A new home in 2019

The new Seeley Lake Community Foundation Building, (“the Foundation Building”) is located in the former Deer Country Quilts building, at 3150 MT Highway 83 N.

Thanks for joining us for our grand opening and ribbon cutting on June 15th, 2019. Come stop by to explore the beautiful interior craftsmanship accomplished last spring, and to help us dream about the potential for what this invigorating new space can mean for Seeley Lake.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see a photo journey of this project so far!

Grizzly Jack

Have you seen the new frontiersman statue donated as a centerpiece to Seeley Lake in front of the building?!

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation received the 17-foot bronze statue of a mountain man on horseback by artist Alan Derber as a donation organized by local philanthropists Kirk and Tammy Gladwin. Thank you for this beautiful piece of artwork!

The vision

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is creating a community space in the heart of downtown Seeley Lake. In December 2018, SLCF acquired a beautiful 3,700 square-foot log building on a half-acre lot along Highway 83. We are in the process of turning the space into a hub for community activities and a centralized location for residents and visitors to access important services.

Our vision for this building is to create an exciting and inspiring local space where nonprofits are united to meet the common economic, social, cultural, and educational needs and aspirations of Seeley Lake, Montana.

This project will help organizations come together to achieve more than they can on their own, and bring our small rural community together with shared spaces for nonprofits, a visitor center, and a place for workshops and art displays. It will create new community infrastructure, providing needed services in one beautiful, multi-functional space.

The Potential

Although we are only an hour from Missoula, accessing the multitude of services available there is challenging for many residents, especially the low-income and the elderly. What if more Missoula nonprofits had a hub to provide satellite services to clients in a beautiful log building in downtown Seeley Lake? What if we could bring world-class educational activities into the beautiful space? What if we fostered a home for new community dreams to be born, right in the heart of downtown? The possibilities are huge for what this project could mean for this small rural town.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation exists to support local nonprofit organizations, and connect and grow resources for the Seeley Lake area. Our investment in this building is a wonderful opportunity for SLCF to create a beautiful, multi-functional space to enhance the quality of life and sense of community of Seeley Lake, MT. This building will help Seeley Lake residents face the unique challenges of rural living and help build a healthy, successful, and sustainable community.

The Seeley Lake Regional Plan notes: “The community recognizes that growth in the downtown portion of the Plan Area has the potential to revitalize the community, increase the economic opportunities available to residents, allow for increased density, and provide expanded services.” A centrally located community space in Seeley Lake, MT, has incredible potential for making a difference here.

Right along the bike path, in a community without a central downtown, this half-acre property has so much potential for increasing livability, connectivity, and a sense of community for this rural, unincorporated town.

The Plan

In the spring of 2019, the building interior was remodeled, transitioning the open-floor plan retail space into comfortable office spaces and collaborative workspaces, including offices for nonprofits that provide important services to residents and visitors, an upstairs conference room, and a west wing available for use as meeting space, classroom and workshop use. The new Seeley Lake Community Foundation Building became one of the first structures connected to high-speed fiber internet in Seeley Lake!

On the property, the SLCF began hosting the weekly Seeley Lake Sunday Market throughout the summer, continuing the tradition of providing healthy and sustainable socializing and purchasing options for local residents and visitors.

In addition, you’ll see the iRide vans parked outside the new SLCF Building when they’re not shuttling residents to important medical appointments.

How can you help?

In combination with a substantial donation from the previous owners of almost half of the value of the building, SLCF purchased the property in December 2018. Fundraising began at the 2018 SLCF banquet in August. Through a combination of rent, grants and community support, we hope to make this a sustainable project, benefitting the Seeley Lake community for decades to come.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far to creating a new home for the Seeley Lake Community Foundation!

If this project intrigues you, please contact SLCF Executive Director Claire Muller to discuss ways you can help. We're excited for what this beautiful space can mean for the Seeley Lake area.

Thank you to these SLCF Building Contributors!

Blackfoot, Lee and Judy Boman, Shirley Calhoun, Citizens Alliance Bank, Deer Country Quilts, John and Sherry Fulton, Kirk and Tammy Gladwin, Pat and Joelene Goodover, Boyd and Helen Gossard, Kris and Erik Gullikson, The High Stakes Foundation, Suzie and Mike Holzer, Jim and Cathy Heitel, Ken and Joyce Jensen, Carey Kanavel, Scott Kennedy, Dave and Nadine Lipson, Bill and Jan Lombardi, Addrien Marx and Jim McLean, Missoula Aging Services, Margaret Muller, Stan and Colleen Nicholson, Al and Donna Rios, Kimberly See, The Treacy Foundation, Klaus and Beate von Stutterheim, Richard and Carol Weidner, Kevin Wetherell, Annie Zurmuehlen