News Releases

PPL Montana’s Community Fund announced Thursday (5/30) that it will award a combined $100,000 in grants this spring to 13 nonprofit organizations across the state to support programs that help those in need, strengthen local communities and preserve the region’s rich heritage.

The new round of grants raises to more than $1.7 million the amount PPL Montana’s Community Fund has contributed to local organizations over the past nine years.

“At PPL Montana, we take great pride in our state, in its people, and in its beauty and history,” said Lisa Perry, manager of Community Affairs for PPL Montana. “We’re pleased to be able to give back in a way that strengthens the communities we call home.”

The Community Fund awards $100,000 in grants each spring and fall. Grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 and support programs that improve the quality of life in the state. Grant recipients are selected by an advisory board that includes 18 individuals from the company and local communities. Recipients are chosen from among dozens of grant applications.

This spring’s grant recipients are:

Billings Public Schools BackPack Meals Program, Billings, $5,000 – to provide nutritious meals on weekends and holidays to low-income students.

Boulder Elementary School, Boulder, $10,000 – to support the school’s 21st Century Summer Program, which provides programming for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Evelyn Cameron Heritage Center, Terry, $10,000 – to develop a new façade at the Evelyn Cameron Heritage Center, which will display historic photographs and support efforts to attract visitors to Terry.

Foothills Community Christian School, Great Falls, $7,500 – to support a “Scan the Trail” project that enables hikers with smart phones to scan barcodes at points along on the River’s Edge Trail and access videos, stories and facts about the area.

Friends of Musselshell School, Musselshell, $10,000 – to help replace second-story windows in this nonprofit community center, built in 1913.

Havre Chamber of Commerce, Havre, $1,000 – to support Leadership High School, a six-month program provided by the chamber to help students develop community and leadership skills.

Montana Natural History Center, Missoula, $5,000 – to support new technology for a science classroom and lab that has the capability to videoconference with 85 schools across Montana.

National Affordable Housing Network, Butte, $7,500 – to support programs that offer assistance to households with disabled individuals.

Sanders County Community Development Corp., Thompson Falls, $5,500 – to help fund design and construction of a trail that will connect downtown Thompson Falls to Thompson Falls State Park on the Clark Fork River.

Schoolhouse History and Art Center, Colstrip, $8,500 – to support efforts to restore this structure, built in 1924. The center’s ultimate goal is to raise $130,000.

Snowy Mountain Industries, Lewistown, $10,000 – to support SMI’s fundraising target of $1.7 million for renovation of a facility to accommodate a recycling center and workshop that meets the needs of adults with developmental disabilities.

Special K Ranch, Columbus, $10,000 – to help fund the addition of a hydroponic produce complex. The ranch operates a large horticultural program and provides family-oriented homes for adults with developmental disabilities.

YWCA of Helena, Helena, $10,000 – to expand participation in the Women Initiating New Growth and Stability program, a transitional housing program that offers services to homeless women and their children.

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric power plants along Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of about 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). More information about PPL Montana is available at www.pplmontana.com.