SLCF Summary

At its heart, our role is to be a convener. We gather and grow resources for Seeley Lake, MT.

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Purpose and Vision Statement

Our purpose is to steward local resources (money, relationships, and knowledge) to support the well-being and long--term success of our community.

Our vision is an engaged community and nonprofit sector with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advocate for and address areas of shared concern.

Mission and EIN

Seeley Lake Community Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit that engages philanthropy, provides leadership, and enhances the quality of life and economic vitality of the Seeley Lake area.

Our Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 31-1711576

Impact

Over $2 million distributed for projects benefiting the Seeley Lake area since our organization started in 2000.

This includes over $200,000 distributed in 2026 alone, to community priorities through the Change Your Pace Challenge, to local nonprofit projects through SLCF Community Grants, and to local schools through our Glass Recycling partnership.

The Foundation Building in downtown Seeley Lake acts as a community hub, with services offered like the I Ride medical appointment shuttle, monthly Coffee & Computers tech support events, Missoula County treasurer offerings, a Rural Resource Specialist to help people age in place through nonprofit Missoula Aging Services, a summer market, and over 400 events/trainings/classes/workshops offered by SLCF and local groups since 2019.

The result includes increased collaboration, increased community engagement, stronger local nonprofits, and more resources for this special little place.

The community benefits by having an increase in quality of life, more community amenities, and on-the-ground staff who are able to help elevate this community's rural voice and “connect the dots” to bring funding and resources into unincorporated Seeley Lake.

Donors and Supporters

Almost 1,000 people a year give through the Seeley Lake Community Foundation. (That is pretty good considering our year-round population is about 1,500!)

Our donors are the individuals, families, and businesses who love the Seeley Lake area. Donors range from people of modest means to those with substantial financial resources, but all share a love of this special place, nestled between exquisite mountains and along a string of incredible lakes.

Our donors are people who wish to make a difference in the lives of others and support their local community. They recognize that an organization like a Community Foundation can be an incredible mechanism to transform their dollars into community-wide impact, especially in a small, unincorporated rural community like ours. Donate today!

We typically have at least 50 volunteers help support SLCF each year, from serving as drivers for I Ride, to helping solve household tech questions for Coffee and Computers, to helping with the banquet - our biggest fundraiser of the year, held on the 2nd Sunday in August - to serving on our board of directors, to helping with mailings and back-end office support, and more. Fill out our volunteer intake form to start getting involved.

How SLCF is different from other nonprofit organizations

Learn more about Community Foundations and how they’re different from most 501c3 nonprofits.

One of our major functions is to operate as a savings account for the entire community’s benefit.

We collect gifts of cash, assets, and property, and pool these gifts for the future betterment of our community. Some of these funds are put into a permanently restricted endowment fund which earns interest. The interest is used for community projects each year, but the main pot of money (or ‘principal’) of the endowment is left alone and invested, generating income for generations to come to meet a wide range of community interests and needs. SLCF works with the Montana Community Foundation to invest and administer these endowment funds.

Awards and Items of Note

We were proud to be awarded Outstanding Foundation for Philanthropy Day 2021 by the Missoula Nonprofit Center.

In 2026, SLCF staff became a Rural Ambassador for the Montana Nonprofit Association to provide local capacity building support within our community.

History

Seeley Lake Community Foundation was founded in 2000 by a handful of local residents who wanted to give back to their community. What started from a single, $250 donation has now grown into an endowment of more than half a million dollars, dedicated to the community of Seeley Lake.

A handful of community leaders, including three local small business owners, an economist, a teacher and the manager of the sawmill came together with an idea that was both simple and audacious: create a community foundation that would attract and invest funds in improving the quality of life in Seeley Lake, Montana.

See our Grantmaking Impact page for highlights from the first 20 years of the SLCF Community Grant program.

Read this great article 20 year lookback article by the Seeley-Swan Pathfinder: “Building a legacy of service and philanthropy”, January 7, 2021.

A group of community members sent in a check for $250 to form the Seeley Lake Community Foundation, with the goal of raising a permanent endowment that can be used to fund community projects in future years. Founding board members: Seated are Larry Marx, Stan Nicholson, Anita Richards, Mark Williams. Standing are Mary Ann Morin, John Hebnes, and Sally Johnson. Photo credit: Seeley-Swan Pathfinder

In 2025 we commemorated our 25 year anniversary with a fun piece of artwork made by a local high school student to reflect our beginnings. SLCF board and staff are pictured, along with some of the founding board members and their families.