Fellow MNA members and friends,

I am writing to ask you to please support the Montana Newspaper Foundation’s fundraising activities at the annual convention this June in Billings. There are a couple of different ways you can do this. Firstly, you can donate an item to the live or silent auction. Items that reflect the history and character of your community or your newspaper are particularly valuable. Secondly, you can attend the association functions that support the Foundation and bid generously on auction items. If you are unable personally to attend, I would greatly encourage you to delegate this task to one of your staff members and send them with the authority to bid and take part in the fundraising effort.

The Foundation supports the cause of journalism and the newspaper industry in Montana every year in many ways. The Foundation awards five $1,500 grants to member newspapers to hire summer interns, who provide much needed vacation relief and bring a new, cutting-edge perspective on the industry to those papers. The Foundation also awards journalism scholarships totaling $6,000 to students at the University of Montana School of Journalism, helping these bright, young people master the skills they need to work as professional journalists in today’s fast-changing industry. And the Foundation is proud to recognize the Montana High School Journalist of the Year with a $1,000 scholarship. The Foundation through the years has also helped fund market and demographic studies on industry benchmarks that newspaper owners have used to benefit their businesses. These are just a few examples of how the Foundation works to help Montana newspapers survive and thrive in today’s challenging business climate.

Please consider supporting the Foundation at the convention with an auction item, a direct cash donation, or by sending a bidder (or two) to the events. Contact Brian Wirtz, MNA Business Development Director at (406) 443-2850 or [email protected]. Brian will be happy to help with suggested auction items.

For the complete schedule of activities and registration form for the 133rd MNA annual convention, please click on: http

Thank you,

Melody Martinsen, board president
Montana Newspaper Foundation