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 The PAEF Board of Directors continually seek funds to support its mission: to generate and channel public and/or private resources to improve the quality of educational opportunity for any citizen in the greater Philipsburg area -- Granite County.

Since its inception, PAEF has channeled thousands of dollars to students and educational projects to include:

• Over $480,000 in direct scholarships for post-secondary students entering or returning to college and/or technical training 
• Co-sponsor a seminar for business people to learn how to use the internet for marketing
  Provide motivational speakers to encourage students to reach for their dreams
  Promote donations of computers to schools to enable students to use the latest technologies
• Co-sponsor concurrent enrollment for high school students
• Educational activities in arts, humanities, sciences and technology

 PAEF solicits two types of donations -- those that are intended for the general fund, to be used for current-year scholarships and grants, and those that are designated for PAEF's endowment fund which is invested in the Montana Community Foundation for long-term stability. Check out our continuing donors. For our current year donations, please see our newsletter. 

 General Fund: PAEF receives gifts for operations and scholarships which are deposited in the General Fund.  Some donations are designated for particular purposes (one-time gifts and ongoing gifts) and some are memorial donations in remembrance of family members with stipulations for distribution. Some donations are given for distribution at the PAEF Board's discretion. In addition, investment income from PAEF's endowment fund comes into the general fund for distribution as scholarship awards and grants each year.  For a list of current available scholarship awards, see Scholarship Descriptions. For current educational grants, see Grants Teachers and Trainers

Endowment Fund: In December 2004, PAEF established an endowment fund under the Montana Community Foundation Investment Pool.  The initial investment was $8500, which was received from various donors and designated for the long-term stability of PAEF.  Since that time, the fund has grown to over $200,000 through additional donations and investment income.  Based on investment performance to date, it is expected that at least 4% of the fund's balance will be available for distribution each February, while still growing at a reasonable rate.  This distribution increases the amount of available scholarships and awards in the given year. Our goal is to increase the endowment fund at every opportunity and secure the ability of PAEF to continue its mission in the future.