The Match That Turned One Gift Into a Movement

How ten years of trust and a donor advised fund helped build a bike park fifteen years in the making. 

For 15 years, Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) and the City of Bozeman had envisioned Bikefill, a world-class community bike park just north of Bozeman. Over fifteen years, that vision became more urgent as our existing trails filled with hikers, runners, dogs, and the 400 young riders in Bozeman Youth Cycling’s summer program. When the opportunity came to make Bikefill a reality, GVLT needed a way to bring hundreds of neighbors into the effort: one ask that could turn a long-held vision into a place the community built together. 

GVLT was looking for a way to connect Bikefill with donors who could help bring the project to life. At the same time, Mike and Andrea Manship, longtime One Valley fundholders, were considering a significant gift to the project and asked us for perspective. We knew right away that Bikefill aligned with what mattered to their family. 

A gift like this does not take shape in a single meeting. It grows from years of understanding what donors care about, the causes they support, and the role they want their giving to play. Over a decade of conversations, we had learned how deeply the Manships care about trails and community spaces. That history allowed us to help shape a gift that could make a meaningful difference for GVLT while fitting naturally within the larger story of their giving. 

The Manships opened their fund at One Valley ten years ago, choosing to root their giving in the places where they live and play. In their first meeting with Bridget Wilkinson, our president and CEO, they connected over a shared belief that local giving is most effective when it thoughtful, connected, and responsive to the community. 

Over the years, we have learned about the Manships deep care for trails, open land, and community spaces. When GVLT invited them to tour the site and asked them to become lead donors, the ground was so muddy that, as Justin Barth remembers it, everyone was nearly ankle-deep. The project was still just an idea, but the fit was clear. 

Mike and Andrea initially considered making an outright gift to GVLT. But after conversations with both the couple and the GVLT team, Bridget saw an opportunity to make their generosity go further. Bridget knew that inspiring others to give with their philanthropy was a priority to the Manship family. She encouraged them to consider a matching challenge that could invite more people into the project. After conversations with the GVLT team, they created a creative fifty-to-one match: every gift of $10 or more unlocked an additional $500 from the Manships’ fund at One Valley. Their generosity became more than a lead gift. It gave hundreds of people a reason to join in, knowing that even a small contribution could help move Bikefill forward. 

Justin Barth, GVLT’s director of development, describes the property as 66 acres next to Snowfill Recreation Area that will soon hold more than eight miles of new trail. “Snowfill is where dogs can be dogs, Bikefill is where bikers can be bikers, and the landfill is where trash can be trash,” he likes to say. Of all the campaigns he has worked on, he calls this the only one he has overheard people whispering about at parties. 

Photo: Kurt Wehde

More than 800 people gave, raising over $5 million. GVLT broke ground this summer, and construction will continue into 2027, when the first riders will head out on trails built for every skill level: beginner loops, technical lines, a pump track, and adaptive trails for riders who need them. 

Bikefill is not the first place the Manships’ fund has made an impact, or even the first time they have used a match to help a big idea take hold. Their giving has supported causes ranging from access to mental health care to youth philanthropy. Different missions, but the same instinct: put their fund to work where they live. 

Andrea describes One Valley as the central nervous system of the region, connecting people, ideas, and resources where they are needed most. We take that responsibility seriously. It means listening long enough to understand what matters to a donor, then helping build the right structure, whether that is a match, a fund, or an introduction, to turn one gift into broader community action. 

“It transformed our giving from being just a transaction to becoming a local collaboration,” Andrea said. “It’s not just writing another check.” 

That is what a fund at One Valley can do: turn one family’s generosity into something the whole valley gets to ride. If you are thinking about the role your own giving could play in this community, we would welcome the chance to talk about what is possible. Send us an email at philanthropy@onevalley.org or schedule a call to get the conversation started.

To learn more about Bikefill and ways to get involved, visit gvlt.org/bikefill or email Justin Barth.