Giving Guide 2016

LOCAL MISSOULA COUNTY

givelocalmissoula.org

Your guide to the 24-hour online giving day on May 3, 2016

[2] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Get that Giving Feeling on Tuesday, May 3rd!

Missoula Community Foundation is excited to announce Give Local Missoula County 2016, a 24-hour, online giving event. The giving day will tap into our community’s passion for giving by bringing together donors and local nonprofits. This is the third year of our campaign – in 2014 we raised $135,000 and in 2015 we more than doubled that and raised over $270,000 for local nonprofits. Give Local is designed to engage first-time donors and donors under 40 while raising the profile of charitable giving in Missoula.

Local nonprofits’ involvement in the event will give members of our community the chance to find and support an organization whose mission aligns with their passion, or to make an amplified impact to an organization they already support with the help of our Share Fund and Challenge Awards.

Since our first event in 2014, the giving day spirit has spread throughout Montana. Last year Anaconda, the Flathead, Glendive, Gallatin Valley, Helena and Missoula raised $640,000 for Montana nonprofits in 24 hours. In 2016, Billings, Bitterroot Valley, Columbus, Laurel and Miles City will join the team to help us raise $1Million for Montana in one day!

Our goal in Missoula is to raise $300,000 from 3000 people (including YOU) on May 3, 2016! With a minimum donation of only $10, it’s easy to give back to your community–and you’ll feel so good.

– Meredith Printz, Missoula Community Foundation

How to be a Part of Give Local Missoula County: 1. Read through this guide to learn about participating nonprofits 2. Visit givelocalmissoula.org anytime between 12am and 11:59:59 on Tuesday, May 3rd 3. Donate $10+ to one or more nonprofits with one simple credit card transaction 4. Share on social media to encourage your friends to join in the fun! #givelocalmissoula Thank you to our sponsors, who make Give Local Missoula County possible!

Premier Sponsor:

Leading Sponsors: d by:

Pr

Legacy Sponsors:

Noseeem Foundation Trusted Sponsor: Missoula Fresh Market

Treasured Sponsors: Missoulaevents.net • Missoula Indoor • Submittable

Community Sponsor: Langel & Associates

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [3]

[meet the nonprofits]

A Carousel for Missoula

AniMeals animeals.com 721-4710

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival bigskyfilmfest.org 541-3456

Blue Sky Stewardship blueskystewardship.org 407-2671

A Carousel for Missoula carouselformissoula.com 549-8382

Ten million animals are abandoned in this country every year. The shelters and rescue groups that house and feed these animals are struggling. AniMeals supplements their food needs, which frees up precious dollars for things like medicine and surgeries. AniMeals has sent out over 650 tons of food and supplies in the last 10 years. Our territory covers the entire state of Montana, consisting of approximately 147,000 square miles.

Donate to AniMeals today and help us rescue, feed and heal the hungry, the helpless, and the lost that are just trying to survive.

Imagine if every Montanan had access to a world of vibrant stories, if every MCPS student were inspired to pick up a camera and take action, if every Missoula citizen was at the center of the largest cultural event in Western Montana. This is our vision.

We want to bring perspectives from around the globe to our rural setting, deepening the public’s understanding of film, art, and the greater world while strengthening the economy and national recognition of our warm local community. With your donation, you can help us make this vision a reality. The Big Sky Film Institute's major programs include the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Big Sky Film Series, and Big Sky Doc Shop.

Blue Sky Stewardship launched in 2014 with a mission to create a resilient local food system with our community by testing and sharing open-source business models. We envision Missoula feeding itself healthfully, sustainably, and wholly.

Focusing on food production, processing, and distribution, we believe we can redesign our local food economy from the inside out using commercial means. If successful, our programs will serve as templates of change from Missoula to localities the world over. We believe this open-source business approach will accelerate the pace at which truly local food systems blossom in Missoula and beyond.

A Carousel for Missoula and Dragon Hollow Playarea, two of Missoula's favorite attractions, are symbols of Missoula’s spirit. Both were built by volunteers to enhance the community and make life better for its children.

The Carousel strives to be a good neighbor, donating free rides for disadvantaged children and individuals with disabilities, maintaining Dragon Hollow, providing a venue for life celebrations, conducting school tours and serving the community in many other ways. The Carousel and Dragon Hollow truly reflect the statement: If magic can happen anywhere, it can happen in Missoula, where dreams are followed and promises are kept, and where people believe in making a life as well as making a living.

Big Brothers Big Sisters bbbsmissoula.org 721-2380 We provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

You play a vital role in changing the lives and the futures of Missoula children, helping secure a brighter future for our community. Many children in our community are waiting to be matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister. You can help change the trajectory of their lives by renewing or increasing your support of Big Brother Big Sisters right now. No matter the amount of your contribution, we are sincerely grateful for your support of Big Brother Big Sisters and the children we serve.

You can start something TODAY that will last a lifetime for a child.

Blue Mountain Clinic Family Practice bluemountainclinic.org 531-7938 We strive to provide the best patient-centered high-quality primary and reproductive health care from a choice based perceptive to all sentient beings.

We have been a member of the Missoula community for over 39 years and have had the honor of serving all different kinds of folks for all different kinds of primary health care needs. We are also one of the only remaining establishments in the entire state of Montana that continues to provide abortions on a consistent schedule. We believe that this is just another service that we should provide under the umbrella of our family practice model.

Blue Mountain Clinic

[4] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Boys and Girls Club of Missoula County bgcmissoula.org 542-3116 The Boys and Girls Club of Missoula County serves children and families with quality afterschool programming. We have 5 after-school sites located at the City Life Community Center, Council Groves Apartment Complex, Lolo School, Bonner School, and Target Range School. Kids come from 13 different schools across Missoula County. Each site is open till 6pm and offers a snack, homework help and our SMART Moves program.

Power Hour is our after-school homework program that focuses on giving kids the help and time they need to finish their homework before they leave Club. SMART Moves is an anti-alcohol, drug, and tobacco education prevention program that focuses on developing self-respect and confidence to make good choices.

Chicks n Chaps chicksnchaps.org 531-0058 Chicks n Chaps helps communities raise money for local families battling the effects of breast cancer while promoting the sport of rodeo and the western lifestyle. Money raised in a community stays in that community!

CHECK OUT THE DONOR LOUNGES ON PAGE 23

[meet the nonprofits]

Child Care Resources

Child Care Resources childcareresources.org 728-6446 Your gift to CCR helps low-income families pay for child care while they are working or going to school. Young children need a strong early care and education foundation to allow them to develop to their fullest potential. This assistance stabilizes families and ensures that children are in a quality, early education environment. CCR provided assistance to more than 800 children every month during our past year.

Your gift also improves the quality of child care available to children through training and coaching child-care providers in areas such as child guidance, early brain development and nutrition. In the past year, CCR provided 274 hours of classroom training and 3,500 online courses. By supporting CCR, you support our collective future.

Child Development Center childdevcenter.org 549-6413 The Child Development Center provides family education and support services to youth with developmental delays and disabilities, including autism. Our caring and expert team helps babies, children and teens to develop their potential.

We primarily work in our families’ homes and communities across western Montana, but also operate Learning Centers and Evaluation & Diagnostic Clinics.

Throughout April, we have been working to raise awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of the incredible youth on the autism spectrum. With your support, we can build a stronger, more inclusive community for all.

Children’s Museum Missoula

Children’s Museum Missoula and Families First childrensmuseummissoula.org 721-7690 Children’s Museum Missoula supports families with parent education and play. We provide parenting classes, consultations and mediations. Our museum is a fun environment for families to explore together. Together, our programs support and emphasize a healthy parent-child attachment.

The Clay Studio of Missoula theclaystudioofmissoula.org 543-0509 The Clay Studio of Missoula is a nonprofit community center for the ceramic arts. Our organization’s goal is to provide the general public with affordable access to high-quality ceramic art instruction. We strive to fulfill this goal by: offering a wide array of ceramics classes and workshops to adults and children of all levels of skill, providing local ceramicists with inexpensive access to studio space and professional quality equipment, hosting resident artists from across the country who are able to share their ideas, experiences, and techniques with our students, and holding monthly exhibitions of contemporary ceramic works in our studio gallery. Donations to the Clay Studio give back to the community by enriching lives through art.

givelocalmissoula.org

The Clay Studio

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [5]

[meet the nonprofits]

Defying Gravity

Clark Fork School

Clark Fork School clarkforkschool.org 728-3395

Climate Smart Missoula missoulaclimate.org 926-2847

Defying Gravity defying-gravity.org 544-3665

Family Promise of Missoula familypromisemissoula.net 721-2405

Clark Fork School is Missoula's natural alternative for early childhood education. Our progressive, parent-guided co-op offers small classes, a nature-based curriculum, structured academics taught by exceptional educators, and a commitment to each child's social and emotional development.

Climate Smart Missoula is the hub that fosters partnerships and actions to address climate change in our community. We envision a vibrant and resilient Missoula that has a zero-carbon footprint and the crucial networks to address future climate-related issues in an equitable way. A gift to Climate Smart Missoula is a gift to creative, collaborative approaches that will make a measurable difference for our one-of-a-kind community and landscape. Thank you for your support!

Youth competitive climbing is a growing sport. Nationwide there are over 3000 youth competitors. Competitors compete from September through June in three disciplines; bouldering, sport climbing and speed climbing, as part of the national sanctioning organization, USA Climbing. Our organization provides the framework for Missoula-area youth to achieve their goals in this growing, but distinctly non-mainstream sport.

Your donation will help to mitigate the cost of coaching, travel and equipment for our athletes, while also allowing us to sponsor local youth who may not be able to afford the fees associated with competitive climbing.

Family Promise of Missoula is a nonprofit network of about 25 local faith communities. Throughout the year, these communities provide a rotating system for acutely homeless families with dependent children to be housed at night on the congregational property. The network employs a director who oversees case management, employment opportunities and placement, and assists in the search for sustainable housing for guest families. In the past year, 3,000 nights of shelter were provided for area children.

Clark Fork Coalition clarkfork.org 542-0539 The Clark Fork Coalition exists to ensure the people, fish, and wildlife of the Clark Fork basin have clean water and healthy rivers. It’s a simple as that. Without those basics, fish and wildlife cannot thrive, our communities cannot be sustained, and our businesses and industries cannot succeed. With your help we make this possible.

Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) missoulacfac.org 880-0543 Ensuring fresh, local food is accessible to families of all incomes: Our Double SNAP Dollars program helps consumers double their buying power of nutritious foods grown right here in our community.

Developing farmland conservation strategies: Missoula’s farms and ranches are an important part of our economy, landscape and heritage. CFAC develops strategic land-use policies to ensure a viable farm economy for our future.

Helping beginning farmers get started: We are honored to support our next generation of farmers with workshops, onfarm field days, and assistance to find suitable land to grow our food.

CFAC invites everyone to join us in setting the table for a food and farm system rooted in community.

givelocalmissoula.org

CFAC

[6] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Ecology Project International ecologyproject.org 721-8784 Ecology Project International (EPI) is a nonprofit, educational organization like no other. Our mission is to improve and inspire science education and conservation efforts worldwide through field-based student-scientist partnerships. We are the only organization that involves young people from Latin America and the U.S. in hands-on science and conservation projects.

Our work helps to bridge cultural gaps and empower the next generation of conservation leaders, one student at a time.

Most EPI students are underserved youth living near our project sites, many of whom do not have the financial means to pay the full cost of our programs. By supporting EPI, you are helping to give local youth a life-changing educational experience.

Free Cycles Missoula freecycles.org 541-7281 After providing all walks of life with 20 years of social bicycling services, Free Cycles has the opportunity to better meet the community’s needs. We are currently working diligently to acquire the property the organization has operated at for the past 11 years. Upon acquisition our organization will be able to better establish deeper roots and eventually expand. Located in the heart of Missoula, an avid cycling city, the property is an ideal place to continue the work of Free Cycles and its umbrella organization, the Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation (MIST). Your contribution will honor the unique and important work Free Cycles and MIST have done to work toward a healthy, safe, equitable, and environmentally sound future for all.

Free Cycles Missoula

[meet the nonprofits]

The Flagship Program

Foundation for Community

The Flagship Program flagshipprogram.org 532-9827

Foundation for Community Health fchwmt.org 926-2522

The Flagship Program is an afterschool-focused youth enrichment program of Western Montana Mental Health Center, located in Missoula. Flagship invites students to participate in free, age-appropriate afterschool and summer activities targeting academic achievement, health and wellness, and positive social development.

Flagship is an independent program offered Monday through Friday on site at eight Missoula County elementary, middle and high schools. All activities engage youth with adult mentors, establish healthy peer connections, facilitate improved school attendance and academic performance, engender community service projects and encourage individual skill development. Annually, over 2,100 Flagship students are immersed in healthy cooking, experimental science, dance, filmmaking, sports, conservation projects, farming, yoga and many more high-quality enrichment programs.

Our mission is rooted in health and hope. We have a 26year track record–first as Community Medical Center Foundation and now as Foundation for Community Health–of engaging donors, volunteers and health experts to deliver prevention, safety and health awareness education for the benefit of children, families and community members. Our Foundation became lead agency for Safe Kids Missoula Coalition in 2014 to expand regional efforts in the prevention of childhood injury.

Footloose Montana footloosemontana.org 274-1069 Footloose Montana is a 501 (c3) nonprofit committed to promoting trap-free public lands for people, pets, and wildlife.

They teach trap-release workshops, provide pet first-aid materials to the public, and represent the trap-free position at public events, FWP meetings, and the legislature. Footloose also provide resources for individuals whose pets are caught in traps, provide alerts about areas where traps pose a danger to pets and recreating humans, and publish educational materials.

Footloose Montana also organizes field work that provides nonlethal alternatives to trapping.

Five Valleys Land Trust fvlt.org 549-0755 For more than 40 years, Five Valleys Land Trust has grown because of you—our community who love it here—and today that momentum means we’re doing more work than ever to ensure that kids have access to rivers, conserved family ranches are being handed down to the next generation, and wildlife has secure room to roam.

Throughout our western Montana service area, we work with private landowners, communities and public agencies to protect our natural legacy. We are proud to have helped protect many of our amazing open spaces—Mount Jumbo, Alberton Gorge, Waterworks Hill, Pattee Canyon, Mount Sentinel, Rock Creek and so many others

CHECK OUT THE DONOR LOUNGES ON PAGE 23

Connecting Art, Culture & Community through Education, Advocacy & Celebration Programs Include: SPARK!, First Fridays, First Night Missoula, Montana Book Festival, Public Art, Germanfest and New Zealand Day Nonprofit Arts in Missoula brings $40 million into our local economy

Missoula Cultural Council 406.541.0860 missoulacultural.org

GIVE LOCAL CAL AL A 24-hour online giving event A Carousel for Missoula has a goal of collecting $2000 in donations during Give Local Missoula.

Please consider donating to the Carousel and Dragon Hollow so we can: • Continue to give rides year round •K Keep eep Dragon Hollow safe and clean •P Provide rovide free rides for disadvantaged children and youth, and for individuals of all ages with disabilities

• Conduct free tours (with free rides) for students, emphasizing the importance of volunteerism • Keep K eep ride prices low for everyone • And so much more...

Donor lounge from 11am-5:30pm for in person to us or elsewhere) elsewher where) donations. For each donation (to you will recieve a free carousel ride.

Five Valleys Land Trust

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [7]

Give Local Community Celebration

[meet the nonprofits]

C Caras P k5 Park 5-8pm 8 A free event to say Than nk You! & to celebrate the success of Give Local Missoula County

Friends of the Shelter

Join us for: 2016 Give Local Results Nonprofit and Business Awards Appetizers and Beverages Live Music Kids’ Activities Presented by:

Premier Sponsor:

Five Valleys Chapter of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation rmef.org 360-4414 The mission of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is to help ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.

Appetizers Provided by:

The Friends of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula Community Foundation fortmissoulamuseum.org 728-3476 Your Museum. Your Story. Your History. Our Future…

We are Missoula County’s history museum. We offer visitors a place to wonder, to reminisce, to learn about our county’s history, and how our community’s past makes Missoula what it is today.

The mission of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula is to keep Missoula County’s history alive for the education and enjoyment of the public.

The Friends of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula supports the Historical Museum in its mission and raises funds for: • Educational programs • New Exhibits • Annual Events and Youth Camps • Restoration of the grounds and historic buildings

Friends of Museum at Fort Missoula

[8] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Friends of the Shelter 258-5288 Friends of the Shelter improves the lives of animals in the City/County Animal Control Shelter and the wider Missoula community. Our generous donors enable us to help feed the hungry, heal the injured, treat the sick, and spay/neuter pets to prevent unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. At the shelter we help to cover costs that are beyond the scope of the taxpayer-funded budget – such as a boombox to provide soothing music to calm the dogs in the kennel, a trailer to transport equipment and supplies to adoption events, vital twice-daily eye drops for an otherwise perfectly healthy dog, the adoption fee for a special-needs cat. Pets are our "business," and we take it very seriously.

Forward Montana Foundation forwardmontana.org 717-991-3295 Forward Montana Foundation educates, engages, and organizes young Montanans to shape our democracy so that it’s reflective of and responsive to all of our needs and values. For many voters today and especially first-time voters, politics is inaccessible, ballots are long, and voter registration is confusing. An investment in Forward Montana Foundation ensures that young people are not only registered to vote, but provided the tools to be thoughtful voters, leaders and organizers in our communities. We are building opportunities for our generation to have a loud and clear voice on the issues we care about. Join us to move Montana not left, not right, but FORWARD.

Forward Montana

[meet the nonprofits]

Jeannette Rankin Peace Center

Garden City Harvest

Garden City Harvest gardencityharvest.org 523-3663

Homeword homeword.org 532-4663

Hospice Care Foundation hcfmissoula.com 541-2255

Be it by growing food in one of our community garden plots, bringing home fresh vegetables from the Missoula Food Bank, or feasting on a freshly pulled carrot on a farm field trip -- Garden City Harvest is feeding the bellies, hearts and minds of our community.

When you give to Garden City Harvest, your generosity sends a ripple effect through Missoula. Your gift provides critical funds that support our 18 sites. These farms, community gardens and school gardens all over town, empower Missoulians of all walks of life to feed themselves and their families and teach our children the power of a seed.

Your gift of $10 or more can give Missoulians hope!

Working parents, people with disabilities, single moms, retired veterans, domestic-violence survivors and others who face high housing, utility and other living costs must make the most of their limited resources.

Through our free financial literacy workshops, they can learn to budget, create savings plans and build credit so they can provide for themselves and their families for years to come.

"I get overwhelmed with bills, past-due debt and trying to meet the day-to-day needs of my kids. The instructor gave me hope."

Homeword is committed to providing safe, healthy, affordable housing using sustainable methods and promoting strong communities through housing counseling and education for those most in need.

The Mission of the Hospice Care Foundation is to fund compassionate care activities and educate the community on hospice and palliative care options, while striving to ensure that hospice care options are available to all those in need.

The Foundation envisions achievement of its mission through a triad approach: Awarding grants to individuals, organizations, programs and projects who share its passion for improving quality of life for individuals requiring hospice and palliative care as well as awarding grants to hospice patients in Western Montana.

Empowering our community to promote the ideals and principles of hospice care.

Working to ensure hospice care options are available to patients in need.

Home ReSource homeresource.org 541-8301

Humane Society of Western Montana myhswm.org 549-3934

As a triple-bottom-line nonprofit business, we bring environmental, social, and economic benefits to the community through waste reduction, education, materials giving, workforce training and helping to create the structures and awareness to move Missoula Toward Zero Waste. While our store and Deconstruction Services are self-supporting, our nonprofit Education, Work and Zero Waste programs require financial support to truly thrive. Our Education program inspires learners of all ages to understand the importance of reducing waste and teaches reuse skills. Our Work programs provide on-the-job job and green-building skills to people experiencing barriers to employment in a respectful and appreciative environment. Our Zero Waste program builds community capacity to reduce waste on a scale way bigger than what we alone could do.

The Humane Society of Western Montana is committed to Saving Every Animal Every Time. We strive to be a leading resource for all pets and their people in Western Montana. Our efforts are not limited to the dogs, cats, rabbits (and sometimes guinea pigs!) in our shelter. In addition to meeting every shelter pet's unique needs, we offer a wide variety of programs for the community. From our training and behavior programs, to lowcost spay/neuter clinics and humane education like Critter Camp, we try to reach every person and every pet. We are proud to call this pet-loving community home. We could not help 1,500 pets annually without all of you!

Habitat for Humanity of Missoula habitatmsla.org 549-8210 Habitat for Humanity of Missoula will build two homes in 2016 providing shelter for two deserving families. We put over 500 volunteers to work each year on our build sites, in our office, and in our ReStore. The ReStore, located in East Missoula, sells used furniture, applicances, fixtures, building materials, and supplies for home remodels or projects. Profits from the ReStore go directly to support our mission. The ReStore is in need of a truck to pick up donated goods, and we are seeking funds to purchase one this year. All donations to Habitat of Missoula help build homes and community through supporting and nurturing our low-income families as they turn their own "sweat equity" into home ownership.

Habitat for Humanity

Home ReSource

Humane Society

Jeannette Rankin Peace Center jrpc.org 543-3955 Jeannette Rankin Peace Center has been an important part of Missoula since 1986, working to teach and model non-violence, social justice and environmental sustainability. Our Center is open 7 days a week to provide the community with a fair trade store featuring unique ethical gifts from around the world, a library with over 3,000 resources on peace and justice, including curriculum guides, directions to our 4.4-acre park and a thriving resource center providing education, community action and networking. We believe peace is created when we reach outside our comfort zone to connect with others and learn and grow together toward solutions for a better world. Your muchappreciated gift will help us fund those efforts.

Living Art of Montana livingartofmontana.org 549-5329 Living Art of Montana is a place to create, share and heal.

We provide art and writing workshops for people dealing with cancer, chronic illness and loss. Because many of our participants carry heavy financial burdens due to illness we are committed to keeping our service programs free of charge. Support from people and businesses in our community makes that possible. We are local–we've been active in the greater Missoula area for over 20 years!

Living Art of Montana

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [9]

[meet the nonprofits]

Missoula Aging Services

The Learning Center at Red Willow redwillowlearning.org 721-0033

Missoula Aging Services missoulaagingservices.org 728-7682

The Learning Center at Red Willow is committed to helping to build the resilience of individuals in our community and that of our community as a whole. Resilient people have the ability to cope with stress and crisis, rebounding quickly in the aftermath. The personalities of resilient people are capable and stress-resistant. We provide holistic, integrated body/mind-based healing services to individuals, families, and communities who have experienced trauma and adversity. We provide access to our healing courses through our scholarship programs for people who have experienced a variety of traumatic events, including victims of domestic and sexual violence, children and youth who have experienced trauma, veterans, and first responders.

Your donation will help us continue providing and expanding these programs.

We are passionate about our mission, which is to promote the independence, dignity and health of older adults and those who care for them.

Missoula Aging Services empowers older adults to stay in their homes as long as possible through great programs like Meals on Wheels, Respite Care, Homemaking Services and Veteran Services. We are a nonprofit organization that has been serving Missoula County older adults and their families since 1982! All gifts stay local and help the most vulnerable among us, in their time of greatest need.

Make-A-Wish Montana montana.wish.org 318-5111

\ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\ According to Webster, RESILIENCE is the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.

Helping Missoula become more resilient because…life happens!

Our mission is to grant the wishes of children with lifethreatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Like Sabastian, a 7-year-old boy from Montana battling lymphoma. Sabastian loves to play with Legos and has a design for a Lego superhero with a special sword that fights cancer. Sabastian wishes to go to Legoland and meet with a Master builder. We believe that wishes are one of the best medicines for kids facing life-threatening medical conditions. A wish cannot cure, but a 2011 study found that 89% of health care professionals believe that the wish experience can influence a child’s physical health, and 97% of families observed improvements in their child’s emotional health.

The Learning Center at Red Willow 825 West Kent Avenue Missoula MT 59801 406-721-0033 www.redwillowlearning.org

Friends of Museum at Fort Missoula

[10] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Missoula Food Bank missoulafoodbank.org 549-0543 Give Local Missoula and Missoula Food Bank are teaming up to make sure kids in our schools are nourished over the weekends!

During Give Local Missoula, we hope you consider supporting our Kids EmPower Pack program. Through EmPower Pack, balanced, healthy meals are sent home each Friday with 500 local students. Every $5 donation means a weekend free from hunger for a kid in our neighborhoods.

Thank you for your support of our goal to end childhood hunger in Missoula. Together, we nourish community.

[meet the nonprofits]

Missoula Insectarium

Missoula Developmental Service Corporation mdscmt.org 728-5484 Missoula Developmental Service Corporation (MDSC) provides services to adults with severe developmental and intellectual disabilities to live a full life. Compounded often by mental health and physical disabilities, our clients are guided by professional staffers who support them striving toward independence. Through residential and day activity programs MDSC services seek to balance and normalize clients’ life experiences so that despite enormous challenges they have the confidence to explore and enjoy life through connection, integration, and acceptance. MDSC fosters a nurturing environment, focusing on the whole person, allowing our clients to learn, grow and experience the joys of everyday life we take for granted.

Missoula Mavericks American Legion Baseball missoulamavericks.net (612) 282-5313 The Missoula Mavericks are more than just baseball. We teach young players accountability, responsibility, discipline and leadership. The Mavericks provide the only local opportunity for young players to continue to play baseball at the high school and college level. The Missoula Mavericks field three teams every year, traveling the region representing Missoula.

We are an independent, nonprofit organization run entirely on donations, grants and fundraising. We receive no funding from the state, county or city and depend on donations from generous people like you.

Missoula Mavericks

Missoula Strikers Soccer Association missoulastrikers.com 370-5050 As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Missoula Strikers’s charter is to offer the opportunity to learn and play soccer to as many kids as possible.

Unfortunately, there are many families that must prioritize paying for basic needs over empowering their child with the benefits of playing team sports. The benefits of playing in team sports are many.

This May, we ask you to come together as a soccer community to help us bring the benefits of team sports to more kids through donations to the Missoula Strikers Scholarship Fund.

All monies in this fund go directly to helping families enrich the lives of their children through soccer.

Missoula Time Bank missoulatimebank.org 552-7919 The Missoula Time Bank is a service exchange which uses the currency of time rather than dollars. Time Banking is based on a circle of exchange, where one service is traded for another, and another, and another. All services are valued equally. The Time Bank’s focus on reciprocity means that each person gives and receives. Each person is respected and valued for what they have to offer. Time Banking is about building community and enhancing each other's lives. The Time Bank's core values are assets, equality, respect, redefining work, and reciprocity.

Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium missoulabutterflyhouse.org 317-1211 The Missoula Insectarium provides a truly unique educational opportunity for our schools as well as the general public, capturing the curiosity of community members young and old.

Your gift plays a key role in supporting our programs to increase appreciation of the vital roles that insects and their relatives play in our lives, giving voice to all of the "Little Things That Run the World". Your partnership in our mission makes an appreciated difference for our growing organization and our community.

Missoula Community Access TV mcat.org 542-6228 MCAT provides equipment, channel time and training for anyone in Missoula who wants to make a video program. We help ordinary people tell their stories, find out what local government is concerned with and feel more like they can share with their neighbors. MCAT helps with school projects, club and civic groups finding new members. MCAT produces a talk show for local events and local needs. MCAT produces a morning show with local weather and color. Since 1990 MCAT has helped Missoulians create over 7,000 programs that tell the story of our town.

Missoula Community Foundation missoulacommunityfoundation.org 926-2846 The Missoula Community Foundation is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the unique characteristics of Missoula.

By providing leadership and inspiring long-term local philanthropy, we ensure the diversity and vitality of the greater Missoula community. The Missoula Community Foundation is a catalyst for change and a local center of philanthropic leadership that will play an active role in bringing people and nonprofits together in creative ways.

We can help you have a real impact on what is most important to you about Missoula by connecting people who care with causes that matter. Thank you for your support!

Missoula Writing Collaborative missoulawritingcollaborative.org 549-3348 The Missoula Writing Collaborative has brought creative writing instruction to approximately 35,000 children in western Montana. In the course of teaching poetry, we teach children the value of curiosity, imagination, work, and play. We have served 28 schools in western Montana, from one-room schoolhouses to multi-grade Missoula public schools. Our published writers teach children to love to write!

Missoula Writing Collaborative

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [11]

[meet the nonprofits]

coming soon...

Missoula International School

ARTIST’S RENDITION

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Missoula Cultural Council missoulacultural.org 541-0860

Missoula International School mist.org 542-9924

MCC is a central resource for information on all things art and culture in Missoula, as well as an active advocate for the arts as they continue to strengthen our economy, public education, and quality of life. Your contribution will help us continue to strengthen our community through the arts. Whether your interest is in our festivals, our international relationships, our economic impact studies and how they can positively effect your business, our collaboration with public schools to enhance education through the arts, or simply support of the arts in Missoula in general - we deeply value your contribution and support for this amazingly creative community.

The Missoula International School (MIS), a nonprofit, independent pre-k through 8th grade school founded in 1995, offers unique and challenging 21st-century educational opportunities for students in the greater Missoula area. The school provides an inquiry-based learning environment as the flagship Primary Years Program (PYP) International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in the Northwest and a full Spanish language immersion education. Gifts to MIS expand learning opportunities for children and adults in Missoula County.

Missoula Education Foundation educationiseverything.org 490-5216 We believe in high-quality, inspiring, educational “opportunities for all students. We value the vital work of the past, present and future teachers in our students’ lives. We believe that learning sustains and enriches life. We believe that children should be nurtured and challenged to reach their full potential. We believe an investment in education pays the highest dividends.

Missoula Interfaith Collaborative micmt.org 207-8228 MIC is a collaboration of congregations and local organizations, human service agencies, businesses & government offices working together to address community challenges, such as hunger and homelessness. The mission is to empower congregations and community organizations to work together to better serve the community. MIC has established a network among 23 congregations and 26 service agencies. MIC coordinates a network of leaders in congregations to spawn initiatives that fill the gaps in service and address the various community challenges. Two initiatives that have been spawned in response to needs emerging from the MIC Needs Research are the MIC Homeless and Sexual Violence Initiatives. MIC also trains individuals, some who have been homeless, to be advocates for homeless individuals and families.

Missoula Interfaith Collaborative

[12] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

[meet the nonprofits]

Missoula Downtown Foundation

Missoula Senior Center

MT World Affairs Council

MT Natural History Center

Missoula Downtown Foundation downtownmissoulafriends.org 543-4238

Missoula Senior Center themissoulaseniorcenter.org 543-7154

Montana World Affairs Council montanaworldaffairs.org 728-3328

Montana Natural History Center montananaturalist.org 327-0405

Keeping the Downtown Missoula Vibe! The MDF works to create and enhance place-making qualities and infrastructure improvements for Downtown Missoula through grant acquisition and donations from individuals, businesses and corporations.

Project priorities for 2016 include Downtown Wayfinding, holiday decor repairs, and replacement of the Caras Park pavilion canopy. For every $1 raised, $.65 goes directly to projects, $.25 goes to operating costs, and $.10 goes into outreach.

Donors are valuable! The MDF’s Play It Missoula Piano Project showcased six painted pianos in the public realm for community entertainment the last two years.

As a valued donor, the MDF keeps you informed on projects and volunteer opportunities. Missoula is amazingly generous, and we appreciate your support!

The Missoula Senior Center has been a part of the Missoula Community for over 45 years. During this time we have grown and become the place many of the area seniors depend on for its great meals, relaxing atmosphere, educational opportunities and socialization. We offer many opportunities for volunteering, a great Thrift Store, exercise and the best dance floor in town. Stop by to see us! You won’t be disappointed.

Founded in 2000 by Ambassador Mark Johnson (ret.), the Montana World Affairs Council strives to bring the world to Montana and Montana to the world. The Council promotes international opportunities in Montana communities, such as the Distinguished Speaker Program, Council in the Classroom, the Business Luncheon Series, and the annual Academic WorldQuest competition. Your donation supports global citizenship and international education programs for students, businesses, and communities across the Big Sky.

MNHC connects people with nature—from age 3 through 83. As one of the largest nature-based education organizations in the state of Montana, we are building the next generation of environmental stewards by fostering a passion and commitment to care about and protect this amazing place we are fortunate enough to live in.

A gift to MNHC directly supports the 25 different programs we offer for school-aged kids, teachers, summer campers, preschoolers, families and adult community members. Every year we directly serve more than 5,000 children from preschool through grade 12 and over 2,000 community members through natural history programs centered in science, art, reading, exploration, and cultural studies.

Missoula City Band missoulacityband.org 240-0230 The Missoula City Band provides free band concerts during the summer in Missoula in Bonner Park. Our organization is important because we display not only local talent but also national-level talent and expose the people of Missoula to a wide variety of music. The Missoula City Band does not carry on without the generous support of the patrons of our concerts and gracious folks from within the Missoula Community and beyond.

Missoula City Band

Montana Community Development Corporation mtcdc.org 442-6011 Small businesses make our communities vital and vibrant.

When you support the Montana CDC with a generous donation today, you provide the support that makes businesses strong and successful, a key to economic prosperity across our state.

You will also change the lives of individuals in your community and make their dreams of owning a business and supporting themselves come true. Give a gift today and make a lasting impact. Together we can make a difference. Together we can make dreams come true. Visit us online to learn more about making a difference in your community!

Montana Innocence Project mtinnocenceproject.org 243-6698 The Montana Innocence Project invests our donations in: 1) Identifying, investigating and advancing credible claims of innocence by providing charitable legal and investigative assistance to inmates convicted in Montana. While many claims may be advanced through physical evidence such as DNA, the Montana Innocence Project also accepts cases where DNA evidence is not available.

2) Advocating for public policy reforms that diminish or prevent wrongful convictions in Montana by educating policy makers, students, the public, and the media about the prevalence and causes of wrongful conviction.

Montana Public Interest Research Foundation (MTPIRF) mtpirf.org 546-3629 Our current politics give young people the impression that their voice does not make a difference and that their actions cannot create change. MontPIRF is dedicated to fighting back by showing young Montanans not only that they can make a difference, but how to do it. We train young Montanans with the grassroots organizing skills to be civic leaders in their community. They learn these skills by engaging in hands-on work on campus and across the state to protect our outdoors, empower young voters, and protect consumer rights.

MT PIRF

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [13]

[meet the nonprofits]

Boy Scouts of America

Montana Automotive Technologies 370-4365 We are a community-based volunteer organization with no payroll. We teach and train high school students in auto repair, and place students in local shops for career development.

Through our program, students receive high school credit and have an opportunity to move to technical school(s) and/or work in local auto shops.

For the past nine years we have relied on community grants and mentors.

Montana Wilderness Association wildmontana.org 443-7350 We’re a community of people who love the outdoors and champion wild places. We are people who experience joy on open ridgelines, in grasslands from here to the horizon, and getting knee-deep in mountain streams.

We protect wild country. We’re working to protect more than a million acres of Montana’s backcountry, places like the Great Burn and the headwaters of the Blackfoot.

We inspire people to get out. Our Wilderness Walks inspire thousands of hikers to experience outdoor adventures each year.

We empower students. Our NexGen Program leads trips into roadless country, then works with students to protect wild places when they return to campus.

We make the backcountry better. We’re building and maintaining Montana’s 900 miles of the Continental Divide Trail.

Montana Council, Boy Scouts of America montanabsa.org 926-1810 The mission of the Montana Council, Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. The youth and volunteers of the Montana Council invite you to make an investment in Scouting. Each dollar you invest will help send scouts to camp, support at-risk youth, and provide our volunteer leaders with the tools and resources needed to ensure our children benefit from a high-quality program.

Montana Budget and Policy Center montanabudget.org 461-5782 The Montana Budget and Policy Center is dedicated to providing in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues.

Our core focus is publishing credible, timely, and easy-tounderstand reports on the fiscal policies that most impact lowand moderate-income Montanans. Our research and analysis then informs public policy, the media, and the broader public.

We envision an economically vibrant future in which all Montanans have a fair opportunity to work, learn, and improve their lives. That’s why we seek to engage, include, and elevate the voices of those often left out of conversations about economic policies, including women, American Indians, and lowand moderate-income families.

MT WIlderness Association

[14] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Mother’s Milk Bank of Montana mothersmilkbankofmt.org 531-6789

Montana Women Vote montanawomenvote.org 690-1328

The Mothers' Milk Bank of Montana (MMBMT) believes that every baby deserves access to the best nutrition. When a mother's own milk is not available or is in short supply, human donor milk is the next best option. MMBMT increases access to human donor milk to ensure that all babies have the opportunity to thrive.

Montana Women Vote is dedicated to educating, empowering, and mobilizing low-income women and their allies to participate in the democratic process as informed voters, policy advocates, and community leaders. By registering, educating and mobilizing unlikely women in democracy and policy-making, MWV helps address the root causes of inequality for lowincome women. MWV continues to serve its original purpose of registering unlikely women, and also is a resource across our community for other organizations wishing to engage disenfranchised voters.

By empowering a disenfranchised voting blog, MWV helps address the root causes of inequality in our community. Since 2000, Montana Women Vote has grown from a shoestring voter registration effort to an effective grassroots policy powerhouse of low-income women and allies.

Montana Food Bank Network mfbn.org 215-1774 The Montana Food Bank Network is a state-wide hunger-fighting agency. We partner with local and national food grocers, manufacturers and agriculturists to acquire and distribute over 8 million pounds of food annually to more than 200 community-based organizations across Montana such as soup kitchens, shelters, community programs, food pantries and senior centers.

MFBN has developed several programs to help meet the unique challenges of feeding Montana including; the BackPack Program that distributes over 100,000 bags to school children annually in over 90 Montana schools; Hunters Against Hunger has brought in over 50,000 pounds of wild game to 24 Montana food pantries, and the Mail-A-Meal program sends food directly to families and seniors in need living in rural Montana.

Mountain Home Montana mountainhomemt.org 541-4663 Mountain Home offers safety and stability through our housing program with six bedrooms, an emergency bedroom, and five transitional-living apartments. We also provide wraparound care through our licensed mental health center, including case management, therapy, parenting classes, and respite childcare. This year alone, we’ve helped dozens of young mothers acquire and sustain employment, enroll their children in health and education programs, and transition into affordable homes of their own.

Mountain Home Montana

[meet the nonprofits]

MUD Project mudproject.org 721-7513

MOR4Kids missoularealestate.com/mor4kids 728-0560

MUD promotes urban sustainable living through resource sharing, hands-on learning and community engagement.

We believe education, demonstration, and celebration of urban sustainable living will create equitable communities and healthy ecosystems. MUD does this through a growing tool library that facilitates the community building their own sustainable spaces while sharing resources. We offer educational programming to teach new skillsets on a variety of topics for young and old. The MUD site is a demonstration space for urban sustainability projects, inviting the community in to observe and engage with small- or large-scale improvements. We also take the time to celebrate Missoula's good work through Earth Day events, our annual Garden Party, and everyday recognition of efforts toward community sustainability.

MOR4KIDS was established to “give a chance to every child” and to “renew hope,” all the while “changing lives.”

Sometimes boosts help get children and their family through difficult times. We collect warm clothes, shoes, and so much more. We fundraise and give gift cards to schools to discreetly meet needs of children, families and classrooms. In 2015, our program donated gift cards to 30 schools. We are striving to be a sustainable, yet expanding non profit. Missoula is fortunate in quality of life, beauty and nature, but the reality is there is a large amount of need. It truly takes a village to watch over our children! We are grateful for you, our supporters. Thank you!

MusiCare Montana musicaremontana.org 303-1507 MusiCare Montana is dedicated to providing free, quality, live musical performances to Missoula-area residents living in retirement communities and skilled nursing facilities. They work with artists, residents, and facility staff to bring the joy of music and the social benefits of the concert setting to Missoula seniors, with special consideration for low-income and memory-care facilities.

NCBI Missoula ncbimissoula.org 541-6891 NCBI Missoula is a leadership development organization that empowers people to transform our communities into safe and inclusive places for everyone. Each year NCBI engages over 6000 people across Montana to help them build leadership skills and celebrate their diversity.

Central to NCBI’s mission is activating the leadership of Missoula’s young people. Each year we train over 40 Missoula high school students to be anti-bullying, violence-prevention peer trainers for schools across the state, and run leadership development afterschool programs in all three of Missoula’s middle schools and two elementary schools.

NCBI also helps Missoula celebrate inclusion and diversity by being the central organizer of Missoula’s Martin Luther King Day Celebration as well as the youth-planned Diversity Day Celebration.

NCBI Missoula

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [15]

[meet the nonprofits]

Partnership Health Center

NAMI Missoula namimissoula.org 880-1013

Open Aid Alliance openaidalliance.org 543-4770

Opportunity Resources, Inc. orimt.org 721-2930

Partnership Health Center missoulacounty.us 258-4789

NAMI Missoula is the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Our mission is to provide support, education, and advocacy for those individuals and families, and to educate the wider community in order to reduce the stigma of mental illness. We rely entirely on volunteers to accomplish that mission, and our programs and classes are offered at no charge to the public.

There’s no other organization in Missoula like Open Aid Alliance. We engage and empower underserved individuals through harm reduction and compassionate care. We work to prevent HIV, hepatitis C and STIs through testing, education and outreach in western Montana. OAA operates the only public syringe exchange in Montana. The exchange is an evidencebased public health program, it saves lives and dollars, reduces infection and the spread of disease while providing dignity to community members struggling with addiction. Because housing is healthcare, our housing program works to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV. Additionally, we are establishing job training for marginalized people in our community. OAA is a judgment-free space where people receive services with respect as they find their own way.

Opportunity Resources, Inc. (ORI), based in Missoula, provides individualized services for hundreds of Western Montana’s adults living with a disability. Our goal is to support our clients in attaining independence in housing, employment, and as many aspects of their daily lives as possible, while providing all of the support services required to achieve that goal. ORI is one of Missoula’s largest employers, for over 60 years empowering individuals with disabilities to lead independent, productive lives. Contact us online, by phone or visit our offices at 2821 South Russell Street in Missoula.

Partnership Health Center ensures that accessible, comprehensive primary health care is provided to the medically underserved population in our region, through a partnership of community resources.

Partnership Health Center meets the need for accessible, affordable health care in Missoula and the surrounding area through the generosity of our supporters. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions made by these caring individuals and local businesses.

North-Missoula Community Development Corporation nmcdc.org 829-0873 The NMCDC is a neighborhood-livability advocate with an eclectic and successful track record, now entering its 20th year serving Missoula. NMCDC develops permanently affordable housing, hosts Missoula Outdoor Cinema, consistently pushes for clean-up of the White Pine Sash Superfund site, manages the Moon-Randolph Homestead, hosts the Real Meals cooking workshops for healthy budgeted eating, and runs the totallyfree Burns Street Kids Club.

NMCDC lead the effort to construct the Northside pedestrian overpass and greenways, remodeled the building housing the Burns St. Bistro and the Missoula Community Food Co-op, and lead the construction of the Westside Playground. In 2015, NMCDC, with local partner organizations, launched a $1.00 to $1.00 match program for EBT users shopping at the Co-op and Farmers Markets.

Partnership for Children pfcmt.org 541-5532 The children in our care like to play tag, kick a soccer ball, and help with making dinner. They wait for the tooth fairy, forget to hang up their coat, and hope for the biggest piece of birthday cake. Unfortunately, these children, ages one to 14, also have adult-size worries. They have experienced significant early childhood trauma—abuse, neglect, exposure to drugs and alcohol, and homelessness. Loss is a common theme for these children—loss of family, safety and the freedom to be a child.

Partnership for Children believes that healing and growth for children comes through healthy, trusting adult/child relationships.

N Missoula Community Development

[16] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

The Parenting Place 728-5437 The Parenting Place is a community-based, non-profit organization whose mission is the prevention of child abuse and neglect through strengthening families. Our goals are to help families develop healthy parent-child relationships, to improve the futures of our children and ensure healthy families.

The Parenting Place has always had a unique and powerful approach to addressing abuse and neglect in that prevention is at the heart of who we are, what we do and why we exist. We have been serving our community since 1981

Planned Parenthood of Montana plannedparenthood.org/ planned-parenthood-montana 830-3491 Planned Parenthood of Montana provides reproductive health care including life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, prevention, testing and treatment for STDs, breast health services, Pap tests, sexual health education, information and health counseling. One in five women has turned to Planned Parenthood at some point in her life for professional, nonjudgmental, and confidential care.

PPMT’s mission is to empower all people to make private reproductive health care decisions by providing quality health care, medically accurate education, and advocacy for individual rights. Last year Planned Parenthood served 13,000 patients in its 5 health centers located in four of Montana’s largest cities: Billings (2), Helena, Great Falls, and Missoula.

[meet the nonprofits]

Poverello Center

Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre

The Poverello Center thepoverellocenter.org 532-6682

Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre rmbt.org 370-0562

For over 40 years, the Poverello Center has provided a necessary safety net for our community members living in hunger and homelessness. An award-winning nonprofit organization, the Poverello Center provides education, advocacy, and a multitude of services to improve the health, wellbeing, and stability of people struggling with poverty in Missoula.

Absolutely nothing that we accomplish is possible without the support of many hundreds of compassionate, thoughtful, hardworking, and generous community members and groups.

Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre is about creating original works of art and training children to be thinking, confident artists. In January of 2016 RMBT hosted the Vienna International Ballet Experience–exposing young dancers and Montana audiences to an exceptional level of dance, a film festival and diplomacy conference. Your donation allows RMBT to continue this tradition of excellence in the arts–and to host another VIBE in 2017!

Providence Montana Health Foundation supportpmhf.org 329-5640 Providence Montana Health Foundation supports St. Patrick Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center. Through fundraising efforts and supporting health education programs, we help make world-class health care available to all patients in Western Montana. This year the funds from Give Local will go to support St. Patrick House, which offers medical travelers a place to stay while receiving medical treatment. Your gift will allow guests to stay in a comfortable setting, where they will have space to rest comfortably. Whether a patient undergoing radiation treatments or a family member standing by an ailing loved one’s side, you will have given our guests a place to help ease their stress during a truly challenging time.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Montana rmhcwesternmontana.org 541-7646 Our home is filled with more than help, it's filled with hope.

Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family.

And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-fromhome” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.

Our Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their child. Each House is owned/operated by a local RMHC Chapter.

Providence Montana

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [17]

[meet the nonprofits]

Seedlings of Change seedlingsofchange.org 241-2612

Sustainable Business Council sustainablebusinesscouncil.org 721-3000

In the words of an old English proverb, “From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.� Our goal is to educate, support and empower ordinary citizens, community groups and small organizations striving to promote positive and enduring changes that benefit our world and each other. In a nutshell, our S.E.E.D. mission focuses on these elements: Self ~ Live mindfully, making conscious & life-affirming choices on a daily basis Education ~ Support programs and projects that empower individuals & communities Ecology ~ Promote sustainable & natural alternatives that benefit our planet Diversity ~ Explore creative ways to co-exist in harmony

The Sustainable Business Council works to advance a vibrant local economy built on sustainable practices. In 2016, we committed ourselves to moving Missoula toward zero waste.

Will you support the SBC and our programs and initiatives to reduce waste in Missoula? Our portfolio of possible programs and initiatives includes: creating a zero-waste event space, increasing the accessibility of recycling to businesses and residents, reducing the use of plastic shopping bags, expanding existing toward-zero-waste resources, partnering with other groups to further zero-waste initiatives and more! Your contribution to SBC goes a long way toward making positive change in our businesses and community now and for generations to come. Happy Give Local 2016!

Spirit at Play Early Child Program spiritatplay.org 728-7001 We are here to care and educate children while appreciating their unique strengths and temperaments. We provide the building blocks needed for all children navigate their everchanging world. Our organization is proud to develop future leaders and positive role models! Donor gifts are important, as they will be used to help low-income families send their children to our facility.

[18] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Summit Independent Living Center summitilc.org 728-1630 Summit Independent Living Center, Inc. is a nonprofit, non-residential program serving people with mobility, neurological, hearing, visual, and other disabilities.

Summit provides consumer and advocacy services to residents of western Montana and works on a systemic level nationally and across Montana to improve the lives of individuals living with disabilities.

We believe that people with disabilities have the right to control their own lives and enjoy the same opportunities as all other citizens in directing their own affairs, having a family, participating in our communities, and contributing their talents to the service of everyone.

Your gift means that we will have more power when it comes to making sure people have these choices.

[meet the nonprofits]

String Orchestra of the Rockies

Transition Missoula

String Orchestra of the Rockies sormt.org 493-2990

Transition Missoula transitionmissoula.org 721-2600

Tell Us Something tellussomething.org 546-3855

United Way of Missoula County missoulaunitedway.org 549-6104

The only professional ensemble of its kind in Montana, the String Orchestra of the Rockies draws upon the talents of the finest string players in Big Sky Country. All SOR members are successful string teachers, in addition to their professional performance schedules. This unique 15-member orchestra invites audiences to connect emotionally with them as they treat listeners to music as varied as Montana itself. In addition to exceptional performances, often with world-renowned guest artists, the SOR continues its commitment of “giving back” to our community by offering free master classes to string students and an annual $1,000 scholarship to a string student at the University of Montana, as well as many other community outreach activities. Thank you for your generous support!

Transition Missoula is part of a positive, practical, global and grassroots Transition movement whose goal is to build community while reducing consumption in the face of potentially catastrophic shocks resulting from climate change, natural resource depletion, and economic fragility.

Transition Missoula’s vehicle for accomplishing a resilient Missoula community is the Transition Streets project, a sevensession course for neighbors and organizations.

Transition Streets provides a tested guidebook for empowering neighbors with proven actions to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and transportation emissions, develop local food sources, and save money.

We rely on community support to spread the word about Transition Streets, and implement it, for a resilient Missoula.

Tell Us Something celebrates the Missoula community through the power of personal storytelling. At each event between 8 and 10 storytellers have 10 minutes to share their true personal story from memory. Storytellers leave the stage feeling more confident, empowered and proud. Listeners are engaged, inspired, entertained and present. For the past 5 years Tell Us Something has brought the Missoula community together for true personal stories shared live in front of an audience. In 2015 Tell Us Something began its programming for youth, hosting a successful storytelling summer camp at Zootown Arts Community Center. We look forward to more robust programming in 2016 with the hope to make Tell Us Something sustainable.

United Way of Missoula County believes in solving our community's biggest challenges. We can live in a place where all kids graduate from high school ready for college or career, where everyone has a roof over their heads and food on their tables, and where our neighbors are healthy. That’s why—every day—we’re helping people change their lives by strengthening the building blocks for a good quality of life: education, income and health. We invite you to join us. Be part of the change.

Soft Landing Missoula 543-3955 Mobilizing concerned residents of Missoula County in the rehoming of refugees from around the world. We are a local grassroots organization responding to the burgeoning need to resettle refugees displaced by wars and oppression worldwide.

Thank you all.

Travelers’ Rest Preservation & Heritage Association travelersrest.org 273-4253 Travelers’ Rest Preservation & Heritage Association works to support Travelers' Rest State Park through outreach, advocacy, and educational experiences linking the past to the future.

Tell Us Something

Turning the Wheel turningthewheel.org 830-3285 Turning the Wheel Missoula builds vibrant individual and community health through movement-based expressive arts.

Using the form of improvisation as our foundation, we give people of all ages and abilities experiences and tools that teach them self-awareness, self-care and self-expression. Our work facilitates leadership, collaboration and vision for hundreds of youth every year – and because it is a movement experience, they are also getting exercise when they engage in our classes.

Health, education and art for the WHOLE person – body, mind and spirit, one program at a time. All proceeds raised go to fund our school programs with youth grades 2-12.

Volunteer Missoula volunteermissoula.org 202-2679 Volunteer Missoula was founded in 2012 to help promote volunteerism as a viable solution to closing gaps in services in our community. Volunteer Missoula has created a platform for people to find opportunities to volunteer and give back to their community.

Through collaborations with local non-profits, businesses, and government organizations, Volunteer Missoula has begun to centralize the volunteer resources available and provides an efficient delivery of their services. With your gift, Volunteer Missoula can continue to close the gap between volunteers and volunteer management professionals. Your gift allows for Volunteer Missoula to continue operating their website and provide service to Missoula on an annual basis.

givelocalmissoula.org

Travelers’ Rest

Turning the Wheel

Watson Children’s Shelter

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [19]

[meet the nonprofits]

Wild Rockies Field Institute

The Watershed Education Network montanawatershed.org 541-9287

Wild Rockies Field Institute wrfi.net 549-4336

The Watershed Education Network ( WEN) teaches river ecology to 2,800 students a year throughout Western Montana and is coming up on its 20th anniversary. WEN gets K-12 students outside to experience their watershed up close and at the water's edge. Our innovative fieldtrip-based programs are not only engaging, but relevant - consistently meeting current state and national teaching standards.

Unfortunately, there are too many under-served schools in Missoula County that cannot afford to participate in our unique field science lessons because of constrained school budgets. With your help we can bring the WEN experience to 23 of these under-served schools through Give Local Missoula County! Thank you for considering WEN and investing in our next generation of watershed stewards!

The Wild Rockies Field Institute fosters the next generation of leaders and environmental stewards through field-based education in the American West. Donations received during Give Local will be dedicated to our scholarship fund to help ensure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, may participate in a WRFI course.

Watson Children’s Shelter watsonchildrensshelter.org/ 549-0058 Watson Children's Shelter ( WCS) provides a safe, nurturing home for children from Missoula and across Western Montana who have experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment or family crisis. WCS is a critical emergency care provider that provides safety while also addressing each child’s emotional, physical, cognitive, health and developmental needs, ensuring healthy outcomes.

Watson Children’s Shelter

[20] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Women’s Voices for the Earth womensvoices.org 543-3747 Women’s Voices for the Earth ( WVE) opened its doors in Missoula, Montana in 1995. With a budget of only $9,000 and a staff of two, they started locally—stopping the proposed gold mine on the Blackfoot River and decreasing the routine pesticide spraying of noxious weeds by state agencies. Today, Women’s Voices for the Earth has a network of tens of thousands of women nationwide who are working to empower consumers, enact health-protective laws and drive up corporate accountability and transparency. Together, we’re taking on the toxic chemicals that harm our health and communities–chemicals that are causing breast cancer, birth defects, reproductive problems and more. Your Give Local gift to WVE will make a national impact!

W.O.R.D.

[meet the nonprofits]

Writing Coaches of Montana

Women’s Foundation of Montana wfmontana.org 541-7408 The Women’s Foundation of Montana advances economic independence for women and creates a brighter future for girls, because when women and girls prosper, communities thrive.

Your donation means more wage negotiation classes. It means women entrepreneurs gaining the support they need to grow their dreams and bring more jobs to our state. It means more girls entering highly paid STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers .

When Montanans pool our resources, we can leverage them for maximum impact. Instead of financial gain, the return on our fund is the transformation of the lives of women and girls and lasting impact on their communities. That’s smarter social change, made possible by you.

Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development wordinc.org 543-3550 WORD creates opportunities, programs and policies that inspire and support women’s development, leadership and choice, for the benefit of our entire community.

WORD offers support, education, and training to empower women and their families to move from a place of need to a place of independence, participation and choice. Our programs promote women’s access to stable housing, adequate income, personal/career development, family/school involvement and the creation of policies for social change.

Writing Coaches of Missoula 546-6269

Zootown Arts Community Center

Wilderness Watch

Wilderness Watch wildernesswatch.org 542-2048

Zootown Arts Community Center zootownarts.org 549-7555

It’s been a raucous year. We’ve seen proposals that we couldn’t have imagined: industrial gold mining, commercial logging, major roads, an airport, new buildings, lake and stream poisoning, pesticides, unregulated motorboat use, giant prescribed burns, hundreds of helicopter landings for wildlife management, predator exterminations, and helicopter-assisted military training . . . all in designated Wilderness.

Wilderness Watch is confronting each of these threats.

Thus far, with the help of supporters across the country, we’ve managed to hold all of these projects at bay.

Our work is lean and effective, with a dedicated staff and board of directors working with great passion every day so that our country passes on to our children and grandchildren the wildest, most awe-inspiring wilderness in the world.

ZACC has served Missoula from its Northside location since 2008 by bringing a variety of community and arts programming to people of all ages, from toddlers to seniors. ZACC’s gallery, doit-yourself Printshop, Pottery and Glass Fusing studios provide walk- in opportunities for creativity during our business hours.

Our youth after- school art program, AMP music programs, spring break and summer camps inspire Missoula youth, many of whom attend on scholarship, and offer a safe space for adults to take classes as well, many who are just discovering the transformative power of art for the first time. ZACC brings our community together for meaningful art experiences throughout the year and grows the creative power of our community.information on how you can get help for a child in need or become involved with our agency through: donations, volunteering, foster parenting, or employment please visit our website or call us at the number above.

Youth Homes youthhomesmt.org 721-2704

Youth Dynamics youthdynamics.org 728-9672

Xsports4vets xsports4vets.org 493-2264

Youth Homes helps youth feel safe, have a sense of belonging and a place to call home. We do this by offering a variety of services including group care, wilderness therapy, counseling, in-home treatment, emergency shelter, therapeutic foster services, and transitional living services for teens moving into adulthood.

For more information on how you can get help for a child in need or become involved with our agency through donations, volunteering, foster parenting, or employment, please visit our website or call our local Missoula office.

Youth Dynamics is a nonprofit children’s mental health center that has been serving children and families in Montana since 1981. Youth Dynamics provides both residential and community-based mental health services to children, adolescents, and families. At Youth Dynamics we believe in providing strength-based, client-centered care that meets the needs of each individual child. Youth Dynamics in Missoula provides everything from individual and family therapy to therapeutic mentor services and much more.

For more information on how you can get help for a child in need or become involved with our agency through donations, volunteering, foster parenting, or employment, please visit our website or call our local Missoula office.

Xsports4vets is a grassroots organization that utilizes highintensity outdoor sports to support Global War on Terror (GWoT) combat veterans in the Missoula area. We offer opportunities for veterans to connect with each other to share reintegration strategies, have fun, and thrive. We utilize local outdoor guides and veteran support services to provide skilled instruction and therapeutic support as participants boost their self-confidence and post-deployment identity through mastering a challenging sport.

Our courses prepare veterans to effectively address areas of reintegration dysfunction including PTSD, mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and depression symptoms through holistic, occupational based treatment strategies. The donor’s gift is important because all our programs are free for the veteran and family members to attend and all dollars raised go into our programs.

The mission of Writing Coaches of Missoula is to help prepare all students in the Missoula-area public schools to become confident, competent writers by graduation. We support teachers by recruiting, training, and supervising community volunteers who conference individually with every student in the classroom on multiple drafts of core-curriculum writing assignments that require critical thinking and revision.

Writing Coaches of Missoula fosters community-wide support for—and involvement in—public education. We recruit, professionally train, and support a community of local volunteers—parents, professionals, business owners, professors, and teacher-candidate students. These volunteers promote critical thinking and student self-discovery in the writing process by helping students organize and express their thoughts in a compelling and logical manner.

WORD

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [21]

[meet the nonprofits]

Additional participating nonprofits:

givelocalmissoula.org

[22] Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016

Brain Injury Alliance of Montana Buffalo Field Campaign Camp Mak-A-Dream CASA of Missoula E3 Convergence Gallery Future Agricultural Resources for Montana Great Bear Foundation Imagine Missoula Max Wave MCT Missoula Art Museum Missoula Community Chorus Missoula Community School

Missoula Community Radio Missoula Family YMCA Preserve Historic Missoula Relay for Life The Roxy Theater Selway Bitterroot Foundation Soroptimist Missoula Sussex School The Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County United State of Hope University of Montana Alumni Association VSA Montana

Donor Lounges: Give at a donor lounge and get freebies!

Give Local Missoula County HQ Historic Florence Building- 111 N. Higgins Ave. 8:00am – 5:00pm Snacks and a surprise from Posh Chocolat, while supplies last. First come, first served. Live broadcast and photos of donors.

Free Cycles 732 S. First St. West 7:00 am – 7:00pm Snacks and free bike repair, while supplies last.

Bicycle-tube patch kit to first 24 donors.

Culture and cute companions at The Fort 3400 Captain Rawn Way 11:00am – 1:00pm Cuddles from furry friends, sneak preview the Museum’s new exhibit, kids’ carnival activities, adoptable animals from the Humane Society of Western MT. Raffle prizes and discount food vouchers, while supplies last.

Home ReSource 1515 Wyoming St. 11:00am – 2:00 pm Coffee & cookies, while supplies last. Quiz on Zero Waste. First 40 donors will receive a Home ReSource coaster.

Imagine Nation Brewing 1151 W. Broadway 2:00pm – 8:00pm First drink free to the first 50 Give Local donors. Enjoy variety-show entertainment.

MASC Studio 1200 Shakespeare 8:00pm – 10:00pm Wine and snacks while supplies last. Drawing for a 5-class punch card for floor classes and one for aerial classes. Aerial performance at 8:30pm Missoula Federal Credit Union All Branches 9:00am – 12:00pm Free local coffee, while supplies last. Staff will be on hand to help MFCU members redeem their Buzz Points, which will be added to the Share Fund.

Missoula Fresh Market - both locations 3801 S Reserve St • 800 W. Broadway 6:00am – 11:00pm Snacks & free sandwich to donors while supplies last.

Opportunity Resources 2821 South Russell St. 8:30am – 5:00pm Complimentary refreshments; discount on framed art and pottery by "Artists of Opportunity." While supplies last.

Plonk 322 N. Higgins Ave. 12:00am – 1:00am; 5:00pm – 6:00pm Free GFC cocktail with donation; gift card giveaway during donor-lounge hours.

DJ Amory 12:00am – 1:00am; Happy Hour 5:00pm – 6:00pm Rosauers/Huckleberry's Natural Market 2350 S. Reserve St. 8:00am – 1:00pm Free coffee & doughnut or fruit, while supplies last. Donors will be entered into a $200 Rosauers/Huckleberry's gift card drawing.

Red Cross Mobile Unit Outside the Florence Building, 111 N. Higgins 10:00am – 3:00pm Complimentary refreshments to blood donors.

Ice cream gift card to blood and Give Local donors. While supplies last.

The Clay Studio of Missoula 1106 Hawthorne St. Unit A 1:30pm – 5:30pm All Give Local donors are invited to The Clay Studio of Missoula for a free drop-in clayplanter-making workshop. Come by any time between 1:30 and 5:30pm. Instructors will be on hand to guide you through this hand-building activity.

One planter per person, per donation. Donate twice, make two (limit three total).

A Carousel for Missoula 101 Carousel Drive 11:00am – 5:30pm Free carousel ride with donation, 1 per donor.

Missoula Senior Center 705 S. Higgins 8:00am – 4:00pm Free lunch and bingo for donors. Lunch: 11:30 – 12:30; Bingo: 12:45 – 3:00. While supplies last.

Check givelocalmissoula.org for a complete list of donor lounges.

Giving Guide • Missoula Independent 2016 [23]

Earn Local. Redeem Local. Give Local.

Buzz is a FREE rewards program for MFCU debit and credit card ŚŽůĚĞƌƐ͘ tŝƚŚ D& h Ƶnjnj WŽŝŶƚƐ͕ LJŽƵ ĞĂƌŶ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ĞǀĞƌLJ Ɵ ŵĞ you use your card. You earn MORE points when you shop at a local business. Points can be redeemed for merchandise at preferred local merchants.

Between April 25 and May 3, you can help the Give Local DŝƐƐŽƵůĂ Ğī Žƌƚ ďLJ ƌĞĚĞĞŵŝŶŐ LJŽƵƌ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ƚŽǁĂƌĚ Ă ĐŚĂƌŝƚĂďůĞ ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƟ ŽŶ͘

Free local rewards

^ŝŐŶ ƵƉ ŽŶůŝŶĞ ĂŶĚ ĂĐƟ ǀĂƚĞ LJŽƵƌ ĐĂƌĚƐ ƚŽĚĂLJ͊ All loans subject to approval. Federally insured by NCUA.

www.missoulafcu.org