Компания Outlaw Partners выделила более 3 млн долларов на благотворительность в Монтане

Outlaw Partners turns Montana success into millions in community giving Bozeman, Mont. — Outlaw Partners may be best known for events like Big Sky PBR and Wildlands, but behind the crowds, concerts and bull riding is another part of the company that has grown alongside the business: giving money back to the communities it calls home. The Big Sky-based company has expanded over the past 16 years into events, media, marketing, real estate and adventure travel. Outlaw Partners says it has raised more than $3 million for nonprofit organizations since its inception, with more than $2.1 million raised through its events in 2025 alone. Josh Timon, chief operating officer for Outlaw Partners, said that community investment is closely tied to where the company began and where its employees live. “We invest in these communities in southwest Montana because these are our homes,” Timon said. “This is where we live. This is where we’re raising families. We want these places to survive and thrive.” That support has reached organizations involved in veteran services, conservation, education, recreation, and emergency response. Timon said Outlaw is pushing nearly $1.7 million toward causes in 2026, including conservation groups, veteran organizations, the Montana Epilepsy Foundation and Montana State University. Among the organizations Timon identified are Big Sky Bravery and Warriors and Quiet Waters, which work with veterans, as well as Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Yellowstone Forever, Wild Montana and the Property and Environment Research Center. For Outlaw Partners founder and CEO Eric Ladd, however, giving is about more than the size of a check. Ladd said the philosophy was influenced by mentors he had while growing up and later while building his businesses. “I feel like it’s my duty as not only a member of the Bozeman community and Gallatin County, but as a human being, that if you have abundance, you need to give back,” Ladd said. He said that giving can come in the form of money, time, knowledge, or simply putting a person’s individual skills to work for someone else. Ladd said one mentor eventually challenged him to think more seriously about what Outlaw could do with the platform it had created through its businesses, events and media reach. The question, Ladd recalled, was essentially: What are you going to do with it? Ladd said that conversation became a catalyst for the company to take its charitable work further, recognizing that Outlaw’s growing reach could be used to shape and support the communities around it. That impact is not always measured strictly in dollars. Timon pointed to Big Sky Search and Rescue as one example. He said funding helped the organization purchase new whitewater rescue equipment. Outlaw-owned Boundary Expeditions then worked with the organization to train rescuers on how to use the equipment for swift water rescues in the Gallatin Canyon. Ladd said some of the most meaningful results for him have come from meeting people who directly benefited from that support. He pointed specifically to veterans served by Big Sky Bravery and Warriors and Quiet Waters. “There is no better dollar spent than supporting those organizations,” Ladd said. “These are people that have sacrificed their lives for our country and need some help.” He has also seen the results through projects involving trail access, conservation efforts, Montana State University athletics and work along the Gallatin River. “Money is one thing, but to see the results, that’s what makes you really go to bed at night saying I’ve done some good,” Ladd said. The company’s charitable work also intersects with the events that made Outlaw recognizable across southwest Montana. Ladd said Outlaw began handing out charitable checks during the earliest years of Big Sky PBR, including when the event itself was losing money. He said the company remained committed to building community and giving back while working to make the event financially sustainable. Today, those events can also provide an economic boost beyond the charitable contributions. Ladd said restaurants, hotels, shops and other businesses began reporting significant increases in activity during PBR weekends almost immediately after the event launched. He described events as a way to bring people together while also driving the local economy. That relationship with Montana is also something Outlaw leaders say they want to preserve as both the company and the region continue growing. Timon described what the company calls its Outlaw Passport, which he said represents a connection to the Western lifestyle and influences the different businesses under the Outlaw umbrella. “How do we expose all these people that maybe grew up here or that come in from outside to Montana way of life?” Timon said. For Ladd, that Western identity is also connected to the willingness to help neighbors. He said he believes Montana can provide an example for other communities because of traditions rooted in ranching, Western culture, stewardship and neighbors helping one another. While Montana continues experiencing significant growth, Ladd said preserving those values is important. In 2025, Outlaw took another step by establishing the Outlaw Foundation, a registered nonprofit intended to formalize the company’s charitable work. Timon described the Foundation as a central place for Outlaw’s charitable activity, including researching potential recipients and reviewing organizations before money is distributed. He said companies within the Outlaw organization also contribute portions of commissions or sales to help grow the pool of money available for giving. Ladd said the new structure has also brought employees more directly into the process. “The Outlaw Foundation was really us formalizing the process of giving,” Ladd said. “It’s been part of Outlaw DNA since day one.” Employees from different divisions of the company now participate on the Foundation’s board, helping determine how money is distributed, which organizations receive support and which causes could become beneficiaries of future events. Ladd estimates Outlaw’s charitable efforts have touched hundreds of organizations over the years, ranging from donated items for school fundraisers to hundreds of thousands of dollars generated for larger causes. He also hopes Outlaw’s public approach to charitable giving encourages other businesses and individuals to consider what they can contribute, even if that contribution has nothing to do with money. “Every single person watching this has a skill set that can give,” Ladd said. “Even if your checkbook doesn’t have an extra zero in it, go give some time.” Ladd said he has already seen that inspiration spread. He recalled standing backstage with Dave Matthews during Wildlands when the musician asked about the charitable work connected to the event. According to Ladd, Matthews ultimately told his manager to give away his compensation from the show, a moment Ladd said inspired him to think even bigger about what Outlaw could accomplish. Looking ahead, both Ladd and Timon said Outlaw plans to continue growing its events and other businesses, but Ladd said he wants the charitable component to grow with them. For him, the ultimate legacy is less about recognition for the company and more about whether the work leaves Montana better than they found it. “I don’t need a statue built for Outlaw or big banners or thanks,” Ladd said. “What I want to know is that the work that we did mattered.”