Western Values Project is a left-of-center advocacy project involved in public lands and environmentalist advocacy. It is a project of the New Venture Fund, a charitable arm of Arabella Advisors’ left-of-center advocacy network. ¹

However, as of January 2020, Accountable.US (a former New Venture Fund project) has claimed control of Western Values Project. In 2020, Accountable.US noted that it was “in the process of transitioning from the New Venture Fund” into a standalone nonprofit; it has since become an independent nonprofit. ²

Anti-Trump Activism

Western Values Project runs the website DavidBernhardt.org, a website set up to attack President Trump’s Secretary of the Interior from 2019 to 2021 and Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 2017 to 2019. The website accuses Bernhardt of being the “ultimate DC swamp creature” and rolling back environmental regulations. ³

1. Hiar, Corbin. “PUBLIC LANDS: Dark Money Fuels Transparency-focused Conservation Group.” E&E News. January 7, 2019. Accessed July 24, 2019. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060111103.
2. “Donate.” Accountable.US. Accessed January 23, 2020. Original URL: https://www.accountable.us/donate/. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/Accountable.US-Donate.-New-Venture-Fund-Project.-01.2020.pdf

   From the archived page:

   Accountable.US is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides fiscal sponsorship and project hosting for various public interest campaigns. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Contributions to Accountable.US may appear as New Venture Fund on your bank or credit card statement. EIN 20-5806345

   Accountable.US is in the process of transitioning from New Venture Fund and expects to be able to accept donations as an independent 501(c)(3) entity in the near future.

3. Archived webpage: https://web.archive.org/web/20201128082506/http://www.davidbernhardt.org/.