Dear Friends of the Lewis and Clark County Community Foundation:

The Lewis and Clark County Community Foundation (LCCF) Board is pleased to present this report highlighting the two fundamental principles of LCCF: community giving and community granting. LCCF is an organization established and funded by our county’s residents. The contributions, memorials and planned gifts to LCCF build a permanent endowment to support the projects of nonprofit organizations from all corners of the county through annual grantmaking – forever!

First and foremost, the LCCF Board would like to extend its thanks to its supporters for helping make 2008 another successful year in community giving and granting. In 2008, we granted $14,030 to thirty-one non-profit organizations with grants reaching residents in Lincoln, Marysville, Augusta, and Helena. It is amazing to look back to the year 2000, when we granted $850 to six organizations, and see how far we have come in such a short time.

The continued growth in our endowments and granting would not be possible without the generous support of our donors. This annual report recognizes those individuals and businesses that have contributed to support the county through LCCF and to which we owe our greatest thanks! Our combined endowments – the permanent endowment for granting, our administrative endowment, and the Steve Browning Fund for Community Service and Philanthropy – now stand at $345,000.

LCCF ‘s re-instituted “Undaunted Endowment” program, supported by the Haynes Foundation and the Steve Browning Fund for Community Service and Philanthropy and conducted in cooperation with Carroll College, has been a tremendous success. Jenna Kesler, our Carroll College student “intern” from Choteau, is a great and energetic addition to our office. We know her fund raising event, the “Last Chance to Dance”, will be a big hit for young and old alike.

The continued success of LCCF would also not be possible without the dedication and hard work of our Board and our past Board Chair. 2008 marked Andrea Rankin’s second and last year as Board Chair, and she was the lifeblood of this organization in so many ways. To say we are deeply indebted to Andrea is an understatement. We are thrilled she is serving in 2009 as Past- Board Chair and for her continued leadership at LCCF. We also want to thank Sheila Sullivan, Kathy Ramirez and Rebecca Reardon for their thoughtful guidance and support of LCCF as board members who all retired from the board in 2008. We are thrilled to have Steve Browning (a founding member of LCCF), Frank Cote, Ed Jasmin and Christine Odegard joining the LCCF Board in 2009. Last but not least, we thank our Foundation Administrator, Judi Johnston i ationiv least, we thank our have Steve Browning (a founding member of LCCF), Christine Odegard and Frank Cote joining the who works very hard to keep LCCF on track and our mission going!

As LCCF looks forward to 2009, we remember how we got here and our mission to provide financial support for quality charitable projects benefiting Lewis and Clark County and its residents. LCCF is strong due to all of you and we cannot thank you enough for your time and resources in supporting LCCF and your community!

Best Wishes, Aimee Grmoljez Board Chair, 2009