Our Impact
Our Mission
Humanities Montana serves Montana’s multicultural communities through stories and conversation. We offer experiences that nurture imagination and ideas by speaking to Montanans’ diverse history, literature, and philosophy.
Our Vision
To achieve our goal, Humanities Montana —
- provides programs that tell our diverse stories
- facilitates conversations about the most pressing issues
- supports Montana’s cultural institutions through partnerships
- offers humanities such as history, literature, and philosophy to nurture memory, imagination, and ideas
2025
- 52 Programs hosted statewide
- 2,481 nParticipants in Montana Conversations programs
- 56% Programs hosted in rural communities
- 37% Programs hosted in urban communities
- 8% Programs designed for statewide audiences
2025
- 56 School visits conducted statewide
- 5,418 Students served through Speakers in the Schools presentations
- 75% Programs hosted in rural communities
- 23% Programs hosted in urban communities
- 23% Programs hosted in American Indian communities
2025
- 5 Big Sky Reads grants awarded to public libraries
- 4 Public Humanities Fellowships awarded to individual scholars
- 16 Community Project Grants awarded statewide
- $2,500 Awarded through Big Sky Reads grants to public libraries
- $16,000 Awarded through Public Humanities Fellowships to individual scholars
- $52,166 Awarded through Community Project Grants and special initiative grants statewide
- $70,666 Total Awarded through Humanities Montana grantmaking programs during FY25
2025 Locations
Full Program Sites (blue)
- Columbia Falls High School
- Gallatin High School (Bozeman)
- Geraldine Branch Library
- Miles City Public Library
- Wibaux High School
- Mc Cone County Public Library (Circle)
- Rosebud County Public Library (Forsyth)
Soft Launch Sites (green)
- Eureka Branch Library
- Medicine Spring Library (Browning)
- Lewis and Clark Library (Helena)
- Boulder Community Library
- Plenty Coups High School (Pryor)
- Stillwater County Library (Columbus)
2025
- 22+ Book clubs hosted statewide
- 700+ Audiobook listens
- 200+ Books distributed statewide
- 5 Circulating book club kits created for libraries and community groups
Strengthen communities, inspire ideas, and deepen mutual understanding.
Humanities Montana is Montana’s state humanities council. Established in 1972, we are one of fifty-six councils across the nation that the National Endowment for the Humanities created in order to better infuse the humanities directly and effectively into public life.
For over 50 years, Humanities Montana has helped strengthen communities through partnerships that reach into every corner of our state. We produce, fund, create, and support humanities-based projects and programs, eye-opening cultural experiences, and meaningful conversations. We connect people, inspire ideas, and deepen mutual understanding.