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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Tawnya Rupe, [email protected] or 406.570-‐2125 Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund Distributes More Than $255,000 in Grants to Montana Nonprofits Emigrant, MT, June 1, 2015 –The Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund (the Fund), an affiliated fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, has approved more than $255,000 in grants to Montana-‐based nonprofit organizations. Grants focused on the needs and opportunities in rural communities such as land and wildlife education, early childhood development, and professional development for existing nonprofits. The organizations and projects receiving grants were selected by volunteer Fund committee members made up of ranch associates living and working in the community. “The Fund is committed to partnering with organizations that are creating opportunities for youth in rural communities to connect with natural resources that exists all around us here in Montana,” said Tawnya Rupe, director of the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund. “We also want to ensure that the organizations providing these opportunities as well as nonprofits doing their own giving have the resources and processes to operate in a way that provides the greatest impact.” Invasive Species Action Network, National Smokejumper Center and Montana Outdoor Science School are a few organizations that received grants to cultivate young stewards of the land and wildlife through education. Also amongst the list of grants is a pilot program called Community 360°, a course being offered next semester in partnership with Shift Empowerment Programs, Park High School and Park County Community Foundation. Community 360° gives students the opportunity to develop and participate in a giving program including a community needs assessment, developing a request for proposals, and a culminating school event awarding grants to local organizations. The Fund committee has also identified the importance of supporting efforts that strengthen the capacity of nonprofits not only on an organizational level but the sector as whole. A grant to Montana Nonprofit Association will focus on increasing professional development resources for rural nonprofits and another grant to Community Foundations of Montana will help encourage local giving and community leadership. A $60,000 grant was also contributed to the Advancing Early Childhood Education Fund at Montana Community Foundation to support the work of the Advancing Early Childhood Education Alliance (AECEA). The Advancing Early Childhood Education Alliance has aligned to advocate, promote awareness and spark dialogue regarding the importance of quality early development resources for Montana families. “We are committed to partnering with organizations that foster youth empowerment, but it is also vital that children have quality development opportunities in their early years. We are honored to partner with the Montana Community Foundation to support this work,” said Rupe. Grants were made to the following community partners, and will be honored during an event hosted at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. Youth Development: Belgrade Baseball
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Park and and Sweet Grass Counties Bozeman High School Parent Council
Bozeman Schools Foundation
Bridger Biathlon Club Children’s Museum of Bozeman
Gallatin Valley Farm to School Gallatin Valley YMCA
Hopa Mountain
Invasive Species Action Network
Livingston Braves Baseball
Livingston Education Foundation
Livingston Food Pantry of Park County
Livingston Park County Tennis Association
Manhattan Schools PTO Montana Outdoor Science School
Montana Raptor Conservation Montana Roots
Montana Wilderness School
Montana 4-‐H Foundation National Smokejumper Center Shift Youth Empowerment The Shane Lalani Center for the Arts Thrive
Western Sustainability Exchange
Early Childhood Development:
Montana Community Foundation
$5,000: Batting Barn enhancements. $4,000: Summer Buddies program. $4,000: Mandeville Creek Restoration project. $4,000: Spark Grant program.
$12,000: Communications development for the Crosscut/Bohart project. $4,000: STEAMlab.
$5,000: Summer Garden Camps. $10,740: Belgrade Y-‐Achievers. $10,000: Youth Leadership program. $9,850: Expand Watershed Warriors in rural schools. $5,625: Facility enhancements. $3,800: Teacher Enrichment grants. $11,000: Backpack program. $5,000: Sacajawea Pak Tennis Courts project phase III. $10,000: Radio station. $10,000: Adventures in Science program in rural schools.
$2,000: Youth outreach programs. $10,000: Root Down program. $3,000: Scholarships. $6,000: Park County Shooting Sports. $15,500: Yellowstone Nature Connection programs. $13,000: Community 360° course at Park High School. $5,000: Educational outreach. $9,000: Belgrade Girls on the Run program. $5,000: Youth Leadership and Entrepreneur Training.
$60,000: Advancing Early Childhood Education Alliance. Enhancing MT Nonprofit Infrastructure:
Montana Nonprofit Association
Park County Community Foundation $5,000: Increasing access for rural nonprofits to professional development. $10,000: Community Foundations of Montana. Staffing and consulting About the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund The Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund is an affiliated fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The Mountain Sky Guest Ranch Fund has contributed more than $3.5 million to local nonprofits since Arthur M. Blank, co-‐founder of The Home Depot, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, MLS Atlanta, and chairman of PGA TOUR Superstore, acquired the ranch in 2001. About Mountain Sky Guest Ranch For more than 80 years, Mountain Sky has offered its guests Montana’s majestic natural setting and the opportunity to connect with the land – and each other. Mountain Sky consistently tops the list of the nation’s upscale guest ranch resorts, providing rustically-‐elegant lodging, fine food, unlimited riding and hiking opportunities, an imaginative kids program and superior service.