#DYK that Montana is one of only four states that don’t allow someone under 18 to serve as an election judge? FMF high school leaders are working to change that by working with Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, the youngest legislator in Montana, to pass HB510. HB510 would allow 16-year-olds to serve as election judges. Learn more…
By Adrian Jawort Having only recently come out as a gender fluid/Two Spirit publicly in early January via a well-received—if not controversial—article I’d written with the titled Native American ‘rednecks’ & colonized anti-LGBTQ conservatism via Indian Country Today, I was well aware of the inner turmoil and struggles transpeople face in Montana as it was…
The other weekend, four Forward Montana Foundation staffers attended Montana Women Vote‘s Women’s Policy Leadership Institute in Helena–and we learned A LOT that we can’t wait to take back to our own organizing. Here are our hot takes from the weekend: 1. As a result of Medicaid expansion, 7,643 women received breast cancer screenings, with…
On Friday, January 19th, the Montana Senate & House Energy Committees hosted the Public Service Commission and held a public hearing on Northwestern Energy’s 20-year procurement plan. You can listen to the full meeting here. House and Senate Energy Committee members, Public Service Commissioners, and Northwestern Energy representatives: My name is Caitlin Piserchia, and I’m here…
By Caitlin Piserchia, Conservation Outreach Fellow For the third legislative session in a row, the Public Lands Rally stormed the Capitol building to remind legislators that protecting public lands is part of what it means to be a Montanan. Over a thousand Montanans from across the state filled the Capitol rotunda on Friday, January 11th…
Dear friend, Your gift matters to Kiah. Kiah started with Forward Montana Foundation as a Bozeman Field Organizer in 2013, and then stepped up her game as our Eastern Montana Program Director. She uses the skills she learned those years in her current position as Deputy Director, now just while also overseeing dozens of staff…
Over the last election season, I have seen the real power of the work we do at Forward Montana. It started to stand out to me after having made countless plans to vote with people over the phone. I called a man only a few years older than me, and asked if he planned on voting. He said he…
Did you track youth engagement for this past election? Young Montanans nearly doubled their vote share from the last midterms! That’s astounding, and my one and only responsibility in this note is to say thank you – no action requests, no donate links. Thank you for voting. Thank you for every effort you made to support…
Ooooof! What an election cycle! My work with Forward Montana began in February, when I was hired for the position of Campus Tour Manager. I traveled to campuses all over this great state, empowering students to vote. I learned a lot during this experience: how to drive on the highway in the winter, how to…
Back in September, I drove to Helena in a duck costume to advocate for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a critical funding mechanism for our public lands and water. This was part of our Don’t Duck Out campaign urging our congressional representatives to listen to Montanans and advocate for one of our most precious…
