EDUCATION

Our Children, Our Future

EDUCATION GRANTS

MONTANA SCHOOLS GRANTED MILLIONS SINCE 2002.

Town Pump is deeply committed to supporting Montana schools in creating dynamic, quality learning environments. We know a great education includes more than just core academics—it takes music, art, athletics, theater, and hands-on technology to truly inspire students.


To help make this happen, the Town Pump Charitable Foundation provides grants for programs that often lack adequate funding, such as summer reading programs, field trips, and Close-Up opportunities. Beyond the classroom, our corporate giving supports the broader school community through Booster Clubs, Newspapers in Education, and chemical-free graduation parties.


Fueling STEM Education

For years, we partnered with ExxonMobil to bring math and science grants to schools across the state. When that program ended, we wanted to ensure Montana students didn't lose out. That’s why we created the Ignite Minds grant program, keeping STEM mini-grants fully funded and accessible for our schools. Through all of these educational initiatives, Town Pump has proudly invested more than $2.2 million in Montana students since 2000.

Keep Kids
Reading

This grant application is for use by Montana libraries applying for a $1,000 summer reading grant.


Applications are accepted from March 1 – April 30, with grants being awarded in May.

Ignite Minds

STEM Grants

Ignite Minds STEM Mini-Grants are awarded to Montana Schools with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).


They are granted to support collaboration, address gaps and support budgets, and share exemplary practices. Mini-Grants ($1,000 each) are not intended to fund entire projects.

Meals for

Backpacks

This grant program supports schools, food banks, and service organizations that provide weekend meal programs for Montana school children.


Grant applications are accepted from early August  through late September.

SUMMER READING PROGRAMS

Educators refer to the summer months as the “academically vulnerable summer months.” Often times the children experience what is called the summer slide; where the skills they learned during the school year start to diminish. To combat this, schools and public libraries across the state conduct summer reading programs to help the students retain their reading skills.


In Billings the program is called Reading Rocks and last year Reading Rocks held 45 sessions in six city parks and distributed 3,417 books. The children also receive a snack or meal.


The Town Pump Charitable Foundation supports these summer reading programs and programs in Dillon, Big Timber, Havre, Kalispell, Colstrip, Columbia Falls and other communities. The grants to these communities and others supports the mission of the foundation by providing financial support to Montana charitable or governmental organizations with a priority of supporting/meeting basic needs and education for Montana citizens.

Exxon/Mobil Educational Alliance Grants

Education is the fundamental building block of individual opportunity and economic growth, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) skills, in particular, are critical. The Exxon/Mobil Educational Alliance program invests in the future of our communities through educational grants to neighborhood schools.


Through Town Pump’s more than 45 year partnership with Exxon/Mobil, we help secure grants for Montana schools. These grants support STEM education within the communities we serve allowing students to connect what they learn in the classroom with what they see in the real world.


In 2021, seventy-six (76) Montana schools received $500 grants for a total of $76,000.


Our thanks to Exxon/Mobil for sharing our commitment to giving back to our Montana communities.

Schools Receiving Grants in 2021 include:

  • Lincoln Elementary - Anaconda
  • Fred Moodry Middle School - Anaconda
  • Ridge View Elementary - Belgrade
  • Big Timber Elementary School - Big Timber
  • Boulder Elementary School - Billings
  • Arrowhead Elementary School - Billings
  • Bonner School - Bonner
  • Boulder Elementary School - Boulder
  • Hawthorne School - Bozeman
  • Chief Joseph Middle School - Bozeman
  • Longfellow School - Bozeman
  • Emily Dickinson School - Bozeman
  • Irving Elementary School - Bozeman
  • Hawthorne Elementary School - Bozeman
  • Vina Chattin Elementary School - Browning
  • Browning Elementary - Browning
  • Whittier School - Butte
  • Kennedy Elementary School - Butte
  • Emerson Elementary School - Butte
  • Butte High School - Butte
  • Hillcrest Elementary School - Butte
  • East Middle School - Butte
  • Margaret Leary School - Butte
  • West Elementary School - Butte
  • Meadowlark School - Chinook
  • Frank Brattin Middle School - Colstrip
  • Pine Butte Elementary School - Colstrip
  • Ruder Elementary School - Columbia Falls
  • Glacier Gateway Elementary - Columbia Falls
  • Columbus Middle School - Columbus
  • Columbus Elem School - Columbus
  • Meadowlark School - Conrad
  • Conrad Elementary - Conrad
  • HC Davis Elementary - Cut Bank
  • Anna Jeffries Elementary - Cut Bank
  • O D Speer School - Deer Lodge
  • Parkview School - Dillon
  • Dillon Middle School - Dillon
  • Radley Elementary School - East Helena
  • Ennis School - Ennis
  • Eureka Elementary School - Eureka
  • Forsyth Elementary School - Forsyth
  • Sacajawea School - Great Falls
  • Roosevelt Elementary School - Great Falls
  • Hamilton Middle School - Hamilton
  • Washington School - Hamilton
  • Hardin Primary - Hardin
  • Sunnyside School - Havre
  • Kessler School - Helena
  • Jim Darcy School - Helena
  • Smith Elementary School - Helena
  • Helmville School - Helmville
  • Cornelius Hedges School - Kalispell
  • Garfield School - Lewistown
  • Libby Elementary School - Libby
  • B A Winans School - Livingston
  • Lolo Elementary - Lolo
  • Woodman School - Lolo
  • Garfield Elementary - Miles City
  • Jefferson School - Miles City
  • Lowell School - Missoula
  • Russell School - Missoula
  • Plains Elementary School - Plains
  • Linderman School - Polson
  • Ramsay School - Ramsay
  • K William Harvey Elem - Ronan
  • Shelby Elementary School - Shelby
  • Superior Elementary - Superior
  • Thompson Falls Elem School - Thompson Falls
  • Three Forks Elem School - Three Forks
  • Cecelia Hazelton School - Townsend
  • W F Morrison School - Troy
  • White Sulphur Springs Elementary - White Sulphur Springs
  • L A Muldown School - Whitefish
  • Whitehall Elementary - Whitehall
  • Northside School - Wolf Point



"I am a fourth grade teacher at Bryant Elementary School in Helena, MT. We received a grant from your charitable foundation last year to help our fourth graders go on an overnight trip to Yellowstone National Park. With your generous donation, we were able to have an incredible experience. We brought along a professional photographer/videographer and he created this wonderful film about the trip. We just wanted to share it with you, so you could see what we were able to do. 
Thanks again."

- Kayla Ryan, Fourth Grade Teacher
Bryant Elementary School

We thank the videos creator, Dead Dinosaur Productions, of Helena, for permission to share this video.

“Thank you for the generous donation to our Accelerated Math Program. We are using the Accelerated Math program and look forward to our students making big math proficiency gains. The school community at Twin Bridges appreciates the kindness of the Town Pump organization and admires Town Pump’s commitment of giving and service to the people in the surrounding communities.”

– Tammy Demien
K-8 Principal, Twin Bridges Elementary School
“Thank you so much for your generous donation to our scholarship fund to assist adult students with the cost of the High School Equivalency Test. Your generosity will make a real difference to those who in poverty who are trying to improve their educational level so they can support themselves and their families.”
–  Dixie Stark, Executive Director
Literacy Bitterroot
“On behalf of the Corvallis Schools Foundation, we want to personally thank the Town Pump Charitable Foundation for your donation to CSF Middle School Microscope Project. Your generous donation will help purchase microscopes for Corvallis Middle School students can experience the scientific process directly and meaningfully in their science classrooms.”
– Harlene Marks, President
Corvallis Schools Foundation
“On behalf of Warren Elementary School, I would like to extend
our sincere thanks for your support of the Newspapers In Education Program.”
–   Tim McMahon, Principal
Warren Elementary School Helena