Statewide, January 20, 2022— The Montana Community Foundation, Inc. (MCF) today announced that the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund has doubled the number of Montana students who are eligible to receive a scholarship from the fund, and increased the annual scholarship amount each student will receive from $5,000 to $10,000 per year.

With this additional funding, each year a total of ten graduating high school seniors with a parent who is an active uniformed Montana Highway Patrol Officers are now eligible to receive a scholarship as well as ten graduating high school seniors with a parent who is an active uniformed Montana Game Warden.

Additionally, the scholarship amount each student will receive has doubled to $10,000 annually and will be provided to eligible students for four consecutive years of education. The maximum cumulative amount awarded to any one student will be $40,000.

Established in 2002 by The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund provides annual scholarships to students who plan to attend a Montana school of higher education and are children of active Montana Highway Patrol uniformed officers and Montana State Game Wardens.

The fund is administered by MCF, a statewide community foundation focused on philanthropy to benefit Montana communities. MCF works with associations of highway patrol officers and game wardens to award scholarships based on academic merit and leadership potential.

Now in its 20^th year, the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund has awarded nearly $2 million in scholarships to almost 100 Montana high school students who have used the scholarship to pay for their undergraduate education at Montana universities, including Montana State University, University of Montana, and Montana Tech.

Attesting to the value of the scholarship, Megan Ayers, a 2018 Dearborn Ranch Scholarship recipient, explains, “the scholarship took away the financial stress of going to college so I could focus on my education and allowed me to graduate without student loans!”

“It’s an honor to be able to help create new career opportunities for the youth of Montana,” said Tom Siebel, Chairman, The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation. “The dedicated public servants of the Montana Highway Patrol and the Montana Game Wardens and their families deserve broad community support.”

Students can apply for the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship for the upcoming 2022-2023 academic year online at mtcf.org/scholarships.

“We are thrilled and grateful The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation has made this additional investment in Montana students and their educational dreams,” says Mary Rutheford, MCF president and chief executive officer.

In 2022, MCF will award more than $450,000 in scholarships to benefit Montana students.

For more information about the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship or other scholarships at MCF, contact MCF Scholarship Manager, Jenny Lou Stark, at (406) 441-4946 or jstark@mtcf.org.

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About The Montana Community Foundation

The Montana Community Foundation’s mission is to cultivate a culture of giving so Montana communities can flourish. Founded in 1988, MCF manages more than $150 million in assets and administers more than 1,400 philanthropic funds and planned gifts. Since its founding, MCF has reinvested more than $90 million in Montana through scholarships, grants, and programs. Learn more at mtcf.org.

About the Siebel Foundation

The Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, a nonprofit, public benefit corporation, was established as a private foundation in 1996. Its mission is to foster programs and organizations that improve the quality of life, environment, and education of its community members. The Siebel Foundation funds projects to support education, the homeless and underprivileged, public health, research and development around the world.