In 2016, the Montana Healthcare Foundation is hoping to fund over $3 million in projects to focus on three major areas.

Foundation CEO Aaron Wernham identified the three areas as American Indian Health, Behavioral Health and a broad area called Partnerships for Better Health.

"We'd just like people to provide a basic outline of the health issue they'd like to address, and to describe the way the project would address that need," Wernham said. "We'd also like them to explain how they would sustain this work when our grant is done. We're hoping that people will be coming up with some innovative, valuable ideas and how they're going to continue paying for it once the grant cycle is complete."

Wernham described the two grant programs that are available.

"We're doing what we call Rapid Response Grants, so that we can get a decision out pretty quickly, and those are proposals for up to $50,000 for up to two years," he said. "Larger grants with a cap of up to $150,000 will be awarded through a two-step application process."

The Montana Healthcare Foundation is the state's largest private foundation that focuses exclusively on the health of Montanans. Formed in 2013, the foundation was created after the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield. Pursuant to state law, the proceeds of the sale went to create a foundation to help improve the health of Montanans.

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