United Way of Yellowstone County Awards $300,000 in Grant to Local Organizations

The United Way of Yellowstone County awarded $300,000 in grants to local charities and nonprofits in the area.

The funds were granted to organizations that work towards stabilization for high-risk people of all ages in Yellowstone County.

The funding is being allocated to programs operated by 14 different organizations who help combat poverty and provide better access to education and mental health resources.

Kim Lewis, the CEO of United Way of Yellowstone County said that the process of selecting grant recipients was challenging as the need for funding is great in our community.

“It’s always difficult to do because the need is so great and quite frankly, we love all our partners. I am very grateful, and we are fortunate to have about 30 people that serve on our grant evaluation committee to help us decide where to make the best community investment,” added Lewis.

Moreover, Nina Hernandez, the Executive Director of Friends of the Children, one of the grant money recipients, said that the money will help boost their professional mentoring program to support youth educational goals.

“Our goal is to select children with the most barriers, mentor them one-on-one in a very intensive wonderful way and get them graduating from high school. I am so excited to be funded so that we can continue serving children and be a part of a great collaboration that the United Way puts together,” emphasized Hernandez.

United Way also said that this year, they were able to distribute $75,000 more compared to 2023. They credit this increase to their annual Workplace Giving Campaign during which local businesses come together to raise funds to help the most vulnerable people in our community.