Gianforte Family Foundation Gives $1.4 Million to Flathead Valley Organizations
Local recipients of last year's charitable gifts included the Flathead Warming Center, which the foundation has supported since 2019
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Since Greg and Susan Gianforte established the Gianforte Family Foundation in 2004, the foundation has donated more than $147 million to nonprofit organizations, with $112 million going to Montana-based initiatives.
Last year, the foundation gave a new annual record of $16 million. Approximately $1.4 million went to organizations around Flathead Valley.
“Our focus is on strengthening Montana through partner organizations that work with individuals, families, and communities to improve lives,” the foundation’s executive director, Catherine Koenen, said in a prepared statement. “This includes rescue missions and shelters, recovery programs, scholarships and youth education programs, and programs aimed at strengthening families and marriages.”
Kalispell organizations included Stillwater Christian School, Rooted Families, Heritage Academy, Code Girls United, Hope Pregnancy Ministries, True North 406, Alano Club of Kalispell, Braveheart Chaplain Ministry, West Valley School, Gateway of Hope, Grace Church, Smith Valley School and Flathead Warming Center.
Though the warming center didn’t receive the largest amount — the Rooted Families grant topped last year’s list at $176,250 — the foundation has donated funds to the low-barrier shelter since its inception in 2019. In 2020, the foundation granted the warming center $100,000 to help establish a permanent location.
Tonya Horn, the center’s executive director, said that last year’s donation of $40,000 helped staff expand the roadmap program that sets people up with individualized plans mapping a way out of homelessness.
“While the family is that of our governor, their philanthropy has never been political, only deeply committed to strengthening Montana communities,” Horn said in an email to the Beacon. “What I’ve appreciated most is that the Foundation doesn’t just write checks; they equip their grantees to be resilient and successful, offering everything from support calls, an online library of tools, to comprehensive board development programs.”