | $10,000 | 1 | 24% |
| Winnett Aces Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 2% |
| City County Preservation Committee | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Archie Bray Foundation | $10,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Mai Wah Society Inc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Heritage and Cultural Foundation of Garfield County | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Fort Connah Restoration Society | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Park County | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Friends of Historic Hotel Libby Inc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Conrad Public Library | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Helena Television Coalition Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Greater Gardiner Community Council | $10,000 | 1 | 37% |
| Reese Creek Community Center | $10,000 | 1 | 23% |
| Fort Benton Community Improvement Assoc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Miles City Convent Keepers | $10,000 | 1 | 5% |
| J C Adams Stone Barn Co | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Crow Language Consortium Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Mission Valley Friends of the Arts | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Paradise Center | $10,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Wolf Point Area Museum Inc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Columbia Falls Historical Society | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| City of Shelby | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Fort Assinniboine Preservation Assoc Inc | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Montana Association of State Grazing Districts | $10,000 | 1 | 9% |
| Yellowstone River Parks Association | $9,600 | 1 | 1% |
| Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association | $9,500 | 1 | 4% |
| Lincoln County Commissioners | $9,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Friends of Fort Owen | $9,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation | $9,000 | 1 | 1% |
| McCone County | $9,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Myrna Loy | $9,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Snowy Mountain Development Corp | $8,700 | 1 | 1% |
| Friends of the Yellowstone Gateway Museum of Park County Inc | $8,700 | 1 | 13% |
| Blaine County | $8,680 | 1 | n/a |
| Mineral County Historical Society Inc | $8,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Montana Technological University | $8,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Bear Paw Development Corp | $8,400 | 1 | 1% |
| Southeast Montana Area Revitalization Team | $8,400 | 1 | 4% |
| North-Missoula Community Development Corporation | $8,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Philipsburg Playhouse Productions | $8,000 | 1 | n/a |
| US Forest Service | $8,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Montana Wilderness Association | $8,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Virginia City Preservation Alliance | $7,650 | 1 | n/a |
| World Museum of Mining | $7,500 | 1 | 1% |
| Prairie County Museum | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Montana Preservation Alliance Inc | $7,500 | 1 | 3% |
| Thompson-Hickman Madison County Public Library and Archives | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Powder River Historical Society | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes | $7,400 | 1 | n/a |
| Daniels County Museum Association | $7,300 | 1 | n/a |
| Northwest Montana Historical Society Inc | $7,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Friends of the Lewistown Public Library | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Upper Swan Valley Historical Society Inc | $6,900 | 1 | 14% |
| Tree of Treasures | $6,726 | 1 | n/a |
| Little Red School House Inc | $6,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Yellowstone Historic Center Inc | $6,000 | 1 | 1% |
| City of Bozeman | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| City of East Helena | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Nine Mile Community Center | $5,800 | 1 | 22% |
| Montecahto Club | $5,760 | 1 | n/a |
| Petroleum County Community Center Inc | $5,600 | 1 | 1% |
| Big Sky Film Institute | $5,500 | 1 | 1% |
| Town of Alberton | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Friends of the Butte Archives | $5,000 | 1 | 11% |
| Trigg - C M Russell Foundation Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Prairie County Economic Development Council | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Salish Kootenai College Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Missoula Public Library Foundation | $5,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Big Horn County Historical Society | $5,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Town of Ennis | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Evelyn Cameron Heritage Inc Evelyn Cameron Foundation | $5,000 | 1 | 6% |
| Gallatin Historical Society Dba Gallatin History Museum | $5,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Deer Lodge Preservation Inc | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
Plus 1 recipient with no EIN on record ($8k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Montana History Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 49 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 49.
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.
Montana Community Foundation IncMT44.2× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →
Open a dossier: Montana Community Foundation Inc · Treacy Foundation · Humanities Montana · Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · Town Pump Charitable Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · The Greater Montana Foundation · The High Stakes Foundation · Whitefish Community Foundation Inc · M J Murdock Charitable Trust · Zeller-Knowles Foundation Inc · Speyer Family 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.
About Montana History Foundation
- How much does Montana History Foundation give?
- Montana History Foundation reported 9 itemized grants totaling $86,500, out of $91,500 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 3 and 23 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does Montana History Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2018 to FY2025, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (96%), Education (2%), Science & Tech (1%).
- Who are Montana History Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2018 to FY2025: Carter County Geological Society ($37k), Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana ($32k), Fort Benton Community Improvement Association ($31k).
- Does Montana History Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 65% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Montana History Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Montana Community Foundation Inc, Treacy Foundation, Humanities Montana.
- Where is Montana History Foundation based?
- Montana History Foundation is based in MT.
Play a game based on Montana History’s filings →
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