The History Museum, C.M. Russell Museum Receive Montana History Foundation Grants

This article originally appeared on The Electric: theelectricgf.com, written by Jean Rowell. The Montana History Foundation announced 29 grants to 27 communities on March 25, including two projects in Great Falls. The grants this year total $164,800 toward history projects statewide, bringing the total of grants funded since 2012 to $1,008,875.A $3,500 grant was awarded to the C.M. Russell Museum for the Russell Trail App. The app will “encourage and facilitate the exploration of Montana, as guided by the landscape art works of C.M. Russell. It will enable people to encounter- firsthand – the spaces and places that moved Russell’s brush and stirred his creativity. MHF funds will support research and production of a design package, including content needed for contract app developers to create the interactive application,” according to the foundation.A $9,100 grant was awarded to the Cascade County Historical Society for The History Museum Collections Care Project.“The History Museum in Great Falls preserves more than 60,000 historic photographs, maintains a permanent collection with over 100,000 historical objects, and hosts rent-free collections for smaller organizations, like the Sun River Valley Society. The Museum will undergo a collections care project focused on replacing acidic materials and building storage systems for an extensive textile collection,” according to the foundation. Since 2012, when the MHF grants program began, the foundation has supported 247 projects in 47 counties. Funding for the Montana History Foundation grants program comes from a variety of private sources, including a grant from the Fortin Foundation, a grant from the Louis L. Borick Foundation, and donations. The next grant cycle will open Nov. 1 and applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 15.