NEWS RELEASE

April 25, 2023

Contact: Heidi West

Grants Administrator
hwest@missoulacounty.us
405-747-9158

Missoula County Awards $20,000 in Grants

to Community Organizations in Rural Areas

Missoula County has awarded $20,000 to community organizations in Bonner, Condon, Potomac,
Frenchtown and Lolo to fund projects in the first round of Missoula County’s Rural Grants
program. These organizations join others in East Missoula, Seeley Lake and Frenchtown, which
were each awarded $500 Micro Grants in March.

The Missoula County commissioners and the Grants and Community Programs division at
Missoula County launched the Rural Grant Program earlier this year to support community-driven
projects that enhance the quality of life in rural areas of Missoula County. The program includes
two unique funding opportunities: the Micro Grant and the Impact Grant. The Micro Grant is
designed to support community projects that can be completed within 90 days and need between
$100 to $500 in funds. Impact Grants are distributed once per year for funding amounts between
$501 and $4,000 each, with a maximum of $20,000 total.

The Impact Grant awardees for 2023 are:

• The Potomac School District, which will purchase a walk-in cooler to ensure food safety
for students and community members. ($4,000)
• The Seeley Lake Lions Club, which will hire Red Cross-certified swim instructors to teach
swim lessons for approximately 97 children at the Double Arrow swimming pool. ($4,000)
• The Original Swan River Tavern Foundation, which will receive partial funding to construct
a concrete foundation for the tavern, located at the Swan Valley Museum in Condon.
($3,750)
• The Bonner-Milltown History Center, which will transcribe 12 roundtable history programs
for archival preservation. ($3,000)
• Travelers’ Rest Preservation and Historical Society, which will provide partial funding to
host local indigenous historians and artisans to provide interpretive demonstrations at
Travelers’ Rest in Lolo from June to August. ($2,625)
• Symphony in Schools, which will receive partial funding to send musicians from the
Missoula Symphony Orchestra to classrooms in Seeley Lake, Lolo, Frenchtown, Target
Range and Bonner. ($2,625)

Micro Grant awardees for March are:

• The Seeley Lake Market, which plans to use the funds to rent a portable toilet for their
facility.
• The Frenchtown Senior Citizens group, which will buy food and beverage materials and
cleaning supplies to help maintain the Frenchtown Fire Hall that hosts many local events.
• The Seeley Lake Bear Fair, which will purchase materials and bear spray for the annual
community event that raises awareness about bear safety.
 • East Missoula United, which created a mailer to inform residents of the Earth Day Clean
Up event, held this past weekend.

The Micro Grants are part of an ongoing monthly cycle of funding awards and the next round of
applications closes Sunday, April 30. Eligible entities include 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations,
schools, special districts, community councils and individuals. Projects must be located in
Missoula County, but outside Missoula city limits. Additional guidelines and requirements are
available at http://missoula.co/ruralgrant.

For more information, contact Grants Administrator Heidi West at hwest@missoulacounty.us or

call 405-747-9158.