With a New Year comes New Opportunities for
Local Community Foundations
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Greetings, Local Leaders!
As we head into 2022, there will be some new opportunities on the horizon - starting with our 'Local Leader' quarterly eNewsletters which will include resources and updates from the Local Community Foundation world.
On top of this, to better highlight the outstanding work of our Local Community Foundations across the state, we are establishing our own Montana Community Foundation LCF Awards! These awards will be presented during our annual Local Community Foundation Convening, where we will also celebrate the milestone LCF anniversaries of that year. This is our way of saying thank you for making a difference in the past, present, and future of Montana! This voting form will be available in our next quarterly 'Local Leader', so don't miss your chance to nominate changemakers in your community.
Finally, we will also be kicking off this year with roadshows and in-person meetings - we've missed seeing you! Through this, we hope to bring you the resources and expertise you've missed over the last few years and better serve your needs and communities. We will be reaching out individually to Local Community Foundations to schedule these visits.
Until then, myself and others at the Montana Community Foundation are here to answer any questions you may have, and assist in any way possible.
Take Care,
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Celebrating Milestone Local Community Foundation Anniversaries in 2022! |
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Congratulations to these incredible Local Community Foundations - we will be featuring your work at our fall 2022 LCF Convening. Stay tuned for more information.
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Town Certification through Community Heart and Soul - Orton Family Foundation |
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Are you ready to have a community conversation about change? Have you been meeting with your board and/or committee members and feeling like you're missing key voices in your community? Do you want to make positive, lasting change for your local community? The Community Heart and Soul Program might be for you!
“What’s so great about the Community Heart & Soul process is that it’s a chance for small cities and towns to showcase their communities, identify local needs, and create a strong plan for the future,” says Maggie. “It provides a strategic framework while empowering communities to come together to make change. I look forward to seeing what is possible here in Montana.”
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Local Community Foundation Resources -
We're Here for You!
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The Montana Community Foundation has always been in support of local giving and work through our Local Community Foundation network.
While each foundation finds themselves presented with their own unique strengths and goals for the future - something that is clear across the board is that Local Community Foundations are asking for guidance in these top areas:
- Making the Ask/Fundraising - Endowment Growth
- Marketing and Philanthropic Advice
- Information on the Montana Endowment Tax Credit
- Strategic Planning and How to Cultivate the LCF Board/Committee you want.
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LCF Grantmaking Highlight: COVID 19 Recovery Fund & ReImagining Rural Implementation Granting |
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Over the last few months there have been several grant advantages initiated through our Local Community Foundation network.
Our COVID-19 Resiliency Fund has granted out over $370,000 to Local Community Foundations and other eligible nonprofits, economic development groups, and tribal entities for redistribution into their communities. The Local Community Foundation receivers are as follows:
The ReImagining Rural grant applications have closed - and are in the process of being reviewed. For those Local Community Foundations who have already submitted their applications, we will be announcing awards in mid-February, with funds being available for granting in April 2022. If you have question about your application(s), reach out to Elisa Fiaschetti, our Grantmaking Program Officer, at elisa@mtcf.org. |
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What You Need to Know about Annual Endowment Distributions
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The annual endowment payout process is well underway as the MCF team gets ready to distribute millions of dollars to Montana organizations in the first part of March. Below are answers to commonly asked questions about annual endowment distributions.
What are annual endowment distributions?
Annual endowment distributions are paid out each spring from qualifying endowment funds at Montana Community Foundation (MCF) to benefiting beneficiaries.
When can benefiting organizations expect to see funds in their account?
We plan to make ACH (electronic) payments on Monday, March 1, 2022. While payments will be initiated electronically on Monday, benefiting organizations will see these distributions in their bank account by the end of the week, depending on how quickly their bank processes the deposit.
Who receives information about my organization’s distribution(s)?
After the electronic payment is sent, a letter is mailed to the designated fund representative with the amount of the distribution(s), the fund(s) making the distribution, and the mailing address for the donor, unless it is an anonymous donor, in which case, you can send a thank you directly to MCF and we will pass it along for you. Need to update your fund representative information? Contact Cathy.
By the end of March, MCF sends a communication to the donors who established designated endowments that benefit specific organizations. We inform the donors how much was distributed to the benefiting organization through the endowment payout process.
Distributions are made via ACH payments to your organization’s bank account. If your bank account information has changed since March 1, 2021, please complete the Direct Deposit Form and return it by mail by February 4, 2022. If your bank was sold/merged with another bank, we need a new ACH form, even if you didn’t change your accounts. If nothing has changed or if you recently sent in a new ACH form, you don’t need to do anything.
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