Rampa Hormel

Background

Rampa Robinson Hormel is the wife of Thomas D. Hormel, a member of the wealthy Hormel family associated with the multibillion-dollar Hormel Foods Corporation notable for selling processed food products. ¹ Both Hormel and her husband are trustees of the Hormel Foundation, which holds a significant number of shares of the Hormel Foods Corporation. ²

A 2012 report in the right-of-center Washington Free Beacon, describes Hormel and her husband as a “progressive power couple,” noting their support of left-wing Democratic candidates and Democratic-aligned Super PACs as well as Hormel’s board of directors membership with Green Seal, an environmentalist nonprofit that charges companies for endorsements of their products as “environmentally responsible,” sometimes up to $30,000; as well as with the League of Conservation Voters, a group supporting pro-environmentalist candidates. To that end, the report also claims that money derived from her work with the latter organization funded in part the purchase of a $4.1 million mansion in Washington, D.C. ^{3 4}

Democracy Alliance

Hormel is a reported partner of the Democracy Alliance, a collective of left-of-center billionaire and millionaire donors founded in 2005 by Democratic consultant Rob Stein focused on supporting “the activities of permanent left-infrastructure.” Other notable members of the alliance have been said to include billionaire financier George Soros and the late former Progressive Insurance chairman Peter Lewis. Generally, the alliance annually issues a set of recommended organizations for partners to donate to, for instance, the Center for American Progress and the media watchdog Media Matters, as well as various “state funds,” which are nonprofits operated by Democracy Alliance staff, though under the legal auspices of separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups. Notably, since its founding, the Alliance has collectively donated over $600 million to such recommended groups. ^{5 6 7}

Enlyst Fund

Rampa Hormel founded the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Global Environment Project Institute in December 1997 in Pacific Palisades, California. ⁸ In December 2008, Hormel changed the name of the organization to the Enlyst Fund. ⁹ The fund issues grants to left-progressive organizations and environmentalist projects. For instance, the fund has issues grants to the Tides Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Climate Registry, New Venture Fund, American Bird Conservancy, and Bushlife Conservancy. ¹⁰ Since 2000, the group has disbursed over $5 million, often to groups also supported by the Democracy Alliance. ³

In her capacity as fund president, Hormel attended COP23, a session of United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Particularly, Hormel was present at the October 28, 2018 “Talanoa Dialogue” in Fiji convened by former California Governor and celebrity actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). ¹¹

League of Conservation Voters

Hormel is a member of the board of directors of the League of Conservation Voters, a group which mainly supports environmentalist candidates in state and national races, but also operates education and advocacy campaigns. According to the left-leaning Center for Public Integrity, the league is a “dark money heavyweight.” ¹² In connection with her work for the League, then-President Bill Clinton singled out Hormel for praise during remarks he made at an award ceremony on September 4, 2000. ¹³

Democratic Party Politics

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Hormel has contributed to the campaigns of Democratic politicians including former President Barack Obama, former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), former Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Additionally Hormel has contributed to the Democratic National Committee, League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, and League of Conservation Voters Action Fund. ¹⁴

Other Activities

On March 6, 2008, along with Marc Carsey, Nikki Finke, Norman Lear, and Marge Tabankin, Hormel cohosted an event at the home of Carsey titled, “The WGA [Writers Guild of America West] Strike & Media Consolidation: Broken Media and What We Can Do to Change It.” Participants included Marty Kaplan of the Norman Lear Center, Patrick Verrone of WGA, filmmaker Robert Greenwald, and Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post. Generally, the discussion opposed corporate consolidation in the media industry and its effect on labor. ¹⁵