Playground grants in Montana

In Great Falls, the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation offers the Community Collaboration Grant of up to $10,000. Educators in the district apply, and the project must involve collaboration across classrooms, grade levels, schools or subjects and use community resources. A playground or outdoor learning space would need to be planned by a team of teachers working with community partners. Applications are taken once a year, over the winter.

In western Montana, schools in the Missoula Electric Cooperative service area can apply to MEC Operation Round Up, which supports youth, education and community development. Requests are reviewed every quarter, and each organization can receive only one donation per year, so put your whole playground need into a single request. See our playgrounds for schools.

Sometimes, but many Montana funders limit it. The Anaconda Community Foundation does not accept applications from religious organizations. The Blaine County Fund of the Montana Community Foundation will not pay for sectarian activities, so a church project there would need to serve the wider community.

Walmart Spark Good Local Grants accept faith-based organizations, with awards of $250 to $5,000. The project must benefit the broader community and serve the same area as the Walmart store, Sam's Club or distribution center you apply to. There are three application cycles a year, but a funded group cannot reapply to the same store in the same fiscal year. See our church playground equipment.

Usually not directly. The Montana LWCF Recreation Grants from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks name playgrounds as an eligible project, but only state, tribal and local governments can apply. A neighborhood group would need its town, county or tribe to apply, and the playground must be a public outdoor recreation area.

Local foundations in Montana also tend to require 501(c)(3) status or government standing. The Anaconda Community Foundation, for example, accepts only tax-exempt nonprofits, public agencies and units of government in Anaconda and Deer Lodge County, so an HOA without nonprofit status would need a qualifying partner. See our playgrounds for HOAs.

The main state program is the Montana LWCF Recreation Grants, run by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It funds creating or developing public outdoor recreation areas, and playgrounds, public parks, picnic facilities and walking trails are all named as eligible. State, tribal and local governments apply, and the grant requires a 50% non-federal match.

Smaller county funds can add to that. The Blaine County Fund of the Montana Community Foundation gives $500 to $2,000 to nonprofits and exempt governmental units for lasting projects that directly benefit Blaine County residents. The applicant does not need to be based in Blaine County, and each organization may submit only one application. See our playgrounds for parks.

Possibly, through the USDA Community Facilities program from USDA Rural Development. It funds building or improving essential community facilities, including child care centers, and buying equipment, for public bodies, community-based nonprofits and tribes in areas of 20,000 people or fewer. Playgrounds are not named, so the playground should be presented as part of improving the child care facility.

The grant covers only part of the cost: up to 75% in low-income towns of 5,000 or fewer, 55% in places up to 12,000, and 35% or 15% up to 20,000. Low-interest loans can cover the rest, and you must show you cannot pay for the project from your own resources or commercial credit. Applications are accepted year round. See our playgrounds for daycares.