Bozeman Neighbor Connection is an invitation to collective action on the neighborhood level. We act as the central infrastructure for coordination, engagement, and resources for localized, cross-level support within and across our neighborhoods.

Have you recently felt the collective drive to engage locally and asked yourself, “what can I do?” As an answer to this, we built a framework to easily connect and expand local resourcing with your neighbors. Borrow that tool you’re missing, share a local garden or hobby group, access or exchange baby/dog or house sitting, as well as grow our community care assistance and disaster relief, feel less isolated in our residences through localized social connection, and support food and supply sharing. 

Montana has unique cultural roots, where neighbors helping neighbors is a foundational and reciprocal necessity for success. We know, despite locality growth or national narratives, that the interest and capacity to participate in the well-being of our neighbors is of paramount value to Montanans.

The aim of Bozeman Neighbor Connect (BNC) is to provide each neighborhood the opportunity to readily coordinate participation, creativity, relationships, and community preparedness. Join your neighbors to collectively mitigate any challenges and directly impact the vibrancy of Bozeman, starting right where you reside.

What is BNC for? 

  • Providing support during extreme weather events (i.e. tree down, house fire)

  • Provide support during these times of economic uncertainty and cuts to federal programs

  • Preparing for and sharing resources or even homes during power outages

  • Training and using a back-up communication system for internet/cell outages

  • Looking out for our neighbors safety during civil unrest

  • Standing up for our neighbors when we see injustice

  • Build resilience in and across neighborhoods with community building

  • Creating resilience and support within neighborhoods for the unexpected, big and small

  • Distributing timely information and minimizing the spread of rumors

Practical Examples:

  • Neighborhood tool share

  • Neighborhood block parties

  • Neighborhood food share

  • Neighborhood clothing/supplies share

  • Neighborhood emergency transportation

  • Neighborhood emergency animal/child sitting

  • Neighborhood garden

  • Neighborhood watch

Guiding Philosophy: When a neighbor needs help, the Bozeman community helps them. And we do that regardless of where they’re from, what they believe in, or anything else. BNC fosters our neighborly spirit by providing a communications tool that connects neighbors with neighbors, and with the wider community. 

How it Works: BNC coordinates through a series of secure messaging chats. Members will join one chat for their neighborhood. Neighborhood Coordinators will join two chats: their neighborhood and a BNC coordinators chat. BNC organizers will collaborate with the Coordinators chat. 

Regular communication, aid, volunteering and resourcing can stay within neighborhoods, until a need cannot be met, and can then be pushed to other neighborhoods or organizers. 

Information, resources, and guidance will be distributed both across neighborhoods and from BNC organizers. The goal here is to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio, providing you with the communication, information, and resources you need, when you need them. 

BNC uses Signal Messenger to enable free, easy, end-to-end encrypted communications. Whether or not you participate using your real name is entirely up to you. BNC also uses Protonmail.

How to Join: Use this web form to register with for your neighborhood chat, or create one.