Big Sky Economic Development Authority

Big Sky Economic Development Authority, a U.S. local government entity based in Billings, Montana, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering procurement technical assistance, business development services, and environmental remediation planning support to the Department of Defense, the Small Business Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Authority does not hold prime federal contracts and does not subcontract; 37 awards in the source portfolio are 100% federal grants with no subrecipient relationships.

The Authority's customer base spans ten distinct federal agencies, with the top five accounting for 73% of awards. The Defense Logistics Agency (including DLA Headquarters) leads with 13 combined awards; the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration Office of VA Business Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 follow with 5, 5, and 4 awards respectively. The Authority's federal grant portfolio totals $24.4 million in combined dollars obligated across recent activity.

The Authority's capability portfolio centers on three federal grant programs. The Procurement Technical Assistance For Business Firms program (CFDA 12.002), funded by the Defense Logistics Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has generated multiple awards to establish and maintain APEX Accelerator centers. Recent examples include a $1,281,471.53 cooperative agreement from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (awarded June 1, 2026, running through May 31, 2027) to establish an APEX Accelerator center in Oklahoma City serving businesses navigating federal, state, and local procurement processes, and a prior $1,123,158 cooperative agreement from DLA Headquarters (August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022) supporting procurement assistance delivery in Montana. The Small Business Administration's Veterans Outreach Program (CFDA 59.044) awarded the Authority $360,000 (May 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026) to operate a Veterans Business Outreach Center in Billings delivering entrepreneurship training and business development services to veterans, service-disabled veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses; a prior $300,000 grant ran May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Cooperative Agreements program (CFDA 66.818) has funded two major initiatives: a $1,000,000 cooperative agreement (August 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028) to capitalize a revolving loan fund for cleanup loans and subgrants targeting approximately 5 brownfield sites in downtown and east Billings, and a $500,000 cooperative agreement (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2026) to conduct environmental site assessments, cleanup planning, and community involvement activities. The Authority also received EPA Region 8 funding (July 3, 2025 through September 30, 2029) for brownfields assessment and redevelopment planning in Yellowstone County focused on three target areas: Midtown, Southside, and the East Billings Urban Renewal District, with deliverables including Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, community meetings, cleanup planning documents, and quarterly progress reports.

Activity has remained modest and flat across the past five years (3, 3, 1, 3, 1 awards annually from 2022 through 2026), with only one award facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months.