PUBLIC RESEARCH DOSSIER · ORGANIZATION

Guardian of Rights Fund

5 published research records · Latest research 2026-09-17

LIVING DOSSIER

About Guardian of Rights Fund

Guardian of Rights Fund (EIN 88-2922670) is a 501(c)(4)-type social-welfare grantmaker whose reported relationship with Western Futures Fund is specifically election-facing. IRS-derived grant datasets report $1.4 million from Guardian to Western Futures across two grants in 2023-2024 and describe the Western Futures awards as “electoral purpose”; Guardian also reported a separate $250,000 grant to Way Back PAC. Guardian’s FY2024 filing reports approximately $39.5 million in revenue, all or overwhelmingly contribution revenue, but recipient-side public annual-return data do not identify the contributor names. That is consistent with IRS disclosure rules: contributor names/addresses on annual returns generally are not publicly disclosed for exempt organizations other than private foundations and section 527 political organizations, and current Schedule B instructions say organizations other than 501(c)(3)s and 527s generally enter N/A rather than contributor names. Targeted exact-name/EIN searches in currently indexed grantmaker data did not identify the institutional sources behind Gu…

From the published research record Guardian of Rights Fund gave $1.4M to Western Futures; grant-purpose data label the WFF awards electoral while Guardian’s original donors are not public (2026-09-15). Recorded status: IRS-derived outgoing grants and federal disclosure rule verified; original Guardian contributors are not identified in public annual-return data. Read the record for sources and qualifications. This excerpt has not yet been composed into an editorial biography.

Recent sourced additions

Newer published records appear here as excerpts. Their recorded status and qualifications remain attached to the full source record.

Western Futures Fund’s IRS-derived FY2024 record identifies $5.5 million in grants from five organizations, led by Sixteen Thirty Fund ($2.8 million) and New Venture Fund ($1.8 million), followed by Guardian of Rights Fund ($500,000), Civic Truth Coalition ($450,000), and Sheriff Accountability Action ($30,000).
Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund financed Western Futures before Way Back’s Idaho spending · 2026-09-17
Recorded status: Verified multi-stage funding chain; dollar-level tracing, earmarking, and coordination unproven

Western Futures Fund's FY2024 Form 990 reports receiving $2.8 million from Sixteen Thirty Fund, $1.8 million from New Venture Fund, $500,000 from Guardian of Rights Fund, $450,000 from Civic Truth Coalition, and $30,000 from Sheriff Accountability Action; it reported paying $100,000 to Way Back PAC in FY2024.
Way Back PAC had multiple upstream funders immediately before Idaho Prop 1 funding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified upstream relationships from state campaign-finance records and IRS Form 990-derived records. Idaho earmarking/pass-through unverified.

…me broad advocacy category; Global Impact Social Welfare Fund’s displayed FY2024 WFF grant as “Program Support”; Civic Truth Coalition’s $450K 2024 WFF grant as “General Support”; Guardian of Rights Fund’s WFF awards as “Electoral Purpose”; and Tioga Fund’s $100K 2022 WFF grant as “Democracy Program Support.” WFF itself reports separate Civil Society, Advocacy and Electoral programs.
Western Futures’ upstream grants carry differing reported purposes, including advocacy, program support, general support, democracy and electoral · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: IRS-derived grant-purpose categories documented; purpose labels describe grants but do not prove allocation to a particular WFF downstream expenditure.

IRS-derived grant records now provide a consolidated upstream map for Western Futures Fund across reported 2021–2024 tax years: Sixteen Thirty Fund approximately $5.1M across 3 grants; Global Impact Social Welfare Foundation $3.0M across 2 grants; New Venture Fund $2.2M across 3 grants; Guardian of Rights Fund $1.4M across 2 grants; Civic Truth Coalition $450K; Tioga Fund $100K; and Sheriff Accountability Action $30K.
WFF's disclosed 2021–24 funder map totals about $12.3M, with multiple upstream nodes also funding Way Back directly · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: IRS-DERIVED/PRIMARY FEC VERIFIED upstream architecture. Direct dual-recipient relationships for Guardian and Global Impact documented; same-dollar pass-through, earmarking and control not established.

FOLLOW THE RECORD

Connections

These links have a specific explanation in a published research record. Open each record for the source, date, relationship type, and limits.

PACs

Way Back PAC

Stated in published research

Guardian of Rights Fund separately reported a $250,000 grant to Way Back PAC in FY2023.

Read record and sources →

Organizations

Western Futures Fund

Stated in published research

Western Futures Fund's FY2024 Form 990 reports $500,000 received from Guardian of Rights Fund.

Read record and sources →

Other names appearing in the same research (19)

These are research overlaps for discovery, not documented relationships. Read the underlying records before drawing conclusions.

People

Christopher Hirsch · 1 shared record
Jeremy Krones · 1 shared record
Michael Hennesy · 1 shared record

PACs

Way Back PAC · 4 shared records
Defend and Protect Idaho · 1 shared record
Hometown Heroes · 1 shared record
Idaho First · 1 shared record

SOURCED RECORD

Research & sources

These dated records accumulate as research is published. Each retains its original status, context, and source references.

Connection research · 2026-09-17Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund financed Western Futures before Way Back’s Idaho spending

Recorded status: Verified multi-stage funding chain; dollar-level tracing, earmarking, and coordination unproven

Western Futures Fund’s IRS-derived FY2024 record identifies $5.5 million in grants from five organizations, led by Sixteen Thirty Fund ($2.8 million) and New Venture Fund ($1.8 million), followed by Guardian of Rights Fund ($500,000), Civic Truth Coalition ($450,000), and Sheriff Accountability Action ($30,000). The same return identifies Western Futures’ officers as Michael Hennesy (president), Jeremy Krones (treasurer), and Christopher Hirsch (secretary), all reporting $0 compensation, and lists $100,000 paid to Way Back PAC in FY2024. Separate 2026 FEC/reporting records show Western Futures later supplied at least $1.125 million to Way Back PAC, which then paid $350,000 to Defend and Protect Idaho, $100,000 to Hometown Heroes, and $100,000 to Idaho First. This produces a documented money path from Sixteen Thirty/New Venture into Western Futures, then into Way Back, then into the Idaho PAC network. However, funds are fungible and the records do not permit tracing a particular Sixteen Thirty or New Venture dollar into a particular 2026 Idaho payment. They establish the funding chain and institutional relationships, not earmarking or coordination.

Sources

Western Futures Fund Inc. — IRS Form 990-derived FY2024 record — Officers, Directors & Key Employees; Grants received FY2024; Grants paid FY2024

This dossier reflects published research, including its uncertainties. Inclusion or association alone does not establish wrongdoing. Submit a correction or additional evidence →