May 2023

Dear WFM Supporters,

This Mother’s Day, we invite you to celebrate the women in your life who create a more just world for all women and girls through a gift to WFM in their honor.

When you support WFM, you are supporting exceptional organizations across our state that advance gender equity by improving access to capital for Indigenous entrepreneurs, protecting reproductive rights, and increasing women’s political participation- just to name a few ways WFM grantees are having an impact. From the Susan Wicklund Fund to the Mountain | Plains Regional Native CDFI Coalition to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, WFM funds organizations that are ensuring women and girls have the opportunities they need to realize their full potential. 

This Mother’s Day we are celebrating our community and partnerships through the artwork of Danielle Vazquez, a Montana-based artist and community organizer. Dani has created a piece of art that features strawberries, buttercups, and roses- plants traditionally used by Indigenous communities to support women’s health. She tells us this piece “serves as a reminder that before the onset of colonization, Indigenous women were regarded as the cornerstone of resilience and strength in their communities.”

 Learn more about the artwork here.

When you make a gift to WFM this Mother’s Day, we’ll send someone you love a card featuring Danielle Vazquez’s artwork and some Women’s Blend Tea from IndigiKitchen and FAST (Food Access and Sustainability Team) Blackfeet.

Sincerely,

The 68th Montana Legislative Session – What you need to know!

The 68th Montana Legislative Session adjourned on May 2, 2023. The workload of this Session was unprecedented in recent memory. Legislators requested 4,463 bill drafts and introduced over 1,600 of those drafts. As of April 25, 801 bills passed – and this does not count the last-minute flurry of the final legislative week.

Thanks to all who reached out to their legislators to hold them accountable or to thank them. Please feel free to reach out to your Representatives and Senators throughout the interim – they work for you even when the Legislature is not in Session.

Read the full update on WFM’s key legislative priorities here.

You’re invited to join Montana Community Foundation (MCF) and WFM in celebrating 35 years of serving Montana through philanthropy. This spring and summer we will be traveling the state to celebrate with you.

The Women’s Foundation of Montana is a program of MCF and we are excited to celebrate with them and you!

Glasgow – Thursday, May 18, 2023, Elks Lodge

Missoula – Wednesday, June 7, 2023, Highlander Beer – Missoula Brewing Co.

Polson – Thursday, July 13, 2023, Finley Point Grill

Billings – Thursday, July 27, 2023, Diamond X Beer Co.

Bozeman – Thursday, August 3, 2023, Dry Hills Distillery

Register for a celebration near you here.