The Thayer Dorothy Memorial Tua-Main Foundation concentrates its giving on higher-education scholarships at Montana public universities and on direct support for Coast Guard service members and their families. Most dollars go to a small set of repeat grantees, with multi-grant relationships that fund scholarship programs and general operating needs for military-family assistance. Though based in Las Vegas, the foundation shows a clear geographic and institutional preference for Montana universities alongside national Coast Guard relief.
Concentrated giving: a handful of fairly large grants repeatedly awarded to the same organizations (multi-year or multiple payments to university foundations and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance) rather than many small, one-off gifts.
Thayer Dorothy Memorial Tua-main shows a two-track pattern: scholarship funding for Montana public universities and direct support for Coast Guard service members and their families. The largest recent grants are repeated awards of $57,199 in 2025 to Msu Foundations in Bozeman and The University of Montana Foundation in Missoula for scholarships, alongside the same amount to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance in Arlington for general operating support. Those three grantees also appear in 2024 and 2023, which points to a steady, relationship-based grantmaking pattern rather than one-off awards. Smaller $1,200 grants extend the picture beyond the core scholarship and military-family focus, with support to Helena Food Share and Lewis and Clark Library Public Fdn in Helena. The foundation’s giving is regional, but the recipient mix is institutionally concentrated: university foundations, a Coast Guard relief organization, and a small set of community nonprofits in Montana. That combination makes the funder’s priorities easy to trace through repeat recipients and recurring purposes.
Higher education is the clearest program area. The foundation gave $57,199 in 2025 to Msu Foundations for scholarships and the same amount to The University of Montana Foundation for scholarships. It repeated those awards in 2024, and in 2023 the University of Montana Foundation received $39,196 for scholarships. Direct assistance for military families is the other major thread: Coast Guard Mutual Assistance received $57,199 in 2025 and $40,863 in 2024 for general operating support, with another $39,196 grant in 2023. The pattern also includes smaller community support in Helena, where Helena Food Share and Lewis and Clark Library Public Fdn each received $1,200 grants for general operating support. Across these areas, the grant purposes stay tightly linked to education, relief, and basic organizational operations.
The foundation’s typical grant size clusters around $39,196 to $40,446, with a lower quartile of $1,200 and an upper quartile of $40,446. That spread reflects a mix of a few large recurring awards and a small number of modest operating grants. The same recipients recur across 2023, 2024, and 2025, especially the Montana university foundations and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, indicating multi-year relationships. It is a private foundation and does not fund individuals directly. The recent record also shows grants are made as scholarship support and general operating support, rather than through a visible application program.
$419K
$2.9M
$282K
$235K
Most grants fall between $1K and $40K, with a median of $39K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$39K
75th Percentile
$40K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in MT.
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Notable grantees: MSU Foundation, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, The University of Montana Foundation, University of Montana (listed separately)
Grant recipients are all in the United States, with Montana clearly carrying the most grant activity. Bozeman and Missoula anchor the larger scholarship awards, while Helena appears in the smaller community-support grants. Arlington, Virginia, is the other repeated recipient location through Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. Although the foundation is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, none of the recent grants in the data go to Nevada recipients, and the recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based.
Its most consistent support goes to scholarships at Montana public universities and to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance for general operating support. Those priorities recur across 2023, 2024, and 2025, with repeated awards to Montana State University-related and University of Montana-related grantees.
The typical grant sits near the middle of a split pattern: the median grant is $39,196, with a p25 of $1,200 and a p75 of $40,446. Recent awards include both $1,200 operating grants and much larger scholarship and relief grants around $39,196 to $57,199.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Msu Foundations, The University of Montana Foundation, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, Helena Food Share, and Lewis and Clark Library Public Fdn. The repeated awards suggest ongoing relationships rather than isolated gifts.
The recent record shows scholarship grants and general operating support. Scholarship awards went to Montana university foundations, while general operating support went to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance and to Helena-based community organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION | MISSOULA, MT | $57,199 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| MSU FOUNDATIONS | BOZEMAN, MT | $57,199 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE | ARLINGTON, VA | $57,199 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| HELENA FOOD SHARE | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE | ARLINGTON, VA | $40,863 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MSU FOUNDATIONS | BOZEMAN, MT | $40,863 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION | MISSOULA, MT | $40,863 | 2024 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| HELENA FOOD SHARE | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNIVERSITY OF MONTANTA FOUNDATION | MISSOULA, MT | $39,196 | 2023 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| MSU FOUNDATIONS | BOZEMAN, MT | $39,196 | 2023 | SCHOLARSHIPS |
| COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE | ARLINGTON, VA | $39,196 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| HELENA FOOD SHARE | HELENA, MT | $1,200 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION
$57,199SCHOLARSHIPS
MSU FOUNDATIONS
$57,199SCHOLARSHIPS
COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
$57,199GENERAL OPERATING
LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING
HELENA FOOD SHARE
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING
COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
$40,863GENERAL OPERATING
MSU FOUNDATIONS
SCHOLARSHIPS
THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION
$40,863SCHOLARSHIPS
HELENA FOOD SHARE
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING
LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANTA FOUNDATION
$39,196SCHOLARSHIPS
MSU FOUNDATIONS
$39,196SCHOLARSHIPS
COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
$39,196GENERAL OPERATING
LEWIS AND CLARK LIBRARY PUBLIC FDN
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING
HELENA FOOD SHARE
$1,200GENERAL OPERATING