Climbing the Hill Together

Hello Friends,

In my October message, I shared our financial challenges and our tough hill to climb to reach our $1M goal by June 30. Over the past month, our staff and board team have been following up with our LMT Family of alumni, funders, and sponsors to have transparent conversations.

While I was sharing the message at the front of the Flagship classroom in Missoula, it dawned on me that we are getting to practice what we teach! These conversations have been met with inspiring Spirit and grace in a wide variety of settings, and there has been ample opportunity to Learn in Public and Invite the Stranger. There are lessons to be learned and further adjustments to be made.

To this end, our Finance Committee performed an in-depth review of our program costs, and the Board approved a Flagship tuition increase from $3,000 to $5,000 per person. This is the first increase in over 10 years, and we will continue our scholarship fundraising efforts to ensure accessibility and class diversity.

Through all of the ups and downs of this month, we have received a groundswell of support from individual alumni, foundations, and businesses. These gifts ranged from $10 to $30,000, and the response from individual alumni was the largest support in our organizational history (aside from annual dues).

In November, with your help, we met a $20,000 matching gift challenge and are well on our way to meeting another $30,000 matching gift challenge. If you haven’t been able to contribute yet, please consider us in your year-end giving. All amounts are important in helping us meet the match by December 31. Together, we can and will, climb this hill.

THANK YOU for stepping up to support OUR organization. It belongs to all of us, and it’s so heartwarming to know that you all believe in our shared mission to build a better Montana. As we continue to celebrate the holiday season, please reach out to Connect, Reflect, and express Gratitude. We have some social gatherings scheduled to bring us together, so please check our events page. If you don’t see one in your community, let’s plan one!

In gratitude,

Kelly Heaton
President & CEO
Class of 2014, Masters 2019
kelly@leadershipmontana.org