Montana Awards Nearly $500,000 in Rural Economy Development Grants

Commerce Department announces 2025 Opportunities in Rural Economies grant recipients across 22 projects statewide

Downtown Hamilton, Montana
Downtown Hamilton, Mont. (Montana Department of Commerce)

By
Jun 21, 2025

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Department of Commerce announced Thursday that 22 recipients will share almost $500,000 in funding through the 2025 Opportunities in Rural Economies (ORE) planning grant program.

“The ORE Program plays a vital role in creating good-paying jobs, stimulating economic growth, helping businesses grow and building a solid economic foundation for future generations of Montanans,” said Marta Bertoglio, director of the Montana Department of Commerce. “By using these grants to complete projects they would otherwise have to wait years to fund, these businesses and nonprofits move Montana forward.”

Major Recipients and Projects

The grants range from small energy audits to comprehensive development studies, with several organizations receiving the maximum $30,000 award:

Economic Development and Planning Studies:

  • Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Area (Butte) received $30,000 to develop a comprehensive development plan for targeted economic and urban renewal districts in Dillon
  • Great Falls Development Authority (Great Falls) received $30,000 for a defense industry market assessment
  • Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District (Bozeman) received $30,000 to develop a housing fund feasibility study
  • Carter County Chamber of Commerce (Ekalaka) received $30,000 for a boundary retraction survey

Business and Manufacturing Support:

  • Spika Design & Manufacturing (Lewistown) received $30,000 for architectural and engineering plans for facility expansion
  • Missoula Economic Partnership (Missoula) received $30,000 for a site energy feasibility and redevelopment study focused on the Pyramid Mountain Lumber site
  • Southeastern Montana Development Corporation (Colstrip) received $30,000 to assist OCOChem, Inc. in a site feasibility study

Community Development:

  • Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation (Crow Agency) received $30,000 for a workforce development feasibility study
  • Virginia City Schoolhouse Foundation (Virginia City) received $30,000 for architectural planning and feasibility study
  • Hamilton Community Cinema (Hamilton) received $10,250 for an architectural review assessment
  • Gallatin Development Corporation dba Prospera (Bozeman) received $30,000 to develop a center feasibility study in Manhattan
  • The McCallie School (Twin Bridges) received $30,000 for engineering plans for property site development

Other Notable Recipients:

  • The Montana Cooperative Development Center (Great Falls) received $30,000 to facilitate a pilot program study
  • PatientOne, Inc. (Missoula) received $30,000 for a feasibility study
  • Judith River Foundation (Malta) received $30,000 for a preliminary architectural report
  • Lake County Community Development Corporation dba Mission West Community Development Partners (Ronan) received $20,000 to assist Missoula Electric Cooperative in a feasibility study of an energy efficiency program
  • The Heritage Museum (Libby) received $7,778 for a feasibility study to operate a locomotive exhibit
  • Blend 10 Properties, LLC (Glasgow) received $10,000 to develop a preliminary engineering report

Small Business Energy Efficiency:

  • Table 10 Restaurant, LLC (Polson) received $1,993 for an energy audit
  • Millennium Hospitality, LLC (Circle) received $1,990 for an energy audit and plan
  • Durham SA and Property Management, LLC (Polson) received $1,440 for an energy audit

Industry Impact

Grant Kier, president and CEO of Missoula Economic Partnership, highlighted the program’s significance for Montana’s wood products industry: “We appreciate Commerce’s support for Montana’s wood products industry and for helping us lay the groundwork to bring new manufacturing jobs back to Seeley Lake. This grant allows us to evaluate the Pyramid Mountain Lumber site’s potential for industrial reuse — a key step toward attracting private investment and creating long-term economic opportunity in the region.”

The ORE Grant Program provides matching funds to assist with projects that would provide significant economic benefit to communities. Recipients span from Crow Agency to Glasgow, demonstrating the program’s statewide reach in supporting rural economic development initiatives.

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