Catalyst Montana Funding Prompts Calls for State Inquiry

In May 2023, Western Montana News contributor Casey Whalen reported on allegations that the Montana Human Rights Network—now operating as Catalyst Montana—attempted to “hijack and silence” conservative media outlets. Fresh scrutiny of the leftwing organization emerged last week on the heels of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency audit of payouts made by USAID. Publicly available USAID grant data revealed that Catalyst Montana derived roughly 71% of its revenue (about $735,117) from federal taxpayer funds, in addition to receiving $30,000 from the Transgender Law Center, $38,000 from the Tides Foundation, and $60,000 from the Windward Fund.

These figures prompted U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Jeremy Carl to call for Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to investigate the organization’s funding. “[I] hope @GovGianforte or someone on his staff looks into this,” Carl posted on X. Critics say the heavy reliance on federal taxpayer funding warrants deeper scrutiny.

On its website, Catalyst Montana outlines four primary programs financed by taxpayer funds: community organizing, policy advocacy, research, and leadership development. The organization also provides a “Hate Incident Report Form” as part of its efforts to document and respond to so-called “hate activity.” The research the leftwing organization engages in involves targeting individual Montanan’s for what the organization deems as wrongthink. The research section on Catalyst Montana’s website states:

“At the root of injustice is white supremacy and settler-colonialism. At Catalyst Montana, we research and track organizations and individuals who promote white nationalism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and nativism. We also provide resources and support to community members to respond, dismantle, and reject hate.”

Catalyst Montana website. Accessed February 10, 2025.

Catalyst Montana, under its former name Montana Human Rights Network, has long been a go-to source for local media when covering issues of alleged racism or extremism. In 2022, an article published by Montana NBC affiliate KTVH covering a rally at the Montana Capitol in support of Jan. 6th prisoners recently pardoned by President Trump, MHRN Program Director Travis McAdams stated that the prisoners “literally and physically tried to overthrow the federal government.” He added, “Anytime you have an event that is celebrating people basically taking actions to overthrow the government, that’s concerning.” Critics argue MHRN is often tapped by reporters looking to characterize certain conservative actions as threatening or extremist.

As of this publication, Catalyst Montana has not released an official statement addressing concerns about its funding or its public comments.