2026 Grant Awards
Statewide Organizations
Montana Broadcasters Association—$40,000
The Greater Montana Foundation E.B. Awards continue to encourage excellence in Broadcasting by Montana Radio and Television Stations throughout the State. We honor Stations with the E.B. Trophy and Plaque in honor of Ed Craney, a legendary Montana Broadcaster and the Founder of The Greater Montana Foundation. We present the Awards at the Montana Broadcasting Association Annual Convention and EB Awards Banquet.
Montana PBS—$45,000
The Friends of Montana PBS Program Fund allows Montana PBS to produce high-quality news and public affairs programs on timely and complex issues in our communities. Montana PBS historical and cultural programs explore our region’s rich history, highlighting remarkable individuals, past and present, as well as their accomplishments which continue to shape our amazing state. Viewers rely upon Montana PBS to provide a balance of programming that enriches their lives, offers a hopeful view of the future and provides context to understand the world we live in.
Montana Public Radio—$30,000
Montana Public Radio enriches the mind and spirit, inspires a lifetime of learning and connects communities through exceptional programming. This grant supports various radio, online and streaming programming including statewide news and analysis, economic and legislative reporting, MTPR’s weekly literary program, The Write Question, The Big Why, a program that seeks to answer questions from the Big Sky, and a wide variety of information and cultural programming that represents the unique character of Montana.
Arlee
Living Lands Project—$10,000
Journey to the Sun is a feature-length documentary that explores the history, Indigenous roots, engineering, and stewardship of Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road. Through the voices of Tribal elders, historians, park employees, scientists, and local communities, the film examines how one road reflects Montana's past while inspiring future generations to care for the landscapes and cultures that define our state.
Billings
The Friends of the Montana Constitution—$10,000
This project focuses on the key rights, privileges, and protections within the Montana Constitution that have led to its recognition as the best state Constitution in America. For the second year of this project, we intend to produce an additional spots with 5 new constitutional provisions. Support from the Greater Montana Foundation will be used to purchase airtime for all currently and newly produced spots.
Bozeman area
Lone Peak Film Institute—$25,000
Our fellowship program is an educational, mentorship-centered program for early stage Montana-based filmmakers. The program is designed to give filmmakers as much insight & perspective as possible, with the ultimate goal of advancing specific individual projects. We are not directly producing the films for them, but rather offering them different types of resources and guidance that help them to advance their own projects, foster career sustainability, encourage self-driven initiative and build resilience.
Montana State University—$8,000
Icy Dirt (temporary title) is a film project following a team of Montana State University researchers as they document changes in permafrost outside Fairbanks, Alaska. Permafrost, or continuously frozen ground, is a part of the landscape in high-latitude Arctic regions. As our Earth warms, permafrost is melting, leading to dramatic changes in Arctic landscapes that has repercussions for Arctic residents and global carbon dioxide levels. The MSU team, an all-woman group of scientists, is tracking these changes to help everyone understand how they will affect society.
Reframing Rural—$10,000
Reframing Rural’s fifth podcast season, “Rural Motherhood,” will explore the stressors and solutions mothers in rural Montana experience today, from maternal healthcare and childcare deserts, to farm stress and maternal mental health.
The End of Snow—$10,000
The End of Snow is a quintessential Montana family and conservation story, true and timely. It chronicles the early lives and influences of park professionals and their families living in Yellowstone year-round 1938-1951. These stories help people empathize with the common residents and value the preservation of what makes this place so precious: the wildlife, ecosystems and people who have spent generations protecting it.
The Extreme History Project—$30,000
Episode 4 of The Story of Us: The Women Who Shaped Montana celebrates three remarkable women whose courage, creativity, and determination helped shape Montana's history in extraordinary ways. Through the stories of Mary Fields, Frances Senska, and Susan Quinn Haughian, the film explores how one woman broke barriers on the frontier, another transformed the world of ceramics through innovative teaching, and a third defied expectations by becoming the owner of one of Montana's largest cattle ranches at a time when few women held such positions of leadership. Together, their legacies reveal the many ways women have strengthened Montana.
The Montana Sessions—$30,000
The Montana Sessions is a multiple Emmy-winning live music series that features some of Montana's top musicians performing in breathtaking landscapes across our beloved home state. In the past decade, our award-winning local crew has worked through the Montana snow, rain, high winds and more to capture these live performances cinematically, giving the global audience an authentic Montanan experience both through their eyes and ears. Our premium, cinema-grade equipment packages masterfully capture 2-3 songs per artist and utilize the best performances from each for distribution.
Columbia Falls
Columbia Falls Historical Society—$10,000
Voices from the Headwaters: Histories of the Upper Flathead is a documentary oral history series created by the Columbia Falls Historical Society to preserve and share the lived experience of people who shaped the communities of the Upper Flathead Valley. Through personal memories and firsthand accounts from longtime residents of Columbia Falls, Montana and the surrounding Flathead River region extending to Glacier National Park, the series captures stories that might otherwise fade with time.
Hamilton
MAPS Media Institute—$30,000
The MAPS - Northern Cheyenne Community Initiative marks the beginning of a long-anticipated partnership between MAPS and the Northern Cheyenne community, following a formal community invitation. Working alongside Northern Cheyenne youth, educators, and community members, MAPS will provide hands-on media arts education, mentorship, and collaborative storytelling while producing community-directed media that reflect local history, culture, and priorities. This initiative lays the foundation for a lasting partnership that strengthens creativity, workforce development, and community storytelling.
MAPS Fort Belknap Community Initiative—$30,000
For more than a decade, MAPS Media Institute has partnered with the Fort Belknap Indian Community to provide media arts education rooted in youth voice, cultural knowledge, and community storytelling. This Greater Montana Foundation grant supports the production of two community-based documentary films created by Aaniiih and Nakoda youth in collaboration with elders, families, and local partners. Through these films, students develop professional media skills while preserving culture, strengthening intergenerational relationships, and sharing stories that matter to communities across Montana.
Missoula
University of Montana School of Journalism—$10,500
This grant was awarded to the University of Montana J-School to support various student productions and internships. The School of Journalism faculty and students produce a variety of radio, television and online programming throughout the academic year. This could include the Legislative News Service, documentary film production, The Native News Honors Project Montana PBS News Brief, Business: Made in Montana, graduate student broadcast projects or other initiatives.
Shepherd
Ask In Earnest Rural Mental Health—$10,000
This project addresses mental health—particularly depression and suicide—among Montana's farmers and ranchers, a population disproportionately impacted by these challenges. Through two public service announcements, the project will reduce stigma surrounding mental health and equip viewers with simple, practical steps to recognize concern, intervene, and support someone who may be struggling. By encouraging action, these messages have the potential to save lives.
