News Releases

PPL Montana’s Community Fund is awarding grants to 18 nonprofit community organizations across the state this spring, bringing the total amount of company support to more than $1.5 million since the program began in 2005.

“PPL Montana’s Community Fund has strengthened the company’s partnerships with communities from Deer Lodge to Three Forks and Butte to Sidney,” said Lisa Perry, manager of Community Affairs for PPL Montana. “It’s our way of saying thanks and making a difference in our home state.”

Through the grant program, PPL Montana has helped more than 230 organizations that share the company’s commitment to education, environmental responsibility and economic development.

Grants this spring will provide funds for a wide range of programs and initiatives, including a sustainable business program for young entrepreneurs, summer recreation activities and watershed awareness. 

“Every dollar we contribute through our Community Fund enhances the quality of life across Montana,” Perry said. “We know the names, needs and faces behind each of these grants, which provide direct benefits to specific projects in towns across the state.”

Twice a year, the PPL Montana Community Fund Advisory Board awards $100,000 in grants to schools and nonprofit organizations for programs that address quality-of-life issues. The grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 each. The fund’s advisory board is made up of 18 people from the company and community who review grant applications from across the state. Individuals serve two years on the board.

The spring 2012 PPL Montana Community Fund grant recipients are:

Butte Center for Performing Arts, Butte, $5,000 — to purchase a new lighting system for the center, enhancing the shows seen by more than 35,000 people a year in the restored theater.

Great Falls Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorder Clinic, Great Falls, $10,000 — to provide speech and language therapy to preschool children at no cost to the family.

Living Water Community Church, Billings, $10,000 — to expand its annual community Bike Clinic — which includes workshops on fixing flats, safety and demonstrations by local police and fire departments — to four parks in Billings.

Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, $10,000 — to renovate facilities and upgrade equipment in the Taylor Planetarium, which has welcomed more than 2 million visitors since it opened in 1989.

Rialto Community Theatre, Deer Lodge, $6,850 — to purchase a fire curtain between the stage and the auditorium, part of the improvement being made to the Powell County landmark, which was damaged by fire in 2006.

Richland Opportunities, Sidney, $10,000 — to help build a loading dock to load recyclables and improve safety. Richland Opportunities provides residential, vocational and transportation services to individuals with developmental disabilities who operate a recycling center as a service to Richland County.
 
Rocky Mountain Youth, Helena, $5,000 — to support the Independent Living Training program, which helps prepare at-risk youth for adulthood.
 
S.A.V.A.G.E. Inc., Savage, $6,000 — to help install handicapped accessible escape routes for assisted living residents and seniors.

Sanders County Community Development Corp., Thompson Falls, $5,250 — to complete a one-mile pedestrian trail along Highway 200, a first step in linking downtown Thompson Falls to Thompson Falls State Park.

Billings Preservation Society/Moss Mansion, Billings, $5,000 — to help update the old security system in the historic mansion, a major tourist draw in Billings.

Center for Children and Families, Billings, $2,100 — to help develop a social and academic training program for children, parents and teachers as a before- and after-school program.
 
Eugene Herman Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorder Clinic, Billings, $10,000 — to support speech, language, occupational and physical therapy for children in need.  
 
Watershed Education Network, Missoula, $9,000 — to support the organization’s mission of fostering knowledge, appreciation and awareness of watershed health through science and outreach, and provide a strong connection between the rivers and the people who live near them.

YWCA of Helena, $10,000 — to help expand the Women Initiating New Growth and Stability, a transitional housing program that provides housing, case management, referral to services, classes and individualized supportive services.

Three Forks Youth Recreation Task Force, Three Forks, $5,000 — to provide a variety of staff-supervised indoor and outdoor summer activities for children.

Western Sustainability Exchange, Livingston, $6,500 — to support the Young Entrepreneur Stewardship summer program, which teaches children business fundamentals, sustainable business practices and how to be good stewards. This summer program will focus on selling products at the Livingston Farmers Market.

Wildhorse Sports Association, Plains, $10,000 — to help build an outdoor sport facility at the old Sanders County airport to accommodate teams of all ages for baseball, soccer and youth football.

Writing Coaches of Missoula, Missoula, $5,000 — to help defray coordinating and training costs for volunteer coaches who meet one-on-one with students in Missoula County schools and help them learn, think and write more clearly.

PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).