We look back at the year with gratitude for the hard work and accomplishments of our partners and staff. In 2025, we funded over 120 projects that supported work in communities across Montana, and we saw outcomes in several of our initiatives, which resulted from many years of work by our partners with our support. Through our annual call for proposals, we continued to learn about and help address evolving health needs in the state, and we launched a new, simpler Rural Health Small Grant opportunity for rural communities.

Highlights

Health insurance coverage is essential to improving health and building a health system that delivers the services each Montana community needs. After many years of advocacy by a large coalition, Montana permanently reauthorized Medicaid expansion. We supported this effort by providing a rigorous analysis of the costs and outcomes of Medicaid expansion. Our annual and topic-specific Medicaid reports offered clear, consistent evidence that the program had contributed to better access to care, new services in rural communities, improved health outcomes, and reduced spending on high-cost emergency and inpatient care.

The Little Shell Tribe assumed control of its health care system from the federal Indian Health Service, becoming only the third tribe in Montana to do so. This was a monumental accomplishment for a tribe that only received federal recognition in 2019. We provided a planning grant to support the tribe’s hard work and gifted leadership in this effort.

The Montana Department of Child and Family Services reported data showing that the number of newborns placed in foster care has been halved since the start of The Meadowlark Initiative®, and credited Meadowlark teams across the state for helping to achieve this outcome.

In the School-based Health Initiative, school administrators reported that having health services available in schools is contributing to improved student attendance and engagement.

Finally, through the Healthy Montana Communities Initiative – our newest initiative – we have already supported preservation, renovation, and construction of more than 900 units of affordable housing. This work is also increasing much-needed affordable housing activity in rural communities: in 2025, we supported two projects that will result in the preservation of nearly 600 units in eight rural communities.

2025 Call for Proposals Awardees

Our annual call for proposals plays a crucial role in our programming, enabling us to understand the evolving needs of communities across the state, learn about new and innovative ideas, meet new organizations, and develop new partnerships.

Here are the projects we funded through the 2025 Call for Proposals:

1. The Adult Resource Alliance of Yellowstone County ($50,000) is planning a merger that will provide more comprehensive services for seniors in the community.
2. Benefis Health System ($50,000) is piloting a new service providing case management and psychotherapy services to children in the inpatient medical unit.
3. Blackfeet Community College Department of Nursing ($50,000) is seeking national accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
4. The Great Plains Veterans Services Center ($50,000) is creating a sustainability plan to strengthen veterans’ support services.
5. Helena College ($100,000) is establishing an occupational therapy assistant training program to meet the growing demand for qualified professionals.
6. The Montana School Counselor Association ($50,000) is developing student behavioral health and crisis response resources for school counselors.

Read more about each project in our Grant Library. Our 2026 Call for Proposals will open on January 15, 2026.

Rural Health Small Grants

In 2025, we piloted our Rural Small Health Grants opportunity. This opportunity made it easier for small organizations in rural communities to seek funding and enabled us to fund many first-time grantees in small communities across the state.

We funded each project for up to $10,000.

1. Winnett ACES conducted a health care needs assessment in Winnett/Petroleum Counties and the communities of Grass Range and Sand Springs.
2. The Children’s Museum of Northeast Montana created an after-school program, offering a safe space and mentoring for kids while creating job opportunities.
3. The Lincoln County Unite for Youth Coalition planned an online hub to organize and provide easy access to info on activities and community resources.
4. The Fallon County Health Department provided free vision screening and optometry services in rural and frontier settings.
5. The Blackfeet Tobacco Prevention Program introduced smoking cessation as part of a program honoring the cultural importance of traditional tobacco.
6. Liberty Place implemented low-cost interventions to improve the health and well-being of brain injury survivors.
7. The Wibaux County Health Department created a community garden.
8. Two Rivers Economic Growth, Inc. supported the CNA Pathway Project, a collaborative initiative to address the shortage of CNAs in Valley County.
9. The Red Ants Pants Foundation supported a retreat and quarterly meetings for the Women in Agricultural Communities Well-Being Program.
10. The Ravalli County Council on Aging repaired its commercial freezer at the Victor Senior Center.
11. The McCone County Health Center developed a Regional Virtual Health Occupations Students of America Chapter, connecting students with local health care organizations.
12. The Meagher County Health Department implemented an initiative to train county residents on CPR, basic first aid, and mental health response.
13. The Help Committee and the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line implemented a national program designed to help rural areas build community and effect positive change.

We also funded several projects from this open call that better fit our initiatives, including scratch cooking in schools, improving childcare availability, enhancing food pantry services, and conducting community needs assessments.

The next round of Rural Health Small Grants funding will open on March 2, 2026.

As we begin 2026, we look forward to continuing to support partners across the state and building on the accomplishments of 2025.