Headwaters Foundation

Headwaters Foundation is a US private foundation based in Missoula, MT.

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

Headwaters Foundation funds tax-exempt public charities and fiscally sponsored organisations whose work aligns with its mission, vision and values, focusing on work that puts youth, parents and caregivers at the centre of health-improving solutions in Western Montana. It prioritises families with children affected by health disparities, including low-income, Indigenous, Black and other families of colour, families living with disabilities and LGBTQ+ families. Grants support family leadership and belonging, organising and advocacy, journalism, storytelling and research, and rural work on family resiliency, food, housing, social inclusion and mental health. It partners with organisations to elevate family voices in policymaking and create conditions for meaningful change, with an approach rooted in trust, collaboration and shared learning.

Themes

• Family leadership
• Health advocacy
• Family resiliency
• Food access
• Housing
• Social inclusion
• Mental health

Geographic Focus

Flathead Reservation; Montana’s 15 westernmost counties: Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Flathead and 12 more counties in Montana.

What They Don't Fund

• Individuals
• Endowments
• Capital campaigns
• Event sponsorships (but GO! Grants may cover fundraising/event expenses)
• Direct lobbying
• Debt retirement, operating deficits or after-the-fact support
• Basic biomedical research, drug therapies, or devices
• Public, private or parochial education institutions or their foundations, except for programs aligning with our priorities that are not standard educational services
• Organizations or projects that unlawfully discriminate in employment, services, or program delivery based on age, sex, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or genetic information
• Activities or organizations inconsistent with Headwaters Foundation’s mission, vision, values or Strategic Framework
• GO! Grants only: Organizations that do not primarily serve areas outside Western Montana’s urban centers of Missoula, Kalispell, Butte and Helena; Organizations that have not operated for at least two years; Organizations with operating budgets of $1 million or more (excluding schools); Hospitals and community foundations that are neither fiscal sponsors for an aligned organization nor sole providers of aligned services in their region; intermediary organizations; professional associations; university programs (including extension offices); organizations that encourage participation in religious teachings to access services

For the Family Power Fund, complete the inquiry form. If the work is a potential fit, a Resource Partner arranges an inquiry conversation and may invite the organisation to complete a short application.

• Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 75% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
• Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 337 grants to organisations were $7,500 or less.

What the foundation says:

• Organisations should center families’ voices and experiences by investing in their leadership, including them on staff and boards, and involving them in decision-making.
• Organisations should organise and build coalitions alongside families and engage them directly in advocacy.
• Organisations should have deep relationships and partnerships in their communities.
• Organisations should create a sense of belonging and offer leadership opportunities for the people they serve.
• For GO! Grants, a short final report is required at the end of the grant.