Successes 
Fiscal Year 2009
We provided presentations around the state to community groups describing the important work we do and how donors provide much needed funds to history projects in Montana.
We provided much needed funding for two historically significant buildings known as Robber’s Roost and the Hangman’s Building. The Virginia City Preservation Alliance used donor funds to repair and preserve these structures.
We repaired and maintained the Cremona player in the Virginia City Opera House so that more generations will have a chance to hear the sounds of this rare musical instrument.
We successfully funded round two of the Montana History Textbook project. Working with the Montana Historical Society, the entire project brought 11,000 textbooks into the hands of Montana students free of charge.
We continued our support of the Montana Partners in the Field project to provide much needed “boots on the ground” technical support for historic preservation projects.
We hired an award-winning journalist, Clay Scott, to begin editing and co-authoring a book on John Ellingsen, Charlie Bovey, and the history of Virginia and Nevada Cities.
We sponsored conferences, history camp and other educational events that feature Montana’s history.
We forged a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Montana Preservation Alliance to create a granting program to support Montana’s history and heritage. This fund will be the first of its kind in Montana and is serving as a national fundraising model for history- related nonprofits. In the year ahead, we look forward to establishing and growing “The Montana Fund” and to begin granting funds!
Fiscal Year 2008
We have successfully funded a new middle-school Montana History Textbook titled Montana: Stories of The Land. Working closely with the Montana Historical Society, we received enough donations to make 5000 textbooks available for free to schools the fall of 2008.
We continue our work to repair and preserve Virginia City’s music machines. One of the largest publicly owned music machine collections in the United States, the machines continue to delight visitors of all ages. Some machines have been completely overhauled while others have received a thorough tuning.
Working with our newest partner, the Montana Preservation Alliance we have helped them to receive funding to provide more grassroots help to communities to protect Montana’s historical assets—in particular, Montana’s historic structures.
We concluded our last capital campaign with a theme of "History Runs Through It", raising 1.8 million dollars. Highlights of that campaign included an art acquisition endowment, educational history trunks, Montana State Capitol Book, Constitution Project funding, Music Machine Endowment, Neither Empty Nor Unknown Exhibit and Fire Protection Funds for Virginia City .
We have also raised $7.5 million in state bonding authority for the Montana Historical Society to build a new Montana History Center.
MHF leadership was instrumental and pivotal in advocating for the purchase of Virginia City and Nevada City from the Ford Bovey Trust. Virginia City and Nevada City have the largest collection of articles, archives and historically significant items outside of the Smithsonian Institute and the largest west of the Mississippi.