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Regional & State Organizations This page is your source for programs in the Southwestern Montana region and the entire state of Montana. Below are programs that can be helpful for businesses in Montana as well as those looking to expand or enter into the Montana market. Regional Chambers of Commerce The Butte Chamber of Commerce performs excellent economic community development work in business development, legislative affairs, education, civic improvement, tourism and conventions, military, transportation, sports & recreation and more.
The Anaconda Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization of individuals and businesses whose mission is to work together to advocate for the economic, cultural, and aesthetic value of Anaconda, Montana. The Chamber has over 185 members with three types of memberships - Full, Booster and Non-Profit. The Chamber operates through nine committees. Monthly Chamber activities include a Chamber meeting, business card social, newsletter and small business workshops. Anaconda has an office for local economic development as well. Powell County Chamber of Commerce (Deer Lodge) - The mission of the Chamber is to make Deer Lodge a better place to live, work and operate a business profitably through the promotion of economic, civic, industrial and agricultural development of our community. Beaverhead Chamber of Commerce (Dillon) - Dillon is the county seat and major trading area for over 13,000 people in Beaverhead and western Madison counties. It is the headquarters of the Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest, the Dillon Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, the University of Montana-Western and the national franchise office of Great Harvest Bread Company. Ennis Chamber of Commerce - In the heart of the world's best fly-fishing country and just a bit off the beaten path to Yellowstone National Park, Ennis is a great vacation destination. Whitehall Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting the future of our community united through action, cooperation and communication. Whitehall is a small, unique community with the major emphasis being on agriculture, mining and the school system. Virginia City Chamber of Commerce serves and promotes Montana's oldest and most fascinating communities. With a resident population of fewer than 200 people, Virginia City actually extends much further than its location, into a large and vital community. In cooperation with the Montana Heritage Commission and other groups, the Chamber supports a variety of businesses and heritage and cultural events, which both preserve and enhance the community's "living history"--the rich resources of its people, buildings, antiques and its fabulous stories. Local Development Corporations
The Butte Local Development Corporation - The Butte Local Development Corporation is the lead economic development organization for Butte-Silver Bow and also plays a leading role in economic development for Southwest Montana and Montana as a whole. The BLDC serves as the primary point of contact for individuals or companies wishing to save, expand, start or locate a business in Butte, Montana or the Butte-Silver Bow area. The Jefferson Local Development Corporation - Their mission is to improve Jefferson County's employment opportunities, incomes, and well being by identifying local economic needs and priorities and supporting, strengthening, and coordinating economic development activities throughout the county. The primary focus shall be to leverage available business and government resources to provide information, assist with business finance solutions, and develop programs to encourage the growth of business in the county. The Montana Small Business Development Centers work to increase profits for small Montana firms and to create jobs for the state and its workers. The SBDC accomplishes this goal by offering free counseling, business training, and information to small businesses statewide. With the assistance of the SBDC's full-time professionals, Montana's entrepreneurs can develop or enhance the financial, managerial, and technical skills they need to succeed in today's competitive business world. Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc., provided economic development assistance, serving as an eight county, grass roots organization. Its basic goal is to improve economic and social well-being of the region through conservation, development, and proper use of natural and human resources. Montana's MicroBusiness Development Corporations (MBDC's) are designed to work with you -- step by step, brick by brick, to assist you in constructing a plan that will help you build your foundation for success. MBDC's provide the financing and the technical assistance that could help you start or expand a business enterprise. Montana World Trade Center is a program of the University of Montana,. It helps businesses establish and strengthen their international commercial capabilities. The Center develops untapped international trade opportunities and helps businesses capitalize on opportunities to expand their market share around the world. Through partnership with MWTC, your business can realize international sales and expansion goals that would otherwise be unattainable. SBA - The U.S. Small Business Administration was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America's future, and to helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace. Although SBA has grown and evolved in the years since it was established in 1953, the bottom line mission remains the same. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. The Montana District Office is located in Helena. Montana Technology Enterprise Center (MonTEC) The University of Montana and the Missoula Area Economic Development Foundation (MAEDF) have joined together in a collaborative effort to establish a business incubator the basic purpose of which is to foster the growth of high-tech and biotech companies in the community. The Montana Technology Enterprise Center, or MonTEC, is a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation with a governing board of six members, three from the University and three from MAEDF. Through a contractual agreement with MonTEC’s board, the Missoula Area Economic Development Corporation (MAEDC) administers the incubator. The Montana Business Incubator (MBI) provides entrepreneurs with access to people, technology, ideas, funding, and other resources to help them prosper. We are actively seeking committed entrepreneurs and inventors seeking business triumph. MBI works with clients to enhance their entire way of doing business. Our goal is to help our clients start and grow businesses leading to higher paying jobs and sustainable economic development in Billings and Montana. The Montana Cooperative Development Center is a statewide resource for community-based development and assistance in Montana. MCDC’s mission is to study and promote cooperative action as a means of meeting the economic needs of rural Montana. The Center develops, promotes and coordinates educational programs, technical assistance and research on the cooperative form of business. As a strategy to improve the rural economy in Montana, the Center focuses on cooperatively organized enterprises that implement “value added” processing of Montana’s raw agricultural, forestry, energy and mineral products. As our Mission, the Montana Rural Development Partnership is committed to supporting locally conceived strategies to sustain, improve, and develop vital and prosperous rural Montana communities by encouraging communication, coordination, and collaboration among private, public and tribal groups. The Montana Associated Technology Roundtables was founded to promote economic development in Montana by bringing together the network of entrepreneurs and business professionals to share ideas and information. The Montana Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) located at the Montana Department of Commerce helps Montana companies compete for more than one billion dollars in federal grants that have been earmarked to fund research and development. Prior to the creation of the SBIR Rural Outreach Program, businesses in rural states like Montana competed very poorly for SBIR funding at the national level. Recognizing the need to help Montana businesses compete more effectively, the Department of Commerce created the SBIR outreach program in 1999. In 2000, twenty-four (24) Montana companies won more than $5 million dollars in grants and in 2001 thirty-five (35) companies captured more than $11 million dollars. Montana's SBIR Program offers free counseling assistance to any individual or small business that wants to explore SBIR grant opportunities.
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