Montana Public Health Institute

About Montana Public Health Institute

Montana Public Health Institute has centered its recent grantmaking on overdose education and naloxone distribution, with repeated awards to Montana regional hubs working to reduce opioid deaths. In 2025, the largest grants in the record went to One Health in Hardin, Lewis and Clark Public Health in Helena, and the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana in Great Falls, each funded under the same regional-hub approach. The pattern points to implementation support rather than broad, open-ended philanthropy: the foundation is funding local and tribal public health and behavioral health partners that can deliver services across Montana communities. Earlier awards in 2024 show the same structure at a consistent $74,000 level for pilot regional-hub work, including grants to Flathead City County Health Department in Kalispell, Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center in Miles City, and Fort Peck Tribal Health Department in Poplar. Beyond opioid-response work, the institute also maintains active grant programs for community engagement and for capacity enhancement in local and tribal health departments, both tied to Montana public health priorities. Its giving reflects a public-health systems orientation, with support aimed at agencies and partners that can build capacity, strengthen services, and advance health equity across the state.

What Montana Public Health Institute Funds

A major theme in the foundation’s recent grants is opioid overdose prevention. Multiple awards in 2025 funded regional hubs to reduce opioid deaths in Montana, including a grant to Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Poplar and another to Breaking Chains for Recovery in Great Falls. The work is explicitly tied to OENDP regional hubs, showing a focus on overdose education and naloxone distribution. Tribal public health partners are also part of the portfolio. The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana received funding in both 2024 and 2025 for the same regional-hub effort, and Fort Peck Tribal Health Department was funded in 2024 for pilot work in the same area. Public health and mental health providers appear as implementation partners too. Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center in Miles City received both pilot and 2025 funding, reflecting a service-delivery role within the broader public-health response.

How Montana Public Health Institute Gives