KALISPELL, Montana – Flathead Industries has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Flathead Electric Cooperative Community Education Grant. This funding will support the construction of a continuing education center at Flathead Industries’ newly remodeled administration center.
The center aims to provide essential educational opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. It will focus on areas such as financial education, health and nutrition, and exercise and interest development.
“Individuals with developmental disabilities have extremely limited access to education once they graduate from high school,” Patrick Maddison, executive director of Flathead Industries, said. “Further education and interest development for Flathead Valley residents with developmental disabilities does not exist.”
Flathead Electric Cooperative, a not-for-profit, member-owned co-op, allocates surplus revenue back to its members as ‘capital credits.’ Occasionally, some of these credits go unclaimed, often due to members moving without updating their addresses. Montana law permits these unclaimed credits to be used for educational purposes after five years.
Katie Pfennigs, FEC community relations manager, explained the process.
“Due to this statute, Flathead Electric Cooperative is occasionally able to award Community Education Grants funded by unclaimed capital credit dollars,” Pfennigs said. “We do our best to connect members with their capital credits, but sometimes those funds go unclaimed.”
The new education center will address a significant gap in services, focusing on care beyond housing or vocational opportunities for those with developmental disabilities in the Flathead Valley.