A New Montana Heritage Center for the Montana Historical Society

FAIN: CHA-276822-22

Montana Historical Society (Helena, MT 59601-4514)
Bruce Whittenberg (Project Director: May 2020 to December 2020)
Molly Kruckenberg (Project Director: December 2020 to present)

Installation of compact storage units, treatment of historic windows, improvements to the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system, and related fundraising costs as part of a larger renovation and expansion project for a new Montana Heritage Center.

In 2019 the Montana Legislature passed the Montana Museums Act, which provided substantial funding to construct a new Montana Heritage Center for the Montana Historical Society. With these funds in place, MHS has moved forward with plans to complete a substantial addition to and remodel of their existing building. Completing the project requires MHS to raise $10 million in private funds. To reach this goal, MHS is requesting support from the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant program in the amount of $750,000, with MHS raising matching funds of $3 million. NEH and matching funds will be used for specific aspects of the Montana Heritage Center project, including personnel costs for fundraising staff, the permanent installation of compact shelving for collections storage, refurbishing historic windows, and HVAC system improvements.