Happy 2023 Local Leaders!

For many of us, the New Year is a moment of reflection; reflection on the good and bad of the past year, along with what we hope to come from the next year. Although I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions (because I rarely keep them), I do appreciate this tradition of reflection, of learning from the past while setting intentions for the future.

As a result, I sat down at my desk the other day and wrote some intentions for the Local Community Foundation (LCF) Program in 2023. First, I would like the LCF Program to be reflective of what each of you need to be successful to serve your communities. While each LCF is different, we are committed to ensuring the resources the Montana Community Foundation (MCF) provides helps you reach your unique goals. To that end, if you ever have thoughts on tools and trainings that would be beneficial, please reach out to me at taylor@mtcf.org or (406) 603-4913.

Second, this year, my goal is to visit with each of your local community foundations in person. In my first four months, I have had the chance to grab coffee or lunch with some of you, but I hope to visit with all 45 of MCF’s LCF affiliates either in your communities or at events this upcoming year. Meeting face-to-face will undoubtedly offer an opportunity to get to know your organizations better and collaborate on objectives for the future.

Third, at the end of 2023, I would like us to look back on the year and know we have made a positive impact. We have some great things planned for the LCF Program and I look forward to sharing more at the upcoming LCF convenings (more details below).

Whatever your 2023 intentions may be – whether that is growing your endowment or filling a need in your community through grantmaking – my goal is to help you get one step closer with the projects and programs we unveil.

Looking forward to what we tackle together this year,

LCFs were especially busy the last few months of the year telling donors and community members about what they accomplished in 2022 and asking them to support their work in 2023. This hard work paid off! Our team was blown away by the number of donations that we received for your local community foundations in November and December. You kept us busy – and we would not have it any other way!

If you did not reach your fundraising goal for 2022 (or if you did not have one), do not worry! Fundraising can be tricky. Also know that our Gift and Estate Planning Team – Jessica, Heather, and Jim – is here to help. If you would like to create some fundraising goals for 2023, please reach out to Taylor at taylor@mtcf.org or (406) 603-4913 and she will connect with the right team member.

We are full steam ahead on planning for the LCF Convenings! We will host three sessions across the state in Helena, Red Lodge, and Glasgow so as many people can attend in-person as possible. For those not able to attend the in-person sessions, we will also have a fourth session that is virtual. We are partnering with MSU Extension Community Development on the LCF Convenings and we are incredibly excited about how it is shaping up. Taylor will send an email with additional details in the upcoming month – keep your eyes peeled!

With floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters becoming more common in Montana, philanthropy plays an important role in ensuring that communities have the resources they need to prepare, respond, and recover from these adverse events. At MCF, we believe that by collaborating with LCFs, which are intimately involved with the unmet needs in their communities, we can make the biggest impact.

As a result, when historic flooding in June 2022 impacted several Montana communities, including Red Lodge, Gardiner, Livingston, and Fromberg. We partnered with LCFs to deploy resources from the Montana Disaster Recovery Fund (MDRF). Through this partnership, we granted $90,000 to four local community foundations for the following recovery projects:

If your LCF is thinking about disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, please know that we can be a resource. For example, MCF helped many LCFs create disaster preparedness toolkits that assembled a game plan that could be quickly implemented in the event of a disaster; many LCFs used these to respond to the flooding this past year efficiently and effectively.

As a reminder, the annual endowment distribution process will occur around March 6, 2023. Below are answers to commonly asked questions about annual endowment distributions.

Annual endowment distributions are paid out each spring from qualifying endowments at MCF to benefiting beneficiaries, including local community foundations.

For LCFs that are under MCF’s 501(c)(3) status, you will see these new grantable funds on the Donor Portal in mid-March. For LCFs that have a separate 501(c)(3) status, we plan to make ACH (electronic) payments on Monday, March 6, 2023. While payments will be initiated on Monday, LCFs may not see these distributions in their bank account until the end of the week, depending on how quickly their bank processes the deposit.

After the annual endowment distribution process occurs, 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 the donor has requested to remain anonymous. Whether the donor is anonymous or known you, don’t forget to thank them! If the donor is anonymous, you can send a thank you to MCF and we will pass it along to the donor. Need to update your fund representative information? Contact Taylor at taylor@mtcf.org or (406) 603-4913.

By the end of March, MCF sends a communication to all donors who established designated endowments, including those benefiting specific LCFs. We inform the donors how much was distributed to the benefiting organization through the endowment distribution process.

For LCFs with their own 501(c)(3) status, annual endowment distributions are made via ACH payments to your LCF’s bank account. If your bank account information has changed since March 1, 2022, please complete the Direct Deposit Form and return it by mail by February 4, 2023. If your bank was sold or merged with another bank, please provide a new ACH form, even if you did not change your accounts. If nothing has changed or if you recently sent in a new ACH form, you do not need to do anything.

To learn more or if you have any questions, visit our website or contact Taylor at taylor@mtcf.org or (406) 603-4913. 

Across Montana, LCFs are tackling countless projects – and many of them have received great news coverage for their hard work! Check out the articles below to see what other LCFs have been up to. News coverage is a great way to let community members know who you are and what you have been up to. Who knows, you may even attract some new donors!

Are you interested in your local community foundation receiving more news coverage? If so, please reach out to Taylor at taylor@mtcf.org or (406) 603-4913 to brainstorm ways to promote your efforts, such as writing press releases and letters to the editor or pitching stories to your local newspaper.

Below are some programs and funding opportunities that may be of interest. Please feel free to share them with others in your community as well!