When people come together, they can change what happens next.
This has been a difficult year for many people who care about Montana’s future. As political divisions deepen and trust in our institutions is tested, it can be hard to believe that speaking up matters, or that ordinary people have the power to create real change.
At Families for a Livable Climate (FLC), we’ve been listening to these concerns. We hear Montanans looking for connection, support, and ways to turn their climate concerns into meaningful action. We hear a desire for stronger relationships across communities, more support for local campaigns, and space to navigate the grief and uncertainty that come with this work.
We hear you.
In response, we’ve been investing in the foundations of grassroots power: building relationships, developing local leaders, helping people understand how change happens, and creating more opportunities to act together. Because when decision-makers fail to meet the moment, we cannot afford to give up on change. We must keep building the power of our own communities.
And this year, we began to see what that investment can make possible.
The impact of showing up together
Across Montana, FLC volunteers and partners helped turn community concern into tangible results:
Stopped an artificial turf proposal at Ogren Park. After gathering more than 550 petition signatures and working alongside local partners, volunteers helped secure the withdrawal of a proposal that raised concerns about heat, plastic pollution, and potential chemical exposure.
Helped push NorthWestern Energy’s long-term energy plan back for revisions. Through public education, action alerts, and community organizing, we helped Montanans make their voices heard. In August, the Public Service Commission returned the plan to NorthWestern for revisions following concerns raised by community members and advocates.
Helped organize against a proposed data center in Bonner. The project was ultimately shut down, and Missoula County subsequently adopted a temporary moratorium on data centers.
Helped facilitate $31 million in fossil-fuel divestment to date. Since the program began, our Sustainability-Based Investing working group has helped individuals and institutions explore and act on opportunities to move their investments away from fossil fuels, contributing to $31 million in cumulative divestment.
Launched our Youth Mentorship Network. After months of planning with a youth advisory committee and education partners, we welcomed the program’s first cohort this fall.
Expanded our statewide organizing network. A new Bozeman volunteer group is taking shape, and we are actively building partnerships and plans in the Flathead and Bitterroot Valleys.
These wins matter on their own. They also demonstrate something bigger: people who have the relationships, confidence, and support to act together can influence decisions that might otherwise feel beyond their reach.
Building the infrastructure for lasting change
Campaign victories don't happen in isolation. They grow from the less visible work of helping people connect, develop skills, build power, and find their place in a movement.
This year, we welcomed nearly 100 new volunteer sign ups and strengthened the systems that help people move from initial interest to sustained leadership. We reintroduced volunteer welcome calls, developed tools for one-on-one organizing and campaign planning, and brought volunteers together through monthly cross-working-group meetings. We piloted small-group Action Parties and community potlucks that combine relationship-building with concrete opportunities to act.
We also invested in the people and partnerships that make this work stronger. Through training and operational support with Climate Advocacy Lab and Climate Ready Future, we strengthened our internal systems, developed our organizing practices, and began building a more coordinated approach to statewide advocacy - including our preparations for Climate Advocacy Day.
And we made more room for the human side of climate work. We hosted our first Master of Social Work practicum student, who went on to become our new Community Engagement Coordinator! We launched a new mental health & climate working group and began co-leading a Climate Grief series, creating more opportunities for people to process difficult emotions, support one another, and stay engaged without losing sight of their own well-being.
This is not separate from climate action. It is part of what makes sustained action possible. People need more than information about a problem; they need relationships, confidence, practical tools, a sense that their contributions matter, and support for their own personal resilience.
Thanks to increased support from donors and funders, we expanded our Program Director position to full-time and strengthened our financial foundation. We also adopted a new strategic plan to guide our next phase of growth. Together, these investments are helping FLC build the capacity to support more local leaders and a more connected statewide movement.
From our kids’ fight to our collective responsibility
One of this year’s most significant developments reaches beyond any single campaign.
In September, FLC joined 16 other organizations in suing the Montana Public Service Commission for refusing to recognize its constitutional obligation to consider climate change in regulating our utilities.
This lawsuit builds on years of persistence, advocacy, and groundwork - from young Montanans’ landmark victory in Held v. Montana, to our own efforts to hold the Public Service Commission accountable. Change rarely comes from one action or one generation alone. It takes people building on one another’s work, often behind the scenes and over many years, to create the conditions for progress.
That’s why FLC’s work matters. Protecting our children’s future requires more than asking them to be resilient in the face of crisis. It requires adults and communities willing to organize, advocate, and take responsibility for the decisions shaping the future we share.
We are building toward that responsibility together.
Looking ahead: A stronger, more connected Montana
Our newly approved strategic plan gives us a roadmap for the years ahead: developing grassroots leadership, strengthening local organizing, and building the relationships and capacity needed for sustained climate action.
In 2027, we’ll focus on growing volunteer groups and partnerships in Bozeman, the Bitterroot, and the Flathead Valley (and beyond!); strengthening the training and tools that help everyday Montanans lead local projects and campaigns; and piloting and evaluating our Youth Mentorship Network. On February 19, we’ll bring people and partner organizations from across the state together at the Capitol for Climate Advocacy Day, building on a coalition of more than 25 partner organizations. Join us!
We’ll continue to make climate action more accessible to families, support community-led campaigns, and create spaces for connection, learning, and resilience. The work ahead will take persistence, but the relationships we build now can help communities meet challenges and seize opportunities for years to come.
Thank you for helping make this possible.
Your support provides the staff time, organizing tools, training, and community spaces that help people turn concern into action. It helps volunteers become leaders, young people find and become mentors, and communities build the power to shape their own futures.
At FLC, we believe meaningful change can - and must - grow from the ground up. Thank you for helping us nurture that possibility across Montana.
Together, we’re building the power to create a livable future for all.
With gratitude to the foundations, individual donors, sponsors, board members, volunteers, and partner organizations who make this work possible. We are so grateful for your generosity and partnership.
If you're not yet part of this community, we'd love to have you with us. Your gift helps more Montanans find their people, develop their leadership, and turn their care into meaningful action.