Missoula YMCA Celebrates $1 Million Grant Toward Project Goal

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Missoula Family YMCA received great news this week, in the form of a $1 million grant towards the completion of their $19 million capital project that is nearing completion.

KGVO News spoke to YMCA CEO Heather Foster about the generous grant that was announced earlier this week.

The YMCA Received a $1 Million Grant that they Hope to Match with Donations

We were awarded a $ 1 million dollar grant from Murdoch Charitable Trust which we're incredibly grateful for,” said Foster. “This grant is also a matching grant so you know we're hoping that we can leverage their incredible gift and help us get closer to the finish line for our capital project.”

Foster provided more details about the finances surrounding their capital project.

“So we've been raising money for over two years now in our $19.3 million campaign,” she said. “We are well over $14 million raised so far, and we're hoping to cross the finish line by January. That might be a little ambitious but we know we have a couple of gifts that are outstanding that we're hoping will come through.”

Foster Provided a Preview of the Future Amenities at the 'Y'

Foster said the final phase of fundraising is underway and described some of the amenities that the ‘Y’ will feature for the community to utilize.

“We're at our last phase of fundraising, and this is really for all of the free community amenities that we're hoping to add to our campus,” she said. “So it includes this airnaisum, which is an outdoor covered court space. It will enable everything from basketball to volleyball and pickleball. We have partnered with a local group, MOCA, which is the Missoula Outdoor Court Association, and they are hoping to help us raise a million dollars to add some glassed-in court space right on the front of the airnaisum for handball, racquetball, and squash.”

The YMCA is now the Largest Child Care Provider in the State

KGVO looked back at how the YMCA stepped up during the COVID pandemic to provide low-cost child care and other vital services and how it continues to serve the community today.

“We're the largest provider of licensed childcare in Montana,” she said. And over 7,300 kids use our ‘Y’. So we're serving a lot of people and we're just trying to figure out how to adapt and make sure we're around for another 50 years meeting the needs of everybody that lives in Missoula.”

Get more details about the Missoula Family YMCA capital campaign here.