Red Ants Pants Music Festival funds $100K in business grants

A pack mule named Calhoun. The lone woman-owned-and-run Montana outfitter on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. A much-needed digital fire safety program set in rural Montana that eventually will go national.

Those are merely a few of the 89 innovative recipients of $100,000 in business grants the Red Ants Pants Foundation of White Sulphur Springs has awarded across the state since 2012.

“The grant program is not an incubator for business, but it’s for leadership on the ground,” said Sarah Calhoun, Red Ants Pants founder, Red Ants Pants Foundation executive director and visionary. “For the grant program, we focus on nonprofit organizations and for-profits with an educational element.”

By Renata Birkenbuel