Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project
ActiveCommunity Improvement
About Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project
The WORC Education Project seeks to achieve a democratic, sustainable and just society through community action by building a grassroots base of skilled citizens working for stewardship and conservation of land, water and natural resources, economic and social justice for rural communities, and empowering local citizens to participate in civic life.
Focus Areas
Clean, renewable energyOil & gas policy and impactsCoal and coal transition/reclamationAgriculture and food systemsHardrock mining & uraniumGrassroots democracy and civic engagementLeadership development and organizer trainingResearch and publications
Who They Fund
rural residents/communitieslow-income individuals and householdsNative American / Indigenous voters and communities
About Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project
Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project directs major support to its own network and affiliated organizing infrastructure, with multi-year awards to Western Organization of Resource Councils in Billings, Montana: $2,949,164 in 2025, $2,674,185 in 2024, and $1,673,582 in 2023. That pattern shows a funder built around sustaining movement capacity, not isolated project grants. The foundation also backs state- and region-based civic work tied to rural communities and Native voters, including North Dakota Native Vote in Mandan and Montana Voices Table through Western Org of Resource Counc. Across the recent grants list, the same themes recur: general support, campaign-related work, and coalition building. Other recipients such as Northern Plains Resource Council, Dakota Resource Council, Western Colorado Alliance, and Oregon Rural Action point to a grantmaker focused on organizing in resource-policy states rather than broad issue philanthropy. Its stated purpose is to build a grassroots base of skilled citizens working for stewardship of land, water, and natural resources, economic and social justice for rural communities, and civic participation.
What Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project Funds
The foundation’s topic areas cluster around rural organizing, civic engagement, and resource-policy advocacy. In voter mobilization and Native vote work, it gave $552,178 in 2025 and $252,005 in 2024 to North Dakota Native Vote in Mandan, plus $263,400 in 2023 for the same effort. In rural power and coalition work, it supported the Rural Power Coalition with $222,500 each to Clean Up the River Environment in Montevideo, Minnesota; Renew Missouri Advocates in Columbia, Missouri; Mountain Association in Berea, Kentucky; and Appalachian Voices in Boone, North Carolina. It also funds state-based organizing groups such as Dakota Rural Action in Brookings, South Dakota, which received $167,500 in 2024 for general support and campaigns. Senior advocacy appears in the MT Senior Citizens Project grant to Big Sky Fifty Five Plus in Helena.
How Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project Gives
Grant size skews toward mid-sized awards: p25 is $28,312, median is $75,000, and p75 is $150,000. The recent list also includes very large operating grants to the foundation’s own affiliated organizations, alongside repeated support to the same recipients across 2023 to 2025, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. The pattern is largely general support, campaign funding, and movement-building support. This is not an individual-grantmaker; it funds organizations, not people, and the portfolio shows no program-related investments.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5.8M
Total Assets
$7.2M
Total Revenue
$6.4M
Total Expenses
$6.6M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $28K and $150K, with a median of $75K.
25th Percentile
$28K
Median
$75K
75th Percentile
$150K
Geographic Reach
Regional19 states funded
About 42% of grants go to recipients in MT.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
DEB LOVE
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