A Whitefish business is one of 12 Montana businesses to receive grant funding from the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund.

Old Town Creative + Interactive will receive a $27,000 grant, part of $459,638 in grant funding awarded to businesses in 11 communities across Montana.

The grants will help create 46 future jobs, according to a state press release.

John Frandsen, chief product officer at the Whitefish digital development company, said the $27,000 grant will help offset the costs of hiring new employees by paying for computers, software and office furniture. Old Town plans to hire six new employees over the next year and a half, doubling the staff at the company that was founded in 2007.

“It helps take money that would have otherwise been sunk into the infrastructure of a new employee and frees those resources up into business investment that will help us grow and hire even more people,” Frandsen said.

Ahead of its upcoming project, Elebase, Old Town Creative applied for the grant in April with the help of Montana West Economic Development. Old Town Creative already provides content management systems around the world, and Frandsen said the new project will be the next generation, which he’s holding to the highest possible standard.

“It will be one of the best mapping-integrated [content management systems] in the world,” Frandsen said. “It will allow front-end developers to build powerful and interesting apps and websites a lot faster and more efficiently.”

Old Town will begin moving clients over to its new system this summer. Frandsen said in the coming months Old Town will release Elebase to third-party developers as well.

Other Northwest Montana businesses received grant funding:

n Lake County Community Development received $12,600 to assist the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center with an expansion plan.

n Kootenai River Development of Libby received $8,250 to assist Lincoln County develop a master plan for the future use, management, conservation and enhancement of non-motorized recreation facilities near Libby. Kootenai River Development also received $5,750 to assist the Heritage Museum develop a strategic plan to explore making the 1906 Shay No. 4 locomotive an operational exhibit.

n The Blackfeet Tribe received $27,000 to assist Blackfeet Tribal Health with a preliminary architecture report for new facilities located in Browning.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].