Connection research · Research date 2026-09-15
Western Futures-funded Idahoans United is led by Melanie Folwell and has spent heavily on the 2026 statewide ballot campaign
Recorded status: Leadership, direct WFF grant, initiative sponsorship and 2026 committee expenditures verified. WFF grant use for specific expenditures is not established.
This is a dated research record. Its qualifications and open questions are part of the account. Association alone does not establish wrongdoing or control.
Idahoans United for Women and Families is a second major Idaho endpoint. Its official About page identifies Melanie Folwell as executive director. Its FY2024 filing lists five directors: Rev. Mike Conner, Cynthia Dalsing, Linda Dixon, Summer Jackman and Florina Ruvio. Western Futures Fund directly granted Idahoans United $60,000 in 2024 for general purpose, and the organization later became sponsor of the qualified 2026 Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act ballot initiative. Current Idaho campaign-finance aggregation reports approximately $1.672 million in committee contributions and $867,631 in expenditures. The largest reported payees include Campaign Associates LLC at about $546,967, Change Media Group at $100,000, ESP Print and Mail at about $48,919, Frame by Frame Productions at about $30,232, Scale to Win at about $17,128, plus Meta/Facebook, Google, FundHero and other campaign/communications vendors. This shows how money at the Idaho endpoint is being operationalized: campaign consulting, media/creative, printing/mail, digital organizing and advertising around a statewide ballot-measure effort. It does NOT establish that the $60,000 Western Futures grant paid any particular vendor, because Idahoans United has many other donors and the WFF grant was reported as general purpose.