A Message from Director Marta Bertoglio
2025 was a fantastic year for the Montana Department of Commerce, with our Business, Community, Destination and Housing Divisions working hard to use their expertise and resources for the betterment of all Montanans.
Business MT Division
The Business MT Division, including our Export MT and Business Attraction teams, focused on strengthening Montana’s economy through targeted grant programs, trade missions and individualized support for businesses of all sizes.
The Montana State Small Business Credit Initiative Program created a sustainable impact through its Recycled SSBCI 2.0 Program, reinvesting millions into small businesses statewide. Recycling these funds is vital to the program’s long-term success, ensuring continued access to capital for Montana’s entrepreneurs.
The Opportunities in Rural Economies Planning Grant Program funded $500,000 for 14 new planning projects across the state, and the ORE Loan Participation Program and ORE Capacity Grant Program was launched, deploying $7.5 million in loan capital. The Distressed Wood Products Revolving Loan Fund went through the administrative rulemaking process, making the program more efficient and less burdensome for wood products businesses.
In Helena, the Montana Small Business Development Center opened a new center at the Montana Business Assistance Connection. In its 2025 Impact Report, the SBDC shared 13 success stories and some impressive numbers for 2025: 73 businesses launched, over 1,500 clients counseled, 69 training events hosted for 672 attendees, 127 loans approved, more than 4,000 jobs supported and over $30 million in financing secured by its clients.
The Office of Indian Country Economic Development held successful State Tribal Economic Development Commission meetings, building stronger economic relationships with tribal communities. Tribal tourism sponsored events across Montana over the summer, and OICED successfully completed rounds for the Indian Equity Fund Small Business Grant and Tribal Tourism Small Business Grant.
Montana hosted pavilions at the IWA OutdoorClassics exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany in February; at the ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE in November; and at Defense and Security Equipment International in London in September, resulting in over $14 million in new exports and 85 jobs supported. Through its export grants, Montana helped 114 companies with new export activities, including foreign trade shows, language translation and international digital marketing, resulting in $115 million in new exports and over 300 jobs supported.
At trade missions to South Africa in March, Paris in June and Spain and Portugal in November, Montana hosted a total of 20 companies, gained nearly $6 million in new exports and supported 35 jobs. Through its trade show grants, Montana helped 30 companies with first-time sales to new domestic markets, a building block towards international sales, resulting in $3.9 million in new sales and 27 jobs supported.
Community MT Division
The Community MT Division administered programs to help Montana communities offer safe, efficient and quality public works, excellent health care facilities and social services, a vibrant economy and job opportunities.
Commerce closed out a Montana Historic Grant Program grant for the Montana Heritage Commission’s Coggswell-Taylor House in Virginia City, one of the first properties owned by free African Americans in Montana. The project, awarded in May 2023, involved stabilizing and repairing the foundation, floors, walls and roof along with rehabilitating and installing basic utilities.
The City of Kalispell was awarded a $150,000 MHPG grant during the last legislative session for the Kalispell Train Depot. The project, which replaced the roof and gutters and repainted the train depot, has already been completed and closed out. Commerce also closed out the 10th Street Bridge project in Great Falls after it was awarded a $125,000 MHPG grant in May 2021, overcoming a lack of contractors, skyrocketing costs and other challenges.
The Wibaux County Senior Center and Food Bank, a renovation Community Development Block Grant project awarded in 2021, was finished. The facility now has accessibility features that were needed to make the building safe for senior citizens. In 2023, the Montana Coal Endowment Program awarded Lewis and Clark County one-half of the funds needed to replace the well-used but deteriorating Head Lane Bridge. The new bridge, with a projected design life of 75 years, opened to the public in September.
The Montana Main Street Program launched the Main Street Mural Project. The MMS Program conducted outreach to member communities and worked with other Commerce teams to build a searchable database of murals all over Montana. The program also compiled reports and data from 38 member communities to release its first annual MMS report for 2025 earlier this year.
The Community MT Division developed the Tribal Partnership Framework and accompanying video, which offers guidance as state agencies work with tribal partners. The video was presented last fall at the Montana Association of Planners Conference and can be viewed at youtube.com.
Commerce received a HUD Pathways to Removing Obstacles Housing Grant of $7 million, the maximum award amount, after working with the Montana League of Cities and Towns to apply for the grant. Of the $7 million, $4.9 million has been allocated to 11 Land Use Planning Act communities.
Destination MT Division
The Destination MT Division, which includes the Montana Film Office and the Office of Tourism, promoted our state as the ultimate destination for everyone from film producers to farmers to families on vacation, all while innovating new processes and honoring authentic Montana places and products.
Made in Montana membership increased from 184 new members in 2024 to 241 in 2025, and in January 2026, 30 new members were added to the program. At the 2025 Made in Montana Trade Show for Food and Gifts in March, 24 new vendors joined 91 returning vendors; 11 of these were also Grown in Montana members, while three were Native American Made in Montana members. Over 450 buyers from 220 businesses attended Wholesale Buyer Day, and 5,850 people attended Public Day. Buyers included representatives from retail stores, gift shops, museums, grocery distributors, restaurants, online shops, lodging properties and state and national parks.
Since 2024, the Office of Tourism has funded over 240 rural projects and created or helped retain more than 300 jobs by investing in tourism assets across the state. The Tourism Grant Program helped create 11 new tourism assets and renovate or expand two more. Nearly $50 million was awarded through the program, with 130 jobs created or sustained.
Through funding opportunities like Agritourism Grants, the Tourism Development Grant, the Economic Impact and Destination Event Grant and the Resiliency Plan Implementation Grant, the Destination MT Division focused on enhancing economic vibrancy in under-visited and rural areas. Montana West Economic Development used the Tourism Development and Enhancement Revolving Loan Fund to support local businesses, helping retain 144 jobs and create 88 new positions and strengthening employment opportunities for Montanans.
The National Museum of Forest Service History in Missoula was awarded a $197,500 Annual Tourism Grant in January 2023, and the project closed out in January of this year. Also in January 2023, the City of Hardin was awarded an Eastern Montana Initiative Grant of $45,000 to restore the windows and roof of its historic train depot. Construction began in November 2025. The Sweet Grass County Crazy Mountain Museum expansion project in Big Timber was awarded a Pilot Community Tourism Grant Cohort 1 in June 2024, and construction began in October 2025. Of the $2,750,000 grant, $235,525 has been allocated.
The Resident Handbook on Resiliency and Stewardship Principles for Yellowstone Country was created through ARPA Resiliency federal funds to guard against overtourism and promote best practices for managing Montana’s natural assets.
Division staff began using Salesforce to track program successes, allowing them to track metrics like dollars spent, outreach and technical assistance given, distribution of grantees statewide and the number of jobs created through its programs.
The 2025 Location Managers Guild International Awards recognized the Montana Film Office with a nomination for Outstanding Film Commission, while Season 2 of the series “1923,” filmed in Texas and Montana, won Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series. An August 2025 article in IndieWire showcased the challenges of filming snow in Montana and the stunning “Winter Western” scenes captured during one of the harshest winters in our state’s history.
Housing MT Division
The Housing MT Division, including the administratively attached Montana Board of Housing, ensured federal housing program funds were deployed in compliance with federal rules to meet the most pressing housing needs for Montanans across the state, including seniors, persons with disabilities and low-wage working families.
Nine multifamily housing projects completed construction and were placed in service. Over 500 rental units now offer safe and affordable homes in Bigfork, Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Hamilton, Helena, Libby, Livingston and Wolf Point. Multifamily housing teams conducted site inspections and monitoring at 146 properties to ensure Montana’s affordable housing portfolio is maintained in safe, decent and sanitary living conditions. Additionally, 52 on-site Management and Occupancy Reviews of Project-Based Section 8 properties were completed.
The MBOH celebrated its 50th anniversary, a testament to the enduring impact of our work and the dedication of everyone involved. For single-family programs, the Board supported 627 first-time and other qualified homebuyers with primary mortgages, and over $3.5 million in down payment assistance loans to 306 homebuyers. The MBOH engaged a qualified business analyst to develop technical documentation of dozens of workflows and prepare a list of 280 business requirements to inform a future request for proposals for software solutions.
HUD Community Planning and Development Programs assisted 21 homebuyers with an average of $53,500 in down payment assistance in 12 communities.
Commerce’s 2024 statewide rent survey results were submitted to HUD in January 2025 with a request to reevaluate Montana’s Fair Market Rents. Based on the survey results, HUD approved new FMRs for Montana, increasing on average 16% from 2024 FMRs. These increased FMRs led to a 63% increase in Commerce’s Housing Choice Voucher budget. With only six months to expend this increase, Commerce staff and field agency partners screened approximately 3,400 families and issued nearly 700 rental assistance vouchers, helping families secure rental homes on the private market.
Staff overhauled the CDBG-Housing application guidelines to bring them in line with other primarily HUD funding sources like HOME and HTF. The Board’s homeownership team continued refining the new loan purchase and mortgage-backed security pooling processes with the Idaho Housing and Finance Agency, MBOH’s new Master Servicer.
Housing teams maintained a deep understanding of the underlying requirements of federal programs, delivering technical assistance to developers as they work to establish full capital stacks for their proposed developments. Our staff responded to three separate state audits and a fourth HUD audit. These audits play a critical role in identifying areas for improvement, such as ensuring software systems meet state and National Institute of Standards and Technology standards.
The annual Montana Housing Partnership Conference held in Billings from May 19-21 welcomed about 300 attendees. Representatives from Commerce and NeighborWorks Montana presented lifetime achievement awards to Montana’s affordable housing champions Bob Gauthier, Jeff Rupp, Jim McGrath and Pat Melby.
House Bill 924, sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte on June 19, established a new Montana Housing Trust within the Montana Growth and Opportunity Trust. This legislation provides for ongoing state appropriations for affordable housing for the first time in state history. The MBOH completed new program guidelines after the ARMs process was finished, and the first competitive multifamily loan application round will be held this spring.
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Commerce staff in each of our divisions, boards and attached entities are excited to make 2026 even better; we look forward to serving our neighbors and building a better future for all Montanans.
For more information, visit commerce.mt.gov.
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