It takes all of us. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how none of us get through this world alone. We rely on good friends and partners to help us through the tough times and celebrate the good times.  

For more than 30 years, MCF's primary focus has been securing wealth in Montana for Montana. We know between 2010 and 2060, an estimated $123 billion will transfer from one generation to the next. The question we continue to ask, however, is how much of that wealth will remain in the communities and for the communities that helped build it?  

Here in Montana we've seen the effect of wealth leaving our state. Communities have lost services, seen local businesses shut down, and watched as children move away. Year after year it becomes more difficult to support local parks, churches, youth and senior centers, theaters and symphonies, food banks, museums, and more. 

That is why securing wealth in Montana for Montana is so incredibly important. We help build permanent funds to reinvest in Montana communities and the organizations that make our towns the places we love to call home. By capturing just five percent of this transfer in permanently endowed funds, Montana communities will have approximately $307 million a year FOREVER. 

Our progress measure goes far beyond dollars. We also measure progress through partnerships. It takes all of us, and there are many components to securing wealth in Montana for Montana. One of the most valuable tools we have in building wealth for Montana is the Montana Charitable Endowment Tax Credit (MCETC). Over the past year, we partnered with a number of organizations, the Montana Nonprofit Association foremost among them, to plan and execute a strategy to extend the MCETC another six years. We also found an incredible partner in Senator Mark Blasdale, who sponsored and championed our bill. We were successful in our efforts with the passage of Senate Bill 111, a huge victory for Montana that couldn't have been accomplished without the many partners involved. 

Partners also come in the form of donors, their loved ones and professional advisors. Below you'll read about a truly remarkable gift that will benefit Montana forever, a gift that wouldn't have been possible without our partnership with the trustee and family members for the Laura Barrett Trust. Their faith in MCF to ensure Laura's wishes would be honored forever is something we don't take lightly and are truly honored by. 

There are so many of you who have placed your trust in MCF by partnering with us. While we can't all make million dollar gifts, most of us can and do give back to this wonderful place we love. Yet there are so many more people out there who we want to reach and who we know also hold Montana in their hearts. That leads us to the survey you'll find below, with just two simple questions so we can discover more about how you first learned of MCF. We hope you'll take time to complete this survey and help us in turn, reach new partners in our work to create and grow philanthropy in Montana for Montana.  

Thank YOU for being our partner in philanthropy.