Ciara Wolfe will serve in new role with Yellowstone Club Community Foundation
By AshLee Strong Granite Peak Communications, LLC
BIG SKY – Ciara Wolfe, known for her recent success spearheading Big Sky BASE and Big Sky Relief, is expanding her presence in local nonprofit leadership. Starting Nov. 1, Wolfe now serves as vice president of philanthropy for the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation overseeing donor impact and capacity building in coordination with key community partners on a range of critical needs, including a new focus on mental health.
In this newly created role, Wolfe will elevate the concept of collective impact, in which community partners coalesce around a common goal and combine their assets – whether financial, professional, volunteer, space, equipment, or other – to achieve the best outcome.
Wolfe comes to this new role from the Big Sky Community Organization, where she served as Executive Director and developed support for Big Sky’s parks and trails and the $20 million BASE recreation center. As an elected member of the Big Sky Resort Tax Area District Board, Wolfe was instrumental in securing $2 million in COVID relief funds for community members and businesses. A 15-year resident of Montana, Wolfe earned a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver and holds a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University. Wolfe resides in Big Sky with her husband and two children.
“Ciara is incredibly effective at bringing the right people together, amassing resources, and getting things done,” said Sam Byrne, President of the Foundation Board of Directors. “I am pleased that we have the opportunity to propel her impact to a new level by providing philanthropic underpinning and organizational resources to address community-identified priorities led by non-profit partners.”
“The Big Sky community is at a critical juncture,” said Wolfe. “As we evolve in our identity from being a seasonal population to a community of full-time residents, we have the opportunity to invest in permanent communal assets, like Big Sky BASE, as well as dig deep into our challenges including behavioral health. This is both meaningful and exciting work and I am grateful to be representing the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation and working with a superstar group of committed partners.”
Wolfe will oversee the Foundation’s role in large, integrated projects and manage the team in charge of day-to-day Foundation activities. To better engage with community members, the Foundation is opening an office in Big Sky Town Center.
“Ciara understands how to move things forward by mobilizing the right people,” said Ania Bulis, a real estate broker and former founding board member of Women in Action, who currently serves as Vice Chairperson of the Moonlight Community Foundation. “She also incorporates a strategic approach from a funding capacity and is incredibly well-versed in how nonprofits operate. She will no doubt be able to coordinate with them on behalf of the Foundation to achieve greater impact in the Big Sky community.
“The continued evolution of Big Sky from a destination ski resort to a sustainable community will take the collaborative efforts of private corporations, public entities, and nonprofit organizations,” said Candace Carr Strauss, CEO of the Big Sky Chamber and Visit Big Sky. “Ciara’s deep understanding of philanthropy’s role in this and her demonstrated ability to garner time, treasure, and talent position her now to harness the power of philanthropy for the greater good of Big Sky.”
Since 2010, the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, with generous financial contributions from Yellowstone Club members, friends, and local community members, has awarded more than $8.5 million to local nonprofits as well as scholarships to local high school students.
