Greater Montana Foundation

The Greater Montana Foundation was founded in 1958 by Edmund B. (E.B.) Craney, a broadcasting pioneer, and his wife Connie (Corrine) Craney. The initial purpose of the foundation was to preserve Montana heritage and culture and also to help encourage and improve the quality of the broadcasting system in the state of Montana. The first three members of the board of trustees for the Greater Montana Foundation were E.B. Craney as the chairman, Gabriel Traparish as the Vice Chairman, and Connie Craney as Secretary.

Before the founding of the Greater Montana Foundation, E.B. and his wife were collectors of art by Montana artists, such as C.M. Russell, O.C. Seltzer, and William Standing. They collected these pieces in an effort to save the early art of Montana and also to allow the art to be displayed within the state for the people of Montana. In 1964 the Craneys donated their art collection to the Greater Montana Foundation, to ensure that the art would stay within the state of Montana.

In the beginning, the Greater Montana Foundation felt that museums were useful to them because of their ability to preserve and communicate the past to the people. The Foundation worked closely with Montana museums and gave funds to the Montana Historical Society. The Greater Montana Foundation also helped in the forming of the museums of Montana into a state association. However, due to changes in federal tax law, museums were no longer classified as institutes of higher learning. Because of these changes, the Greater Montana Foundation began concentrating on working with the local universities in an effort to develop the quality of broadcasting in Montana. The Greater Montana Foundation worked with the University of Montana and Montana State University, primarily through their communication schools.

In 1961 the Greater Montana Foundation Radio Awards was started. The Foundation used the awards as a way to recognize station and personnel excellence and as a way to encourage a desire in the broadcasters of Montana to provide the best service possible to the people of Montana. This in turn improved the quality overall of broadcasting in Montana. By the next year, 1962, awards for television broadcasting excellence were also included. The Greater Montana Foundation continued its broadcasting awards until 1977. In 1981 the Foundation in partnership with the Montana Broadcasting Association a new awards program was created and eventually it was called the E.B. Craney Montana Broadcasting Awards.

With the passing of Connie Craney in 1966 the Connie R. Craney Seminar was started. The seminar was meant to be a way to establish ties and communication between the professional broadcasting community with students who were majoring in broadcasting at either the University of Montana or Montana State University. Also established at the time of Connie Craneys death was the Connie R. Craney scholarship, which was to be awarded to two students yearly.

What started with three members of the board of trustees has since expanded to include a total of twelve members of the board of trustees for the Foundation. The Greater Montana Foundation continues to work on improving the quality of broadcasting for the people of Montana. Besides the many awards for broadcasting excellence that the Foundation hands out each year, they also provide funding for broadcasting projects, both radio and television.