FLATHEAD VALLEY — The Gianforte Family Foundation had a record-breaking year, giving away $16 million to 250 organizations across Montana, with $1.4 million going to groups in the Flathead Valley.
Samson Naldrett manages the Alano Club in Kalispell, an organization that specializes in addiction recovery and serves almost two dozen groups with no strings attached.
"I'm not just the manager but I'm an AA and Alcoholic and a drug addict. I was homeless and on the streets when I first got here and this place has given me my life back," Naldrett said.
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The free services come with a cost for the organization, which relies heavily on donations.
"Everything we do here is free, you don't have to show an id or anything like that, we just show you what you want," Naldrett said.
The Gianforte Family Foundation has donated to the Alano Club for years, making a significant impact on their operations.
"We work with organizations that just align with our focus areas, so strengthening families and education. Some of them we've been funding year after year for several years," said Catherine Koenen, Gianforte Family Foundation executive director.
Code Girls in Kalispell, which gives young girls experience in computer science and coding, has also flourished due to the foundation's funding paying for programs and expansion.
"We actually got one of our first grants from them. It was a huge deal for us when we were just starting out and only had one class in Kalispell," said Marianne Smith, Code Girls CEO.
The funding has allowed Code Girls to expand their reach and programming throughout the state.
"Without their support, I don't think that we would be able to do all of the programming that we do throughout the state and reach all the kids that we do," Smith said.
