Our Endowments

There will always be a need for wildlife conservation work—and Montana Audubon wants to ensure its future in the State of Montana. As a result, the organization has set up several permanent endowments to support its science, research, education, and policy programs. This constant source of funding will help sustain our mission into the future.

You may perpetuate your gift to Montana Audubon by donating to one or more of our endowments. A valuable feature of Montana Audubon’s endowments is that gifts are permanent. That is, once money is placed in an endowment, only the investment income from the contribution is used. Therefore, the original gift is never depleted, but continues to give, over and over again, year after year.

Donations to Montana Audubon’s endowments can be done through a variety of tools, from writing a check to putting your donation in your will. For more information about giving to our endowments, contact us at 406.443.3949. Thanks for your help and support!

Our endowment choices include:

Engler Memorial Fund

The George and Laurene Engler Montana Audubon Conservation Fund has been created as a memorial for two very special people-George and Laurene Engler. All proceeds will go to Montana Audubon, and the Montana Community Foundation will administer the fund.  The purpose of the fund is to provide sustainable revenue to monitor, study and conserve Montana’s birds, including preservation, enhancement and restoration of Montana’s avian habitats, and to promote land use policies and legislation consistent with these conservation goals.  Although they are no longer with us, George and Laurene’s legacy of supporting and furthering conservation in Montana will live on through the creation of this permanent endowment named in their memory, allowing others to give to a cause they both believed in very strongly.

To donate to this fund, please click here.  Or, you may write a check, payable to: Montana Community Foundation (write on memo line: “Engler Audubon Fund”).  Please send to: Montana Community Foundation, PO Box 1145, Helena, MT 59624.

Learn more about the fund: Engler fund doc

Montana Audubon Endowment Fund

Our Montana Audubon Endowment Fund support’s the organizations general operations—so all of our programs benefit—including

• Protecting Important Bird Areas;
• Monitoring species of conservation concern;
• Helping Montana’s Audubon chapter with conservation projects;
• Influencing decision makers about key legislation that impacts wildlife; and
• Educating schoolchildren about the importance of wildlife and their habitats.
• In accordance with the Board decision, the interest/dividend income can support the organization’s mission of bird and habitat conservation.

Public Policy Endowment

Montana Audubon, which largely solidified as an organization because of its Advocacy and Conservation Policy work, took a step in June 2007 to secure the long-term stability of this program by creating a new permanent endowment fund: the Janet H. Ellis Public Policy Endowment. The purpose of this endowment is to support the organization’s Conservation Policy program—which strives to protect birds, wildlife, and habitat through influencing decision makers. This endowment is invested with D.A. Davidson; only the interest/dividend income from the endowment can be accessed and spent each year to support the organization’s advocacy work.

Donating to Montana Audubon’s Endowments in your Will

If you decide to name one of Montana Audubon’s endowments in your will, please name the endowment, and designate “Montana Audubon, a Montana non-profit corporation.” It is very important that “Montana Audubon” is clearly stated in the designation.  When a bequest is left to “Audubon,” there is often confusion because there are many Audubon chapters.

We encourage you to consider donating to one of our endowments to help make Montana Audubon an even stronger, more stable institution going forward. Endowment gifts are ones that last in perpetuity.