WRCA Foundation

Mission statement: To provide financial assistance to working ranch cowboys and their family members.

The idea behind the WRCA Foundation was conceived more then three decades ago, when famed cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell had a conversation with eventual founders Gary Morton, Randy Whipple, and other ranchers about the need for a crisis fund to assist working ranch cowboys and their families. Life’s curveballs are often amplified on ranches, where occupational wrecks, natural disasters, and rural distances can leave families particularly vulnerable.

To date, the Foundation has given “a hand up, not a hand out” of nearly $6 million to cattle ranching families from Florida to California and everywhere in between. Those funds have helped purchase wheelchair-accessible vehicles, funded transportation for routine long-haul hospital visits and helped families start over after devastating natural disasters.

The organization also awards multi-year scholarships to cowboys and their immediate family members for collegiate, trade or vocational programs.

A working ranch cowboy is defined as any person, male or female, deriving a significant portion of his or her income from taking care of cattle on a cattle ranch.

Day workers are included.