Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Grants Over $800,000 to Montana Nonprofits

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Grants will support nurturing childhoods, thriving youth and infrastructure across Montana

LIVINGSTON, MONTANA – September 24, 2026 – In its latest round of grants, the AMB West Community Fund (the Fund), an associate-led giving committee of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, has committed $816,000 to nonprofits serving communities across Montana.

Established in 2001, the Fund has awarded more than $12.5 million in grants. The Fund comprises associates from Arthur M. Blank’s four ranches in Montana who visit nonprofit organizations and collectively recommend grants to enhance the quality of life for Montana residents, particularly in Park and Gallatin Counties and for Indigenous communities across the state. After assessing the landscape of existing programs and areas of need and opportunity through data and conversations with community stakeholders, the Fund identified priority areas for grantmaking in 2026: nurturing childhood, thriving youth and infrastructure.

“These grants reflect the deep connection our associates have to the communities where they live and work,” said Tawnya Rupe, senior director of Montana Philanthropy, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “By focusing on early childhood and helping young people thrive, we are supporting the foundation of a stronger future for families and communities across Montana.”

Grant Examples:

$225,000 to Arrowhead School to support on-site faculty housing and a childcare facility, addressing the shortage of affordable housing and absence of licensed childcare that have impacted staff recruitment and family stability in the Paradise Valley area. The grant will help fund three on-site housing units for school personnel and convert the current administrative residence into the area’s first licensed childcare facility, allowing families to live and work within the community while strengthening staff retention and enrollment stability.

$20,000 to HRDC to pilot the “Give Local” voluntary fee program in Park County, addressing a widening gap between local wages and the cost of housing. Since 2020, home prices in the county have increased 74% while wages have not kept in line, resulting in many families cutting back on childcare, food, healthcare and home repairs. HRDC will help launch a voluntary fee pilot in which local businesses can invite customers to contribute a small fee. Revenue raised will seed a flexible, locally controlled community fund to support affordable housing for Park County families.

A total of $160,000 to Helping Hands in Hardin, FAST Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne Food Pantry and Tepiniwew to strengthen food access across Montana’s reservations and tribal communities. Funding will support Helping Hands in Hardin as they design and plan a facility expansion in Big Horn and Rosebud Counties, enabling them to distribute food further into rural and reservation communities; FAST Blackfeet’s buffalo harvests, plant workshops and backyard gardens, which are paired with cultural knowledge on the Blackfeet Reservation; enhanced food distribution efforts by the Northern Cheyenne Food Pantry, which helps low-income residents across the reservation’s five rural districts; and Tepiniwew’s efforts to expand access to nutritious food on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.

The full 2026 AMB West Community Fund grant list is available on the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation website.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has a long history of investing in Montana communities, reflecting the chairman’s approach to leveraging the Blank Family of Businesses for good in the state. Previous grants and founder-led initiatives have helped support the construction of the Montana Historical Society’s Montana Heritage Center in Helena, the Gallatin College building at Montana State University in Bozeman, HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank, and, through the 4 Ranges Community Recreation Foundation, the Gateway Wellness Center in Livingston.

In addition to grantmaking, the foundation supports nonprofit and community programming on AMB West properties, including West Creek Ranch, the AMB West Hunting Program, AMB West Challenge Course and AMB West Basecamp. AMB West’s portfolio also includes Paradise Valley Ranch, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch and Auster at Dome Mountain, a new 6,278-acre, year-round lodge that invites guests and residents to experience Paradise Valley while preserving its natural beauty.

About the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is a philanthropy founded to help transform lives and communities by uniting people across differences to find common cause. Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted more than $1.7 billion to charitable causes. Our collective giving areas are Atlanta’s Westside, Democracy, Environment, Mental Health and Well-Being, and Youth Development. Across these areas, we take on tough challenges by uniting the courage and compassion of our communities so we can all thrive together.

In addition to the foundation’s priority areas of giving, the foundation oversees a large portfolio of grants and enduring founder-led initiatives, including veterans and the military; stuttering; and essential Atlanta nonprofit institutions, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Shepherd Center, among others. The foundation will also continue to guide the seven associate-led giving committees operating across the Blank Family of Businesses.  For more information, please visit www.blankfoundation.org.

For more information about AMB West, please visit http://www.ambwest.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Kaley Rouan – kaley.rouan@ambff.org

Elena Cizmaric – ecizmaric@ambwest.com

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