About Windcall

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The Windcall Residency Program was founded by Susan and Albert Wells and operated on their ranch in Montana from 1989 until 2006. The Wells family foundation, the Abelard Foundation, is part of the Common Counsel Foundation consortium of family foundations.


Over the course of 17 years, the Wells hosted over 400 Residents. The insights gained on the program's impact and residents experiences are documented in Changing Course: Windcall and the Art of Renewal by Susan Wells.


Susan and Albert Wells retired from hosting the program in 2006 and worked with alumni to insure a smooth transition of the program. Since 2006, alumni who had benefitted from the program over the years have organized to continue and develop Windcall program and today, a strong alumni-led Board guides the program.


The new Windcall has:

  • Provided Residencies to 56 outstanding organizers from across the country. Most of the awardees are people of color and most are women.
  • Launched a post-Residency coaching program made of up a dozen coaches - many of them Windcall alumni - who are providing low and pro bono coaching to Windcall Residents
  • Created an Alumni Association that over a quarter of alumni have joined, an outstanding demonstration of support
  • Cultivated new Residency sites - many of which are organized in partnership with donor allies and social justice institutions - in California, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington
  • Launched a major donor and Resident sponsorship program which has helped support Residencies for those from the Gulf Coast, Midwest and the Central Coast and Central Valley of California
  • Developed an organizational structure for the new Windcall Institute, led by long standing social justice leaders who are Windcall alumni committed to other organizers having this opportunity for renewal and development


The Windcall Institute now runs the Windcall Residency Program and is planning complementary programs to help sustain and renew social justice leaders over the long haul.


Common Counsel Foundation is the Windcall Institute's fiscal sponsor. Common Counsel Foundation manages several donor-designated funds supporting social justice organizations throughout the U.S. Its history with Windcall and its work as a social justice grant-making hub gives the Windcall Institute access to a large and diverse network of outstanding grassroots social justice organizers from across the country.