Montana Arts Grants

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations in the western U.S. to support projects that promote understanding and appreciation of Japanese arts and culture through various community activities.

This program provides funding to a wide range of applicants, including local governments, nonprofits, and individuals, to preserve and enhance historic sites and structures across Montana, promoting tourism and community revitalization.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Montana for innovative public humanities projects that promote community engagement and cultural collaboration.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for community-led projects that enhance neighborhoods in Missoula through improvements, planning, and resident engagement.

This program provides funding to schools and community organizations in Montana to engage students with guest artists, purchase art supplies, and facilitate transportation for enriching arts experiences.

This program provides funding to support local events in Montana that attract tourists and boost the economy, particularly in rural and under-visited areas.

This grant provides funding to nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Montana for innovative community projects that promote humanities themes through storytelling, discussions, and public engagement.

This grant provides financial support to filmmakers and production companies creating projects in Montana, with a focus on boosting the local economy and engaging the community.

This program provides funding to tribal communities in Montana for forestry projects that enhance green spaces, improve air and water quality, and support cultural practices and climate resilience.

This funding opportunity supports projects that improve habitats and migration routes for big game species in the western U.S., targeting conservation organizations, state and tribal agencies, and community groups involved in wildlife management.

This grant provides funding for full-time graduate students in the Western U.S. to collaborate with their academic advisors and local producers on projects that promote sustainable agriculture through research and education.

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation strives to better the human condition by supporting programs and services that give people the tools to enhance the quality of their lives and to benefit society as a whole. The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation funds direct service non-profit organizations to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing them with the tools they need to succeed. Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has funded programs around Montana and in the areas in which the Washington Companies operate. When making a grant decision, we examine each organization’s financial stability, staffing and facility capacity, and relevant partnerships. Additionally, we assess the capability of an organization to sustain a program into the future and their ability to show measurable impact on the population they serve. Finally, funding is guided toward organizations that support low income, rural, and underserved populations through one of our four main focus areas: Education, Health and Human Services, Arts and Culture, and Community Service.

The Humanities Montana Film + Video grant program is a competitive initiative designed to foster the development, production, and distribution of documentary films and series. These projects must engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways, aligning with Humanities Montana's mission to deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions. The program supports projects grounded in humanities scholarship, requiring a thoughtful, balanced, and analytical approach to subjects, while also demonstrating the potential to attract a broad general audience. The primary beneficiaries of this program are media producers collaborating with scholars, as well as the general public who will consume the resulting film and video content. The impact goals are to enhance public understanding of humanities themes, foster analytical thinking, and engage communities and cultures represented in the project content. The program aims to support projects that not only present diverse perspectives but also involve humanities scholars in all aspects, from research and script development to production and post-production. The grant prioritizes projects that focus on clearly defined humanities themes, build on sound humanities scholarship, and actively engage the general public in learning through appealing and accessible formats. Funding is categorized into three stages: Stage One for research and script development (up to $8,000), Stage Two for production (up to $10,000), and Stage Three for post-production and public distribution (up to $10,000). Each stage has specific prerequisites and expected deliverables, ensuring a structured progression of projects. Expected outcomes include the creation of completed scripts or detailed treatments in Stage One, rough cuts of films or videos in Stage Two, and fully distributed projects with public programming, outreach, and evaluation plans in Stage Three. Humanities Montana's strategic priority is to support major projects that may require multiyear support and significant stages of research, development, and production. The theory of change is that by funding high-quality, humanities-focused documentary films, they can effectively reach and engage broad audiences, thereby deepening public understanding and appreciation of the humanities.

This grant provides funding to agricultural professionals and organizations in the Western U.S. to implement educational and demonstration projects that promote the adoption of sustainable farming practices based on previous research findings.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to tribal entities and organizations in Montana for projects that enhance community forests, promote climate resilience, and improve environmental quality.

The Humanities Montana’s Community Project Grants support public humanities programming throughout Montana. This initiative aligns with the foundation's mission to strengthen community and culture by promoting civic engagement, sparking thoughtful community dialogue, and reflecting on the human experience across the state. These grants are designed to foster bold and innovative projects that are meaningful to local communities and inspire timely community conversations. The primary target beneficiaries are the general public across Montana, with a particular emphasis on engaging diverse communities and cultures. The impact goals include deepening public understanding of significant humanities questions, building on sound humanities scholarship, and fostering analytical approaches that present a variety of perspectives. The program aims to strengthen cultural understanding and civic participation through accessible and appealing formats. The program prioritizes projects focused on clearly defined humanities themes. Funding is available for a wide array of formats, including storytelling, historical analysis, public writing workshops, literacy programs, ethical inquiry, interpretation at historic sites, book festivals, exhibits, lectures, speaker series, panel discussions, teacher institutes & workshops, humanities program planning, reading & discussion programs, and various humanities events. All projects must involve humanities scholars (academic, professional, or subject-expert) in all aspects and require at least one confirmed subject-expert. Expected outcomes include increased public engagement with humanities topics, enhanced community dialogue, and a deeper reflection on the human experience. Measurable results will likely be demonstrated through the reach and participation in the programs, the quality of humanities scholarship integrated, and the active involvement of communities and cultures represented in project content. For projects involving Native American communities, letters of support from participating scholars, researchers, and/or program participants are required, outlining their involvement. The maximum award for these grants ranges from $2,000 to $10,000.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to Montana cities, towns, nonprofits, and tribal governments for innovative urban forestry projects that enhance community forests and promote ecological resilience.

The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minn. Created in 1944 by Otto Bremer, it is committed to supporting a better quality of life for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Since its founding, OBT has invested nearly $1 billion and provides ~$105 million annually to nonprofit organizations in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Applications are due on a rolling basis on these dates: February 4, 2024; April 4, 2024; June 6, 2024; August 1, 2024. - General Operations Application: General operations grants provide unrestricted funding that enables an organization to carry out its mission. Typical uses could include support for an organization’s administrative and infrastructure costs, maintaining core programs and/or staffing. This application is for organizations seeking $75,000 or more in general operations support. - General Operations Short Application: This application is for organizations seeking general operations support of less than $75,000. - Restricted Application: Restricted grants provide funding for a specific program or project. These funds may not be used for other purposes, although a portion may be utilized for overhead or indirect costs of administering the program or project. - Capital Application: Capital grants support constructing, repairing, renovating, or rehabilitating an organization’s physical space. Capital grants can also support the purchase of equipment necessary for an organization to carry out its work.

Humanities Montana Research Fellowship supports projects with a central focus in the humanities, a clearly defined theme, and involvement of professional humanists. Projects must include a public program, publicity, and evaluation plans where appropriate. There is a 1:1 cost-share requirement and applications involving Native American communities or cultures must demonstrate their involvement or address why they are not involved. Humanities Montana cannot fund projects focusing on personal concerns, non-public meetings, construction or operating expenses of existing organizations, lobbying or direct social action, one-sided treatment of an issue, fundraising for profit-making groups, alcoholic beverages or entertainment costs, and candidates running for political office.

This program provides financial support to individuals, businesses, and organizations in Montana to develop new agricultural products and processes through grants and loans for various project activities.