Applications for our 2025 Community Grants will be available in November 2024, and due January 31, 2025.

The SLCF awards grants of up to $3,000 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake, MT. Applications are due January 31st each year, and grant awards are usually announced by early March.

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A big thank you to the many people who love Seeley Lake, whose generosity makes support for these projects possible!

Want to see some highlights of what the SLCF Community Grant program has helped make happen over our first 20 years? Explore our Grantmaking Impact page. Scroll down for photos and stories from the last several years.

2024 Community Grants Recipients

Twelve groups awarded $32,200 in SLCF Community Grants.

3 more groups than budgeted heard a ‘yes’ this year, thanks to the generosity of Seeley Lakers!

Twelve grant requests were fully funded, for a total of $32,200 awarded for 2024 projects benefitting Seeley Lake.

Over $364,000 has been awarded through the SLCF Community Grant program since 2003, helping 41 groups accomplish projects benefitting Seeley Lake

Seeley Swan Food Bank

$3000 to purchase from local and Missoula vendors to help alleviate hunger in the greater Seeley, Swan and Ovando communities.

Pictured: Seeley Swan Community Food Bank board president Lulu Rodriguez, volunteer Tom Browder and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

Sela Senci - Think Young

$3000 to help the Meals on Wheels program ensure those without means have convenient meals at least once per day.

Pictured: Sela Senci President and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Scenic Montana Trails

$3000 for fat-bike winter grooming equipment. The popularity of fat-tire bicycles has rapidly grown in northwestern Montana. These funds will allow Scenic Montana Trails to purchase locally-made snow grooming equipment to create fat-bike specific winter trails in the Hill-16, Clearwater Lake Loop and Horseshoe Hills portions of SMT’s current grooming areas.

Pictured: Scenic Montana Trails VP for Mtn Bike Cathy Kahnle, board member Bruce Friede and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

SLE Parent Teacher Club

$3000 for playground equipment. The SLE Parent Teacher Club will add to the new playground at Seeley Lake Elementary with monkey bars, a fire pole and pull-up bars.

Pictured: SLE Parent Teacher Club president Michelle Dunn, secretary/treasurer Andi Bourne, board member Kayla Binder and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

Seeley Lake Historical Society

$1000 for a new sign at the Barn. These dollars will provide a new sign to improve visibility of the whole Seeley Lake Historical Society, Museum and Visitor Center campus on the southern end of town.

Pictured: Seeley Lake Historical Society secretary/treasurer Tom Browder and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Missoula Writing Collaborative

$3000 for two additional creative writing residencies at SLE. Missoula Writing Collaborative has been serving Seeley Lake schools with creative writing residencies for more than ten years. This grant will add two more professional writer residencies for the 2024-2025 school year (which was requested by local teachers!), helping students write clearly, effectively and bravely about their lives and with their imaginations.

Seeley Lake ROCKS!

$3000 for Placid Lake Trail Upgrade. Seeley Lake ROCKS! will bring a Montana Conservation Corps trail crew to upgrade 12 miles of trails on The Nature Conservancy (TNC) land north and east of Placid Lake, to encourage visitors to stay longer and local people to spend more time hiking or riding on these trails.

Pictured: Seeley Lake ROCKS board president Garry Swain and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

Animal Wonders

$1200 to provide five visits from a wildlife educator to the Seeley Lake Elementary 3rd grade, with a new animal ambassador for each lesson. Lessons will cover Montana State Life Science Standards.

Pictured: Animal Wonders Executive Director Jessi Knudsen Castaneda with Bubbles, a red footed tortoise and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director holding Cheerio, a chinchilla.

Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club

$3000 to construct a new, larger building at the Seeley Creek Trailhead for the secure storage of grooming equipment. The current structure will eventually be used by the after-school kids’ ski programs, making skiing more accessible and possible for families in Seeley Lake.

Pictured: Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club board treasurer Laurie Shammel.

Sparrow’s Vine

$3000 for activities for young families. Sparrow’s Vine will offer Story Time, Play Time and Meal Time to give young families an opportunity to learn more about working with their children and providing for their family nutritiously and emotionally.

Pictured: Sparrow’s Vine Executive Director Ruth Bergen and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

Alpine Artisans

$3000 to bring two professional performing groups to Seeley Lake: Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (community performance in August) and The Jazz Legacy Project (3-day residence in November).

Pictured: Alpine Artisans board president Tom Browder, board member Gene Schade and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

Clearwater Resource Council

$3000 for Seeley Lake Water Quality Monitoring. CRC staff will perform water quality monitoring on six local lakes.

Pictured: CRC board member Bette Orr and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation helps local groups fund important community projects. In this capacity, the SLCF strives to be a community resource and catalyst for innovative approaches to improving the quality of life in Seeley Lake, MT.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation board of directors awards annual grants with the aim of supporting projects with broad community benefits. The SLCF Community Grant Program funds local projects in the areas of: art & culture, community & economic development, basic human needs, education, and natural resources & conservation.

The SLCF awards grants of up to $3,000 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake, MT. Applications are due January 31st each year, and grant awards are usually announced by early March.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is a locally driven and locally supported 501c3 nonprofit that invests in the health and prosperity of the Seeley Lake community. 

Eligibility and Guidelines for the SLCF Community Grant Program

Eligibility Requirements 

Applicant organization must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or an exempt governmental unit, hospital, educational institution, etc.

If applicant organization is not tax-exempt, it must be sponsored, in writing, by a tax-exempt organization.

Applicant organization must be located in and/or provide services that directly benefit the community of Seeley Lake, Montana.


General Guidelines

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation will consider requests for special projects, ongoing programs, and one-time capital projects.

The SLCF will not consider the following types of requests: to benefit specific individuals; grants to endowment funds; loans, debt retirement; contributions to organizations whose policy or practice discriminates against race, ethnic origin, gender, religion, or sexual orientation when employing staff or providing services; contributions to sectarian or religious organizations whose principal activity is for the benefit of their own members or adherents.  

We see proposals from very small all-volunteer nonprofits to larger organizations with professional staff, all serving a broad cross-section of the community. Our board looks at each proposal holistically, but also within the context of the biggest needs of our community, and what other proposals we have received that year, and the biggest impact we can make with our limited grant-making budget.

What generally has a better chance of being funded:

  • Proposals with broad community impact, or that touch more than one of our 5 focus areas,

  • Projects that will use these grant dollars to leverage other sources of funding

  • Community partnerships

We encourage applicants to reach out to SLCF staff to discuss their project idea before going through all the work of creating a grant application!

Applications will be reviewed by the SLCF Board of Directors. The final consideration rests with the Seeley Lake Community Foundation in determining whether a grant proposal meets the scope and provisions as outlined in the grant application guidelines and process. Unsuccessful grant applicants are encouraged to apply again during future grant cycles and to seek input on how to better enhance future proposals.

Funding is ultimately contingent upon availability of funds within the Foundation’s annual budget; grant proposals may be partially or totally funded.

Download the 2024 SLCF Community Grant application here. The grant application typically looks pretty similar from year to year.

Projects receiving funding will need to submit a simple grant report, and 1-2 photos, by Jan 31 of the following year. Here is a typical grant report form.

Previously funded projects

Check out our Grantmaking Impact page to see some photos and highlights of what the SLCF Community Grant program has helped make happen over our first 20 years.

2023 Community Grants Recipients

Seeley Lake Lions Club

$2500 for Community Swimming Lessons. Grant extended to January 2025.

Pictured: Seeley Lake Lions Richard Westin and Gary Lewis, and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Seeley Lake Historical Museum & Visitor Center

$1250 for Enhancements to the meeting space at the historic Barn building

Pictured: SLHMVC board member Tom Browder and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Animal Wonders

$1200 for a five-week Wildlife Education Program

Pictured: Animal Wonders Staff Taylor Craig holding Zapper, a Alexandrian Parakeet and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director holding Quincho, a 3 banded armadillo.

Clearwater Resource Council

$2500 for Seeley Lake Water Quality Monitoring

Pictured: CRC board member Bette Orr and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Seeley Lake ROCKS!

$2100 for Placid Lake Trail & Seeley Lake Ice Rink Upgrades

Pictured: ROCKS board members Garry Swain and Jim Fulton, and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Alpine Artisans

$2500 for 2 Valleys Stage Community and School Performances

Pictured: Alpine Artisans board member Tom Browder and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Seeley-Swan High School

$2500 for expanding the mind - Field Trip Fund

Pictured: Shawn Holmes, SSHS Principal, Michelle Holmes, SSHS teacher and Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club

$5000 for general operating support

Pictured: Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Seeley Lake Historical Museum & Visitor Center

$2300 to SLHMVC for Winterfest

Pictured: SLHMVC board member Tom Browder and Ginger Williams, Winterfest coordinator.

Alpine Artisans

$812 for two high school students to attend a creative writing workshop.

2022 SLCF Community Grants were awarded to these projects benefitting Seeley Lake:

$2500 to Alpine Artisans to support two professional performing groups for 2 Valleys Stage: Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (community performance in August) and Fubuki Daiko (3 day residency in October - a community concert and workshops and concerts for 4 local schools: SLE, SSHS, Swan Valley, Potomac.)

$1000 to Animal Wonders for a 5-week Wildlife Education Program, serving the 3rd grade class at Seeley Lake Elementary. They will visit the class for five visits, bringing a different animal ambassador for each lesson, fulfilling the Montana State Life Science Standards.

$2000 to Clearwater Resource Council to purchase an electric motor and battery system for a recently purchased boat, to help with monitoring efforts for septic leachate in Seeley Lake.

$2500 to Montana Sled Dog, Inc to support the 2023 Race to the Sky dog sled race, a three-day dog-sledding event that brings teams, spectators and volunteers to Seeley Lake.

$1500 to the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitor Center to build an all-weather storage shed to provide a secure space for the portable Seeley Lake community stage.

$2500 to Seeley Lake ROCKS! for Placid Lake Trail improvements, including relocating and reconstructing 5,000 feet of the Lakeview – Tupper Lake interconnection and weed-spraying to control spotted knapweed and cheatgrass.

$1900 to Seeley-Swan High School to purchase a video camera and microphone for student-produced video projects, and to help start a new elective course, Intro to Videography, at SSHS.

$1120 to Sparrow’s Vine Parenting and Pregnancy Resource Center to fund monthly social time for parents to gather and build relationships, as well as host another community photo shoot.

2021 SLCF Community Grants were awarded to these projects benefitting Seeley Lake:

$1575 to Recycling Works to start a Rural Glass Recycling Project in Seeley Lake, with local glass drop-offs.

$2425 to Seeley Lake Elementary School to purchase Orff instruments that are built especially for children and are a basic component of strong music programs, allowing students learn concepts like rhythm, tempo, dynamics and pitch through singing and playing instruments at their own level.

$1000 to Clearwater Resource Council to help purchase a hydrolab, which will be used to analyze baseline data to track water quality trends over time in five lakes in the valley.

$500 to Loving Hearts to support remodeling projects in their busy thrift store, where proceeds support those in need in our community.

$500 to Sparrow’s Vine to fund a Free Family Photo project, providing a quality professional family photo for as many local families as possible.

$1000 to Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake to help with construction of a covered kiosk at the current Seeley Lake Memorial Garden. The structure will weather-protect veteran plaques, provide a venue for memorial ceremonies, and will be open to public and include improvements supporting access to those with disabilities.

$1500 to Seeley Lake ROCKS! to purchase a snow blower for the ice rink next to Seeley Lake Elementary.

$1500 to Alpine Artisans to support two free “Seeley Celebrates” community events, each featuring an outstanding Western author. These events will be an in-person celebration marking both the end of the pandemic and the Open Book Club's winning of the Montana Center for the Book Prize.

In 2020, we were proud to award funds to the following projects that benefit Seeley Lake:

$750 to Wild Skies Raptor Center to bring raptor programs to Seeley Lake

$1000 to Seeley Lake Historical Society to finish the roof of the Maloney Cabin

$2500 to Alpine Artisans for the Two Valleys Stage 2020-2021 Season

$2000 to Seeley Lake ROCKS for phase 2 of the Hill 16 Community Trails project

$750 to Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake towards renovation of the Veterans Memorial Site

$500 to Sparrow’s Vine for parenting curriculum updates

$2000 to Clearwater Resource Council for a middle-school summer science youth program

$500 to Seeley Swan High School towards publication of creative writing publication ‘Backroads of the Mind’ volume 5

In 2019 the Seeley Lake Community Foundation supported:

  • Alpine Artisans: to help fund Shakespeare in the Park and a 2 Valley Stage Arts Residency

  • Animal Wonders: to fund a five-week wildlife educational course for Seeley Lake Elementary

  • Clearwater Resource Council: to reclaim and redevelop a half-mile interpretive trail at Big Larch campground addressing lake and fire ecology

  • Missoula Aging Services: to support funding for the Seeley Lake Resource Specialist's position

  • Seeley Lake ROCKS: to help build the Hill-16 Community Trail System near Placid Lake

  • Seeley Swan High School: to support historical learning trips for the junior class to Butte & Missoula for inspiration for their "Backroads of the Mind" creative writing publication

In 2018 the Seeley Lake Community Foundation supported:

  • Repairing the heating system in the Seeley Lake Historical Museum & Visitors Center, a community meeting place and information center.

  • Circle of Security Parent Training at Seeley Lake Elementary to build healthy, secure parent-child relationships, benefiting children and caregivers in at-risk environments. 

  • Funds for grooming equipment to maintain cross-country ski trails and snowmobile trails, providing recreational opportunities and supporting economic development for our area. 

  • Producing the third volume of ‘Backroads of the Mind’ for Seeley-Swan High School’s Creative Writing Program. Students use their creative talents in journalism and art to produce a publication for the entire community to enjoy, while building individual skills and confidence.   

  • A Seeley Lake-based Resource Specialist for Missoula Aging Services, to help older adults and people with disabilities access services and stay independent without having to travel for their needs.

  • Music concerts for the community and local schools, bringing cultural events to our rural area and providing exposure to diverse types of music and instruments.

In 2017 the Seeley Lake Community Foundation supported:

  • Publication of a student creative writing project (Backroads of the Mind Vol. II).

  • Creation of video trailers promoting Seeley Lake tourism and the ‘In the Footsteps of Norman Maclean’ Festival.

  • Scholarships for two Seeley Lake students to attend the Montana Natural Resources Camp to share concepts of stewardship and sustainability.

  • Funding Phlight Academy for Seeley Lake middle school students to promote literacy and foster creativity.

  • Bringing in instructors for Blackfoot River Discovery Day to teach about ecosystem dynamics and human activity at Montana state standards for science and English.

In 2016 the Seeley Lake Community Foundation supported:

  • Completion of a community-based forest model study to inform long term outcomes for the Clearwater Blackfoot Project land west of Seeley Lake.

  • Expand and enhance advanced publicity for the Norman Maclean Festival 2017.

  • Support for a Community Resiliency Model enhancing the current model for Seeley Lake Elementary students to develop new skills to self regulate.

  • Batteries for community smoke alarms distributed by the Seeley Lake Rural Fire Department.

  • Improvements to Sullivan Memorial Hall enhancing the facility for broad community use.

  • Preserving our cultural resources by saving and moving a 100 year old log building

  • Provide funding for a mobile educational parenting/pregnancy unit.