News & Events

An art program at East Side Elementary was among the recipients of grants recently disbursed by the Park County Community Foundation.
The foundation this week announced the recipients of $500,000 in grant funding for local nonprofits and schools engaged in arts education, art festivals, and performing arts. The community foundation’s board of directors approved the grants based on recommendations of the newly formed Park County Council for the Arts.
Funding is being distributed in four programs areas: Community art week activities, $128,500; School-based arts programming for grades 3-12 in the Livingston Public School district, $120,000; Art-focused community gathering spaces, including performance space enhancements in the Gardiner School and at the Shane Center, $100,000; and the Crazy Mountains Oral History project, a program of the Park County Environmental Council that brings together diverse voices from local communities, including Indigenous perspectives, to create an archive of stories that reflect the region’s connection to the land and environment, $51,500.

In this season of gratitude, we are most grateful for YOU. As one of our trusted partners, you already understand that the Park County Community Foundation serves our community in a number of ways. Read on to learn more.

On Oct. 1, the Park County Community Foundation will host a free “Legacy Giving” event from 9:30-11 a.m. in the Bev Stevenson Room at the Livingston Public Library. The event will feature as presenter one of the architects of the Montana Endowment Tax Credit (METC). The presentation will introduce Park County residents to some of the most tax-wise ways to “give heart and give smart” with their charitable giving, according to a PCCF press release.

Presenters include Certified Financial Planner and planned giving expert Jim Soft of James C. Soft & Associates. Jim Soft has more than 40 years of experience educating the public about the benefits of legacy giving, which also is known as planned giving.
“He specializes in the tax strategies that allow donors to do smart financial planning and charitable giving that can both take care of family and enable donations to non-profits in the community,” reads the release. “Soft was largely responsible for initiating and facilitating the writing of the popular and now permanent Montana Endowment Tax Credit.”

He also has served on the board of the American Council on Gift Annuities and on the board of the Charitable IRA Initiative, a 501©(4) group whose work was largely responsible for the extension and enhancement of the charitable IRA incentive legislation.
Park County resident John Gillespie, a retired geologist and business owner, also will share his experience with one of the giving tools that he and his wife, Bernice, have used in their support of local nonprofits. As a board member of the Yellowstone Gateway Museum Foundation, John has developed the current program that focuses on natural history and enlightened stewardship in Park County.

“Tax codes can be confusing, but they do offer ways for you to take care of yourself, your family, and still leave a lasting legacy for your community long after you are gone,” said Tricia Erikson, PCCF philanthropy director, in the release. “This workshop is designed to take away some of the mystery around how to do that. This is the first in a series of events that will offer information to residents about different ways to give that fit their circumstances.”
The Oct. 1 session is geared toward people who wish to learn tax-wise ways to make charitable donations.

“Nonprofit professionals who are interested in planned giving training for your organization should visit our website and watch emails for upcoming Nonprofit ACTion trainings as there will be specific events designed for them,” reads the release.

Coffee, tea, and pastries will be provided for attendees. RSVP is required due to the room size and to provide enough refreshments. RSVP or address any questions to Erikson at tricia.erikson@pccf-montana.org or 406-224-3920.

The council and fund comes after a $500,000 donation was made to the foundation in 2022.

Thanks to a generous grant from the JAKET Foundation, the Park County Community Foundation (PCCF) conducted a comprehensive needs assessment of the arts in 2023 to better understand current needs and challenges. The assessment generated a robust list of opportunities to invest in Park County’s arts culture.
To help realize a coordinated vision for the arts in Park County, PCCF has launched the Park County Arts Council (PCAC), composed of Park County residents with expertise as working artists and nonprofit leadership.

A nonprofit is one step closer to completing a 56-mile trail project connecting Gardiner to Livingston after acquiring a 3-mile stretch of land from Emigrant to Park County. This segment serves as the foundation for the Yellowstone Heritage Trail.

In Park County, Montana, the combination of people and nature creates a community far greater than the sum of its parts. There, locals really do Give-a-Hoot! Read our interview below with Gavin Clark, executive director of the Park County Community Foundation about its Give-a-Hoot festivities happening throughout the month of July and Clark’s thoughts on what makes Park County a standout in the Northern Rockies.

The Park County Community Foundation awarded 28 grants totaling $350,000 during their 2024 giving cycle, including their largest ever single grant amount of $30,000 to Montana Freshwater Partners, according to a news release.

“This funding will support the expansion of our programming along the Upper Yellowstone River, providing education and outreach, on-the-ground habitat improvements, and flood-wise planning for our community,” confirmed Wendy Weaver, executive director of Montana Freshwater Partners.

Since 2007, the Park County Community Foundation has invested more than $1.6 million in direct funding to nonprofits. These grants focus on the five areas of concern identified through the We Will Park County citizen-informed initiative: Economic Performance; Health, Safety & Education; Housing & Affordability; Landscapes & Natural Amenities; and Small Town & Rural Lifestyle.

Gavin Clark, executive director, Park County Community Foundation, and Katherine Daly, program manager of the Park County Housing Coalition, introduced the PCHC Housing Action Plan for 2024, announcing 12 policy tools for improving affordable housing to be implemented over a three-year period, dependent on community interest and support. One of the tools already being advocated and implemented is the Resident Owned Community program,

Three other affordable housing tools were introduced and then the group split into three groups to discuss the topics. The topics discussed were: accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, employer-assisted housing partnerships, or workforce housing, and zoning reformation.

The Park County Community Foundation recently launched the Nonprofit ACTion Program to meet the professional development needs of Park County nonprofits by providing a full slate of trainings and resources designed to provide the skills needed to maximize their impact locally.

The North Yellowstone Education Foundation was founded six years ago by a group of parents in Gardiner, Montana who recognized the changing landscape and decided to take action. NYEF has been working tirelessly ever since to support education in the community and ensure that new teachers have a place to live.
NYEF has successfully funded $800K to support phase one of its Teacher Housing Initiative (THI). The initiative is a collaborative project with Gardiner Public School (GPS) and aims to attract and retain teachers and staff by providing affordable housing to supplement their wages. According to a press release, the $800,000 project was made possible with the help of numerous donors, including The Park County Community Foundation, George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Foundation, Gianforte Family Foundation, Steele-Reese Foundation, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Gardiner Area Resort District, and First Interstate Bank and Foundation. Additionally, private donors have contributed over $350,000 to the project.

Although many locals are worried about the future, they are well-positioned to address the challenges they face, according to the 2023 We Will Park County report presented by the Park County Community Foundation.

The foundation surveyed more than 850 people for the report between May and July and found that only 41% of respondents shared optimism about the future of Park County. Twenty-five percent of respondents were neutral about the future and 34% reported being pessimistic, according to the report, which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2vtd9bew.

The foundation presented these findings and others at the Livingston Depot Center on Oct. 4.

A two-day youth climate conference organized by Park High School students will be held this week in Livingston.

The 2023 Montana Youth Climate Summit, which is free to students and teachers accompanying them, will be held Oct. 12-13 at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts.

More than 40 teenagers from across Montana are expected to be in town for the conference and workshop.

The Park County Community Foundation will release the 2023 We Will Park County Report on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the second annual State of Park County event at the Livingston Depot, and online via a livestream.

Members of the community are invited for a presentation highlighting what Park County residents perceive are the top concerns facing the community, updated data sets pertinent to the issues, and a presentation exploring how communities can work together to realize their desired future.

The State of Park County event will also feature a conversation between special guests Mike Dennison and Jordan Katcher exploring how communities can work together to realize their desired future.

Now in its fifth year, the Park County Community Foundation’s GIVE A HOOT Community Giving Challenge continues to inspire people to support Park County nonprofits working on the ground to improve the community. Since 2019, GIVE A HOOT has helped raise over $7.8 million from more than 15,000 individual donations.

GIVE A HOOT 2023 was another record-breaking year. People from across Park County and beyond donated more than $2.1 million from over 4,100 individual donations to 86 different Park County nonprofits.

This sets a new record for total dollars donated by the community, the most individual donations, the largest matching pool, and the most participating nonprofits since GIVE A HOOT was launched in 2019.

Watch the national interview featuring PCCF Executive Director, Gavin Clark

Joint effort between the Park County Community Foundation (PCCF) and the Greater Gallatin United Way (GGUW) to streamline support and focus it to the areas of the region that need it most.

Thanks to local reporter Noah Schmick of Wake Up Montana for helping us spread the word about our recently released Park County Housing Needs Assessment.

The Park County Housing Coalition, a collaborative project between PCCF and HRDC, releases the 2021 Park County Housing Needs Assessment.

As we reflect on the successes of the past year, we are excited to share with you highlights of our work to connect people and resources with the most pressing problems and opportunities facing Park County. 

The 2021 Year in Review features highlights from the past year that have allowed us to learn, engage. and give within our community.

Your support of the Park County Community Foundation made it possible for us to step up and meet community needs during a tumultuous year. Check out our Year in Review newsletter for updates in how we've put your contributions to work.

Livingston Enterprise article from November 5, 2020, highlights the installation of a new ventilation system at the Park County Senior Citizen Center.

KULR-8 highlighted the closing hours of our campaign on "Wake Up Montana"

PCFF's annual Give a Hoot campaign featured on KULR-8's "Wake Up Montana"

Article in The Livingston Enterprise.

Please click on the image to see the Livingston Enterprise newspaper article from September 10, 2019.

Did you know that Park County graduating seniors received over $2 million in academic scholarships? We're proud to be part of that giving community, with Thronson Scholarships awarded to two Park High graduates, and one each to Shields Valley and Gardiner graduating seniors. Read more about the Barbara Thronson Scholarship here.