Chair Message

Dear Friends of Lewis and Clark County Community Foundation:

On behalf of the board of directors of Lewis and Clark County Community Foundation, I am pleased that you are visiting our web site. You can see our 2010 Annual Report on line, this report highlights the activities, contributions, grants and other financial results of LCCF in 2010. By April 2012, the 2011 Annual Report will be available. We highlight the foundational principles of a community foundation under which LCCF conducts its business: community support and community grants. Community support, such as regular contributions and planned gifts, provides the funds needed to maintain a permanent endowment and operate the organization. The endowment and other financial support provide a perpetual source of money for community grants to the many worthy nonprofit organizations throughout Lewis and Clark County. We are particularly proud of our support of small and rural nonprofits that serve important roles in their local communities, but which may not have the ready means to provide for their own financial needs. From  Marysville to Craig, Lincoln, East Helena and  Wolf Creek…..the Lewis and Clark County Community Foundation is reaching out to make communities stronger. We couldn’t do it without you!!

Available on line on this web site you will see descriptions of grants that our board awarded to nonprofits in July 2011. We had an exciting grant cycle this year, as we received 50 separate grant requests and were able to support $16,000 in grants. This adds to our record year in 2010, when we awarded $20,000, and surpassed $100,000 for a cumulative grant total since our first grant was awarded in 1999. This support of the nonprofit community was made possible by contributions, grants received, endowment distributions and other receipts in 2010 of $74,583. Our combined endowments – permanent endowment for grants, administrative endowment and the Steve Browning Fund for Community Service and Philanthropy – now stand at more than $400,000. We saw a bounce in the growth of our endowments in 2010. We hope and expect substantial growth in the coming years through planned gifts and investment results. To that end the Board of Directors has made the commitment to personally raise an additional $60,000 in 2012. 

We have a dedicated board of directors, and a hard working Executive Director who exemplify the principles and ideals on which the community foundation is built. In addition, we have continued the undaunted endowment internship program in cooperation with Carroll College. This program has been made possible by generous support from the Haynes Foundation and the Steve Browning Fund for Community Service and Philanthropy.

We thank you for your support in making Lewis and Clark County a great place to live, work, play and raise a family.

Thank you,
Frank Cote
Board Chair, 2012