How It Works

The BEAR Project is available in Missoula, Ravalli, and Mineral Counties. Each county has a unique Resource Advisory Team, which is manned by local service providers and is specific to their own area.

The Process:

Step One: After contacting the BEAR Project to become a client – two BEAR volunteers will come to your business for a conversation similar to an interview. The questionnaire involves topics like workforce, space availability and corporate structure – we want to learn about your business. The interview lasts about 90 minutes.

Step Two: The BEAR volunteers follow-up this interview with a Resource Advisory Team Meeting. Your business is discussed confidentially, and opportunities identified within the interview are addressed.

Step Three: From this meeting, the Resource Advisory Team will identify the service provider best suited to help facilitate your business opportunity. A BEAR volunteer will then contact you to schedule, at your convenience, a time to get together and talk opportunities and solutions.

BEAR has received 100% positive feedback from participating businesses!

What business owners say about BEAR

• "Helpful in identifying and articulating goals and issues alike"
• "Informative about services provided to businesses in the area that I didn’t know about before"
• "Very beneficial feedback from the BEAR volunteers"
• "Offered practical ideas that I hadn’t thought of"