August 2023

Dear WFM Supporters and Friends,

I am thrilled to share with you the organizations funded through the Women’s Foundation of Montana’s spring grant cycle. The WFM Advisory Committee selected 11 grantee partners using our newly adopted strategic grantmaking framework. The grantee partners represent communities across our state and use a mix of direct-service, public policy advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development strategies to advance women’s economic security. See all 2023 grantees here.

WFM committee members spent several weeks reviewing and discussing applicaitons and admiring the work happening across our state. The WFM Advisory Committee ultimately chose 11 women-led organizations (women representing more than 50% of the Board of Directors and staff leadership) and provided general operating support to 9 of the 11 organizations and project-specific support to 2 organizations. In total, WFM awarded $110,000 through the spring grant cycle ($10,000 per organization). We are inspired by the commitment to community and expertise represented in these 11 organizations.

We are deeply grateful for the time and energy that every applicant spent on the application process. Although we were only able to fund 20% of the applicants, each applicant is doing critically important work that is worth funding. If you are interested in funding work that supports women and girls in Montana, I would love to share information about our grantee partners and unfunded applications with you. Please reach out to me at kylie@mtcf.org.

In addition to the WFM spring grant cycle, WFM has awarded $35,500 in grants in 2023 through other grantmaking and event sponsorship.

Moving forward, you will have the opportunity to hear directly from WFM grantee partners each month. Through our WFM guest blog, grantee partners will share their knowledge, their personal stories, and how they are working to empower individuals and communities throughout Montana. This month, we are proud to feature the writing of Sarah Calhoun, Executive Director of the Red Ants Pants Foundation.

Thank you for everything you do to support this work. 

Sincerely,

• Code Girls United
• Domestic and Sexual Violence Services of Carbon County (DSVS)
• Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: The Montana Coalition, Inc.
• Montana Budget & Policy Center
• Mountain Home Montana
• Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana
• Pretty Eaglewoman Resource Foundation
• Red Ants Pants Foundation
• Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab (W.E.L.L.)
• Yellow Bird Life Ways
• The YWCA Helena

See all 2023 grantee partners here.

Red Ants Pants: On Leadership and Murmurations

By Sarah Calhoun, Executive Director of the Red Ants Pants Foundation

At our Red Ants Pants Foundation Girls Leadership Program, we teach different mind styles, communication styles, and leadership styles. We can have loud leaders and quiet leaders. Calm leaders and exuberant leaders, analytical leaders and creative leaders. We learn about different identities and about our own limiting beliefs.

We think about our own fundamental values and what we believe in; how these values affect our place in the world.

By the end of the year, we have all learned a lot about each other, and even more importantly, about ourselves.

What if we all were a little more self-aware? What if we all took a little more responsibility with our leadership? What if all our leaders led with a little more compassion and curiosity? And truly looked to our neighbors, to the birds flying to our left and to our right to see how they are doing. Who can we take a little lift from and help them carry the load? Who needs a quick turn of protection from a predator?

Read more here.

Photo Provided by Red Ants Pants Foundation:

Girls Leadership Alumni Network and Mentors at the 2023 Red Ants Pants Festival