Gwich'in Steering Committee
“To speak with a unified voice on matters pertaining to the Gwich’in way of life.”
3 funders on the record, 1 live lawsuit.
The origin
How they started
The Gwich’in Steering Committee was created in 1988 when chiefs and elders from across the Gwich’in Nation in Alaska and Canada gathered at Gwich’in Niintsyaa in Arctic Village to respond to federal drilling plans. Its mandate is to protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the calving grounds the Gwich’in call the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, and the Porcupine caribou herd that sustains their people. Based in Fairbanks, it has led Indigenous opposition to oil leasing in the refuge for decades.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “To protect the long-term health and viability for the porcupine caribou herd which maintains the gwitchin way of life.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Protecting the coastal plain of the arctic National Wildlife…
$21, 0% of spendingGeneral operations
Read it as they filed it
PROTECTING THE COASTAL PLAIN OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. GENERAL OPERATIONS
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
0 cents of every dollar goes to the work
One year’s split is a snapshot, not a verdict. Splits swing hard with land deals, grants, and campaign timing.
$21 programs, $499,820 management, $0 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed, each with its source, by Alaska Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Society and Seattle Foundation, latest filing FY25.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at GSC? Claim this page.
The record
The court record
Fights alongside Alaska Wilderness League (1 shared case), Defenders of Wildlife (1 shared case), Environment America (1 shared case), Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges (1 shared case) and National Wildlife Federation (1 shared case) and 4 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2010 | $74,260 |
| 2011 | $129,202 |
| 2012 | $108,212 |
| 2013 | $257,340 |
| 2014 | $127,522 |
| 2015 | $68,602 |
| 2016 | $80,631 |
| 2017 | $202,857 |
| 2018 | $308,489 |
| 2019 | $354,931 |
| 2020 | $510,466 |
| 2021 | $666,190 |
| 2025 | $359,446 |
From $74K in 2010 to $359K in FY25, across 13 public filings (none on record for 2022, 2023 and 2024). 2021, at $666K, stands well above the other years on file.
The returns as e-filed with the IRS, 3 years:
- FY2025Download the return
- FY2024Download the return
- FY2023Download the return
Source: IRS Form 990 e-file data, each return by its IRS object id, served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. A year in the chart without a link here is read from a later return’s own history table; its return is on ProPublica’s page for the group.
Their ground
GSC is not on our editors’ record for a threatened place yet. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Alaska congressional delegation averages 2 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
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The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.