by Travis Mateer
The adorable Montana “free” press–the news non-profit platforming Jim Messina this weekend–is reporting that Gianforte has lots of money, and he uses it to exert influence. Good job, guys! This is AMAZING reporting (emphasis mine):
Montana’s governor, Republican Greg Gianforte, is among the state’s highest-profile political figures. He’s also a major philanthropic force.
Nonprofit tax records indicate that his family foundation gave $57 million to charities and social issue nonprofits between 2017, the year Gianforte was first elected to public office as a Montana congressman, and 2022, the most recent year for which detailed data is publicly available.
Over that time period, the foundation’s reported assets ranged from about $163 million to $232 million. According to a Montana Nonprofit Association directory from 2022, its holdings put the Gianforte foundation among the largest philanthropic organizations registered in the state.
Here’s more from the Montana “Free” Press about the potential LOCAL impact of Gianforte’s philanthropic giving (emphasis mine):
Consistent recipients within the period analyzed by MTFP include Child Bridge, a faith-based nonprofit based in Big Fork that helps recruit Christian foster and adoptive families and has received annual gifts ranging from $300,000 to $450,000. The Montana Family Institute, a 501(c)(3) arm of the Montana Family Foundation, a Christian policy and advocacy group, received $1.7 million overall from the Gianforte foundation. According to the institute’s publicly available IRS filings, that giving accounted for nearly half of its total revenues from 2017 to 2022. The Rafiki Foundation, a Florida-based organization focused on international missionary work, received just under $2.2 million over the six-year period in annual installments ranging from $250,000 to $573,000.
Gianforte foundation grants have flowed to about 470 distinct recipients over his time in public office, including organizations located in 47 of Montana’s 56 counties. While not always among the foundation’s highest-dollar recipients, many of those local groups play notable roles in their communities by providing homeless shelters, food banks, addiction recovery services and arts and culture investments. (Montana Free Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has not received donations from the foundation; a list of MTFP donors is available here.)
Yes, groups like THE LIFEGUARD GROUP definitely play “notable” roles in communities like Missoula by PRETENDING to provide services, like assistance for victims of human trafficking in the case of Gianforte’s favorite Missoula non-profit.
Here’s a screenshot from MFP’s searchable database:
For more substantive context on the LifeGuard Group, click this link and you can see DOZENS of articles I’ve written over the years about this joke of a non-profit. Integrity and honor? Yeah, right.
If you would like to help me wipe the smiles off this incompetence and corruption, please consider donating to Travis Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.
Thanks for reading!
