LOR Foundation is a rural community development fund and conservationist organization based in the American Mountain West. ¹ It was founded by Amy Wyss, the daughter of Swiss billionaire entrepreneur and liberal philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss, and her husband Ed Jaramillo in 2007. ^{2 3 4 5}

Activities

LOR Foundation has several internal local community officers to oversee the granting process in the areas it gives grants. The officers suggest issues that the foundation could investigate, which the foundation then incorporates into its funding initiatives and products, which it calls “solutions.” ⁶

The foundation’s past “solutions” included a “home repair program” in Questa, New Mexico, that helps homeowners repair their properties and rent them “at affordable rates to nearby workers;” a digital resource for volunteers looking for jobs in Lander, Wyoming; and a “coworking space” that functions as a small business incubator and education center in Taos, New Mexico. ⁷ The Questa home repair program also created affordable housing and claimed to create jobs in hopes to draw new citizens to the community. ⁸

When several nonprofits in Taos were facing staffing shortages, a group of organizations worked to secure federal funding through AmeriCorps to invite nonprofit workers from around the United States to come work for them. LOR Foundation stepped in to help the nonprofits give their new hires higher wages. ⁹

LOR Foundation has also funded several environmental initiatives in the past, such as a water and forest conservation effort in Taos, a waterway restoration program in Taos, and a conservation group in San Luis Valley. ^{10 11 12} The township of Taos stopped recycling plastic, so LOR funded a local community members’ project to gather plastic waste from residents’ homes, put them in crates and turn them into decorative walls around the town. ¹³

LOR Foundation provided a grant for a bigger refrigerator and other renovations for the United Methodist Church of Lander, Wyoming, to use during its food drives. ¹⁴

During the 2020 Census, the foundation distributed grants to several nonprofits in states like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico to fund translation services, “hot spots,” and citizen outreach with the stated goal of ensuring a complete census count. ¹⁵

LOR Foundation has a submission form on its website that allows visitors to suggest ideas for future programs in Lander, Wyoming; Taos and Questa, New Mexico; and Cortez, Colorado. ¹⁶

Leadership

LOR Foundation was founded by Amy Wyss, the daughter of Swiss billionaire left-progressive mega-donor Hansjorg Wyss, and her husband Ed Jaramillo in 2007. ¹⁷

Its executive director is Gary Wilmot, a former program manager at the National Outdoor Leadership School; Amy Wyss is a former member of its board of trustees. ¹⁸

It employs community officers to oversee projects in the areas to which it sends grants. Nicci Crowley works as the Cortez community officer, Michelle Escudero as Lander community officer, and Sonya Struck as Taos community officer. ¹⁹

1. “Home.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/.
2. “#1580 Amy Wyss.” Forbes, 30 January 2022. Accessed 30 January 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-wyss/?sh=7ef029851ebd.
3. “These are the Faces of the World’s Youngest Female Billionaires.” LivingMagazine. Accessed 30 January 2022. https://www.livingmgz.com/glamour/these-are-the-faces-of-the-worlds-youngest-female-billionaires/49.html?br_t=ch&fab=1.
4. “#1580 Amy Wyss.” Forbes, 30 January 2022. Accessed 30 January 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-wyss/?sh=7ef029851ebd.
5. David de Jong and Zeke Faux. “Wyss Emerges Among Youngest Woman Billionaires in Synthes.” Bloomberg, 18 March 2014. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-18/wyss-emerges-among-youngest-woman-billionaires-in-synthes. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20201224222739/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-18/wyss-emerges-among-youngest-woman-billionaires-in-synthes.
6. “Home.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/.
7. “Home.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/.
8. “Questa Lodging.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/questa-lodging/.
9. “A Unique AmeriCorps Program Provides Taos Nonprofits with Local Staff.” Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/a-unique-americorps-program-provides-taos-nonprofits-with-local-staff/.
10. “Forged by Fire.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/forged-by-fire/.
11. “Art and Essays, Shaped by Water.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/art-and-essays-shaped-by-water/.
12. “Trails and Transformation.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/trails-and-transformation/.
13. “Baling (and Building) in Taos.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/baling-and-building-in-taos/.
14. “Helping Lander’s Community Meal Feed More.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/helping-landers-community-meal-feed-more/.
15. “Census Instagrants.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/stories/census-instagrant/.
16.  “Home.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/.
17. “#1580 Amy Wyss.” Forbes, 30 January 2022. Accessed 30 January 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/amy-wyss/?sh=7ef029851ebd.
18. “These are the Faces of the World’s Youngest Female Billionaires.” LivingMagazine. Accessed 30 January 2022. https://www.livingmgz.com/glamour/these-are-the-faces-of-the-worlds-youngest-female-billionaires/49.html?br_t=ch&fab=1.
19. “Team.” LOR Foundation. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://lorfoundation.org/team/.