Montana Making $ense

Care about Hunger? Homelessness? Domestic Violence? Child Neglect? You can help. Montana Making $ense AmeriCorps members deal with these issues and more by addressing one of their root causes: financial instability due in large part to a lack of knowledge.

Montana Making $ense is a second-year AmeriCorps program administered by the Office for Civic Engagment at the University of Montana.  MM$ places AmeriCorps members with community organizations to adapt and implement financial literacy training and outreach.

Our mission is to provide human resources to expand the financial education capability of human service organizations in the state; and to improve lives by educating and empowering the citizens of Montana to manage their money wisely in order to avoid financial instability and its corollary effects.

We envision a Montana in which citizens are empowered to succeed and prosper, where people understand their potential and capacity, and are not at the mercy of those who do not have their best interests at heart.

Interested in becoming an MM$ member?  Apply online (click here).

Member Options (stipends are approximate)

Hours/Service Year Living Stipend Education Award Health Ins/Child Care
1700 $1000.00/month $4,725 Yes
900 $600/month $2,363 Possibly
300 N/A $1,000  

Members will receive extensive training and support from MMS and at their sites.

Host Site Options

MM$ enhances the human resource capacity of organizations to benefit their clients by providing financial education opportunities. 

Sites have a variety of options, including hosting full-time members (1700 hours per year), half-time members (900 hours per year) or part-time members (300 hours per year).

Member Type Cost to Host Site
1700 hour member $3,750
900 hour member $2,000
300 hour member $100

MMS works with a variety of different organizations and constituencies, including but not limited to: low-income Montanans, American Indians, single parents, current and former correctional institution inmates, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, veterans, seniors and students. As Montana is home to many different types of social service organizations, we have designed MM$ to allow each site to utilize, adapt, or develop its own method of providing financial education, using existing or new materials, the knowledge and support of program staff, and the talents of its AmeriCorps member(s).

List of current MM$ sites

Member page

For more information:

Maria Yost
Montana Making Sense Program Director
406-243-6324
maria.yost@mso.umt.edu

Bob Springer
Montana Making Sense Team Leader
406-243-6324
bob.srpinger@mso.umt.edu

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