montana audubon - endowments
Wildlife and bird conservation work will always be needed—and Montana Audubon wants to ensure that this work will always get done in the State of Montana. As a result, Montana Audubon has set up several permanent endowments to support its science, research, education, and policy programs. This constant source of funding will help sustain our mission into the future.
You may perpetuate your gift to Montana Audubon by donating to one or more of our endowments. A valuable feature of Montana Audubon’s endowments is that gifts are permanent. That is, once money is placed in an endowment, only the investment income from the contribution is used. Therefore, the original gift is never depleted, but continues to give, over and over again, year after year.
Donations to Montana Audubon’s endowments can be done through a variety of tools, from writing a check to putting your donation in your will. For more information about giving to our endowments, contact Steve Hoffman, Executive Director, or e-mail shoffman@mtaudubon.org. Thanks for your help and support!
Our endowment choices include:
Montana Audubon Endowment Fund
Our Montana Audubon Endowment Fund support’s the organizations general operations—so all of our programs benefit—including
- Protecting Important Bird Areas;
- Monitoring species of conservation concern;
- Helping Montana’s Audubon chapter with conservation projects;
- Influencing decision makers about key legislation that impacts wildlife; and
- Educating schoolchildren about the importance of wildlife and their habitats.
In accordance with the Board decision, the interest/dividend income can support the organization’s mission of bird and habitat conservation.
Public Policy Endowment
Montana Audubon, which largely solidified as an organization because of its Advocacy and Public Policy work, took a step in June 2007 to secure the long-term stability of this program by creating a new permanent endowment fund: the Janet H. Ellis Public Policy Endowment. The purpose of this endowment is to support the organization’s Public Policy program—which strives to protect birds, wildlife, and habitat through influencing decision makers. This endowment is invested with D.A. Davidson; only the interest/dividend income from the endowment can be accessed and spent each year to support the organization’s advocacy work.
Bill Kitterman Audubon Endowment Fund
This endowment, located at the Montana Community Foundation, is a permanent endowment dedicated to supporting Audubon’s Montana Bird Distribution program. For more information about making contributions to this fund, contact Steve Hoffman at Montana Audubon, P.O. Box 595, Helena, MT 59601, (406) 443-3949; or the Montana Community Foundation, 101 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 211, Helena, MT 59601, (406) 443-8313.
Donating to Montana Audubon’s Endowments in your Will
If you decide to name one of Montana Audubon’s endowments in your will, please name the endowment, and designate “Montana Audubon, a Montana non-profit corporation.” It is very important that “Montana Audubon” is clearly stated in the designation. When a bequest is left to “Audubon,” there is often confusion because there are many Audubon chapters.
We encourage you to consider donating to one of our endowments to help make Montana Audubon an even stronger, more stable institution going forward. Endowment gifts are ones that last in perpetuity.