Browse sourced findings, connection research, and open questions. Each entry retains the status and qualifications recorded with the research. A connection research note is not automatically a verified network-map relationship.
Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: PRIMARY/strongly verified Idaho steering and use: Way Back→Defend and Protect receipts, Idaho leadership, and candidate-specific independent expenditures documented. WFF/upstream donor selection of individual Idaho candidates is NOT established.
The Western Futures→Way Back→Idaho branch now answers the local-steering/use question at Defend and Protect Idaho. Way Back PAC, whose Jan. 2026 FEC filing identifies Western Futures Fund as its connected organization, made a primary-verified $25,000 payment to Defend and Protect Idaho on Sept. 12, 2025 and FEC-derived reporting for Apr. 1–Jun. 3, 2026 reports another $350,000 to the Idaho PAC. Once the money reached Idaho, local leadership is identifiable…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 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.
The upstream grants into Western Futures Fund are not uniformly described as election funding, and their stated purposes should be preserved separately. Filing-derived grant data report Sixteen Thirty Fund grants to WFF including approximately $2.225M in 2022 and $2.75M in 2024 under “civil rights, social action, advocacy”; New Venture Fund grants including approximately $120K in 2021, $300K in 2023 and $1.78M in 2024 under the same broad advocacy category…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified CVI activity and legislative outcomes; LCV causal attribution preserved as attribution. Funding-source-to-2025-activity tracing is NOT established.
The effect side of the Sixteen Thirty→Conservation Voters for Idaho branch is now independently documented beyond general mission statements. League of Conservation Voters, CVI's national network affiliate, reported in March 2025 that CVI strategically worked to defeat three Idaho measures restricting the citizen initiative process: HB 85, SJR 101 and HB 2. LCV says CVI outreach generated more than 600 emails to state representatives and the governor, incr…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified 990-derived grant relationships. Earmarking and causal attribution to Idaho are explicitly unverified.
Article IV, which directly reported paying $2.22 million to Idahoans for Open Primaries in FY2024, has disclosed institutional grant funding from Our American Future Action ($3.4 million across 2023-2024), Leadership Network ($2.5 million in 2024), Hopewell Fund ($433,000 in 2022), and Democracy Fund Voice ($150,000 in 2023). Our American Future Action in turn received $34.4 million from Open Society Policy Center across 2023-2024, plus large grants from O…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: PRIMARY FCC VERIFIED local governing/contact, media vendor and two distinct KMVT ad orders. Hometown Heroes funding link remains secondary pending primary Idaho row.
Primary KMVT/FCC political-file records identify the Idaho-side steering and media-buying structure for Magic Valley Voter Action. A 2026 issue-ad disclosure lists Magic Valley Voter Action at PO Box 5542, Twin Falls, Idaho 83303; names James Dale Gould as contact; and lists James Dale Gould as the sole named member of the chief executive officers/executive committee/board/other governing group field. The station-time request was placed by Targeted Platfor…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified direct grant relationships from Sixteen Thirty Schedule I and IRS-derived grant records. No coordination/pass-through inference.
Sixteen Thirty Fund's IRS Schedule I filings show direct grants to several Idaho advocacy organizations across multiple cycles. Its 2021 filing lists $495,000 to Idaho Values First Foundation Inc., Boise, for civil rights/social action/advocacy and $60,000 to Conservation Voters for Idaho. Its 2022 filing lists $30,000 to Votes Idaho for civil rights/social action/advocacy, and its 2024 filing lists an additional $163,000 to Votes Idaho. Separate IRS-deriv…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: CURRENT/HISTORICAL CAMPAIGN-FINANCE VERIFIED: Victory→Liberty and Friends of Brad Little→Victory relationships plus 2026 Liberty/DPI candidate overlap established. Coordination/common control between the Little-associated and WFF/Way Back lanes is NOT established.
A stronger candidate-endpoint convergence is now documented between a Brad Little-associated Idaho PAC lane and the separate Western Futures/Way Back lane. Current Idaho Victory Fund records show $615,000 paid to Idaho Liberty PAC in the displayed 2026 cycle. Idaho Education News reports that Idaho Liberty PAC is funded almost entirely by Idaho Victory Fund, describes Victory Fund as a PAC that supports Gov. Brad Little, and reports $1.43 million in Victor…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: PRIMARY leadership/role verified; campaign spending totals/payees are current secondary aggregation of Idaho filings. WFF/NVF grants are NOT traced to specific vendors.
Idahoans United for Women and Families has an unusually clear public record identifying its Idaho operational decision-maker. In a sworn January 2025 Idaho Supreme Court declaration, executive director Melanie Folwell states that in her role she organizes volunteers, coordinates strategic priorities, manages staff, fundraises, communicates with media, drafts initiative proposals, coalition-builds and travels statewide to recruit volunteers and leaders. The…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified negative search across current indexed Hopewell/public grant records, with a primary-source RWJF contrast. No direct Hopewell grant found; absolute absence cannot be proved.
A targeted exact-name/EIN search of currently indexed Hopewell Fund grant records and broader public grant records did not identify a direct Hopewell Fund grant to Reclaim Idaho or Reclaim Idaho Fund (EIN 86-3680412). Searches for "Reclaim Idaho Fund" and EIN 86-3680412 with Hopewell returned no direct grant record. By contrast, a direct Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant is primary-verifiable in RWJF’s 2024 Form 990-PF: Reclaim Idaho Fund, 2605 W Kooten…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified SOSI→Hulsen vendor relationship from FCC records and SOSI↔Reclaim operational alliance from contemporaneous local reporting. No Reclaim→Hulsen payment/control inference.
FCC public-file records for KSNQ directly list Save Our School Idaho political-ad orders/invoices with Hulsen Media Services in January-March 2024. Separately, 9B News reported on Sept. 12, 2025 that Reclaim Idaho executive director Luke Mayville and members of his team stopped in Bonners Ferry 'on behalf of Save Our Schools Idaho' during the Not A Dollar More campaign against Idaho's private-school tax-credit/voucher policy. Save Our Schools Idaho publicl…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: PRIMARY Sixteen Thirty→WNN grant and primary Gem State WNN-grant/policy activity verified. WNN→Gem State exact amount and Sixteen Thirty same-dollar pass-through remain unresolved.
Sixteen Thirty Fund’s primary FY2024 Schedule I reports a $600,000 cash grant to Welcoming Neighbors Network (EIN 99-4813080) for civil rights, social action and advocacy. Gem State Housing Alliance’s own Idaho website states that the Alliance applied for and won a Welcoming Neighbors Network grant, hired staff, conducted a listening tour with more than 150 Idahoans, and developed a policy agenda for Idaho cities. Its stated agenda includes by-right housin…
Read note and sources →Open question · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: OPEN DOCUMENT TARGET. Grant agreement proves the report was required; public copy not located in current search. Contents unknown.
The April 2025 Contours→Western Futures grant agreement required Western Futures Fund to submit a final report by January 31, 2026 containing a 1–2 page narrative describing objectives, activities and achievements during the April–December 2025 grant period plus financial accounting for WFF’s full budget during that period. Targeted public-web searches have not located that final report. If obtained through public records, donor/grantee disclosure, litigat…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified recipient totals and two identifiable grant relationships; remaining donor identity unresolved.
Reclaim Idaho Fund reported $93,333 in contributions in FY2022, $145,904 in FY2023, and $312,428 in FY2024. A $65,000 2022 grant from All Hands on Deck Network/Movement Voter Project is independently identifiable, leaving about $28,333 of FY2022 contribution revenue not attributed by the public grant records located so far. FY2023 contribution revenue of $145,904 remains unattributed in the current public funder search. FY2024 includes a separately identif…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: IRS-derived same-year organizational funding links verified; same-dollar pass-through is not established.
Civic Truth Coalition (EIN 99-3438435) creates an additional Sixteen Thirty→Western Futures organizational route distinct from Sixteen Thirty’s direct grants to WFF. Civic Truth’s FY2024 IRS-derived filing reports approximately $3.3 million total revenue and identifies a $1.34 million grant from Sixteen Thirty Fund. The same filing reports a $450,000 general-support grant from Civic Truth Coalition to Western Futures Fund, alongside grants to Restore Our I…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: CURRENT OFFICIAL/FINANCE VERIFIED nexus: Victory pays Hauge/Rogers/Bilbao; Hauge and Rogers hold current senior Governor roles; Bilbao led Little campaign communications; Liberty promotes Little. Legal control/IE coordination remains unestablished.
The Idaho Victory Fund’s relationship to Gov. Brad Little can now be documented beyond general political alignment. Current 2026 committee data list Idaho Victory Fund payments of approximately $29,704.55 to Zach Hauge, $31,084.74 to Hayden Rogers, and $52,485.96 to Bilbao & Co. The Governor’s official current staff page identifies Hauge as Chief of Staff and Rogers as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. A 2023 official Governor’s Office release states …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified separate money paths. Critical limitation preserved: no evidence of funds flowing from Reclaim through IEA/PACE into the Republican-primary PAC network.
Idaho Education Association retired-council minutes for 2023-24 report that the SWEA-R retired chapter used an IEA grant for $1,000 in 'Support for Reclaim Idaho.' Separately, in the 2024 election cycle, IEA's Political Action Committee for Education (PACE) contributed roughly $90,000 to Right 2 Learn, an Idaho PAC that spent heavily in Republican legislative primaries against private-school-choice supporters. In the 2026 primary cycle, Idaho Capital Sun r…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: PRIMARY WFF contractor and primary FEC Way Back payment verified. Shared vendor relationship established; coordination, common strategy and Idaho-target selection are NOT established.
Fireweed Campaigns is a documented professional-services crossline between Western Futures Fund and its connected PAC, Way Back PAC. Western Futures Fund’s FY2024 Form 990 identifies Fireweed Campaigns Inc. of Helena, Montana as an independent contractor paid $107,500 for project management. Way Back PAC’s 2025 year-end FEC Form 3X Schedule B separately reports a $20,000 payment to Fireweed Campaigns, PO Box 87, Helena, Montana, dated November 3, 2025, for…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: V4IV→Sunnybrook $35,000 is verified from Transparency USA 2024 committee aggregation; candidate-client list is secondary and should be primary-upgraded before publication.
Transparency USA’s 2024 Veterans for Idaho Voters committee page reports $35,000 in expenditures/payments to Sunnybrook Strategies LLC. V4IV was a formal Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition member alongside Reclaim Idaho and MWEG. Separate December 2025 Idaho political reporting identifies Sunnybrook Strategies as a campaign firm that had worked for multiple Main Street-aligned Republican candidates/elected officials including Greg Lanting, Josh Wheeler,…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified from Business Plus investor/newsletter records and IRS-derived filing; political coordination/control not established.
Business Plus Inc. (EIN 20-3898333) is a Twin Falls 501(c)(6) business organization funded primarily through program-service/investor revenue; its FY2025 Form 990 reports $178,609 revenue and $281,321 net assets. Business Plus says its Legacy Leaders are individuals whose institutional knowledge, experience and relationships are retained as a regional resource and that several were founders of Business Plus and/or Southern Idaho Economic Development Organi…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified personnel overlap from SOSI founder reporting and Take Back Idaho's own materials; Reclaim-SOSI operational alliance separately verified. No control/finance inference.
Idaho Education News reports that Save Our Schools Idaho was founded in 2023 by a small group including former Weiser superintendent Wil Overgaard and former superintendent Geoff Thomas. Take Back Idaho's own Dec. 12, 2021 founding announcement identifies Wil Overgaard as a member of its newly formed committee, and Take Back Idaho's current board page lists Geoff Thomas among its directors. Separately documented research shows Reclaim Idaho's Luke Mayville…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: WFF→Blue Moon day-to-day role PRIMARY verified; Way Back→Blue Moon consulting PRIMARY verified; Jonah Meyers founder/principal identification supported by current Blue Moon recruiting material/LinkedIn. Board authority/donor direction/Idaho-target selection NOT established.
The operating-personnel layer around Western Futures Fund and Way Back PAC can now be stated more precisely. Western Futures Fund’s own FY2024 Schedule O says Blue Moon Strategies is responsible for WFF’s day-to-day operations. Primary FEC filings show Way Back PAC repeatedly paying Blue Moon Strategies for strategic consulting, including payments in 2025. A current Blue Moon Strategies recruiting post identifies Jonah Meyers as the job poster and states t…
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified direct Idaho contributions, Article IV multistate grant portfolio, and Unite America-to-Way Back contribution. Earmarking/pass-through to Idaho is not established.
Late-October 2024 reporting based on Idaho Secretary of State data said Idahoans for Open Primaries had amassed about $5.5 million. Major outside contributions included Article IV $2.2 million, Unite America PAC plus a related entity $1.8 million, and Way Back PAC $250,000; Reclaim Idaho contributed $160,000 in September. Article IV's FY2024 Form 990 Schedule I separately reports a $2.22 million grant to Idahoans for Open Primaries and shows Idaho alongsid…
Read note and sources →Research finding · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: IRS leadership/compensation and IEA role PRIMARY/IRS VERIFIED; outside-funder control or direction is NOT established.
Votes Idaho’s FY2024 Form 990-derived records identify Colin Nash as executive director with $76,212 reportable compensation, Matt Compton as board chair with $0 reportable compensation, and Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman and Caitlin Barnard as board members with $0 reportable compensation. Nash’s reported Votes Idaho compensation was $115,000 in FY2023 and $51,923 in FY2022. Separately, the Idaho Education Association identifies Matt Compton as its associate …
Read note and sources →Connection research · 2026-09-15
Recorded status: Verified formal FEC connected-organization relationship and IRS-reported grant flows; Idaho earmarking not established.
Way Back PAC's January 2026 FEC Statement of Organization identifies Western Futures Fund as a connected organization. Western Futures Fund's IRS-derived 2024 records show grants received including approximately $2.8 million from Sixteen Thirty Fund and $1.8 million from New Venture Fund, and a $100,000 grant to Way Back PAC in FY2024. Across 2021-2024, IRS-derived grant data show Western Futures Fund received about $5.1 million from Sixteen Thirty Fund an…
Read note and sources →