The Flathead Community Foundation (FCF) was officially formed in 2005 after a year of gathering community input by a Steering Committee led by a number of community leaders.  The idea of a community foundation to serve Kalispell and the Flathead Valley was not a new one and had been investigated, proposed, and considered for years.  Alan Satterlee, Lex Blood, and Joe Unterreiner made the initial commitment to form a Steering Committee, which ultimately led to the creation of the FCF.  The first Board meeting was held in September of 2005 consisting of 9 Board members.  The IRS request for tax-exempt status was submitted in November 2005, with approval received 11 months later in October of 2006.

Almost immediately upon forming the FCF in September 2005, an anonymous donor made a gift of $2000 in the form of a challenge and asked that the funds be granted out to the community.  The match funds were quickly identified and 45 grants were made as part of an effort to let the non-profit community know that the FCF existed and was going to be serving them in the community as part of its mission.  A year later, a similar donation was made, and matched by the FCF, allowing us to grant an additional $4500 to the community.  

In December 2006 the first gifts by donors from Kalispell and Bigfork were made to establish the "Flathead Fund", the permanent endowment of the Flathead Community Foundation.