The University of Montana has a deep connection with the city of Missoula and Southwest Montana. UM’s vested interest in seeing the area grow and thrive encourages students to actively engage with the community. Often, students volunteer for local charities and nonprofits like the Missoula food bank. The University’s cultural and civic engagement earned it a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, by the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2007. In that year, UM students volunteered more than 30,500 service hours in the Missoula community resulting in an economic impact of 875,000 dollars. Out of the 635 schools put on the service honor roll, the University of Montana was one of six who were given presidential awards. More recently, UM has been recognized twice by the Washington Monthly for being the top public service school in the nation.
The Missoula Volunteer Fire Brigade wet test champion team practices around the turn of the 20th century.
The University of Montana and Montana State have a Cat-Griz food drive tradition leading up to the annual rival football game dubbed the “Brawl of the Wild.” The first Cat-Griz food drive occurred in 1998 and the Grizzlies collected 1,436 pounds of food compared to the Cats 247 pounds. Advancing the overall impact, the competition now accepts monetary donations. In recent years, around a million pounds of food and dollars have been donated to assist Montanans ahead of the holiday season. The most recent food drive in 2023 produced 1.5 million pounds of food and dollars with $870,000 coming from the University of Montana.
UM students and staff continue to serve the Missoula community throughout the academic year, including with projects like "Can the Cats," which combines school spirit, competition, and service.