Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Fellowship for the Protection of Democracy

For a limited time, donations to the fellowship will be matched up to $30,000.

In 2022 Government Accountability Project established the Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Fellowship for the Protection of Democracy to honor her legacy and life-long commitment to the struggle for transparency, truth, and justice.

Frances “Sissy” Farenthold in 1997. (Courtesy of the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, and the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin)

From the 1980s until her death in September 2021, Sissy supported GAP’s mission to promote corporate and government accountability by protecting whistleblowers, advancing occupational free speech, and empowering citizen activists. She expressed her hope that GAP fellows and interns would become inspired to commit themselves to these values.

Thanks to courageous whistleblowers we’ve learned about recent assaults on our elections and the need for heightened vigilance. It’s become even more clear that our priority must continue to be the preservation of democracy itself.

GAP’s Farenthold fellowship program will engage, train, and launch a new generation of public interest practitioners and leaders. Each Farenthold Fellow will have three professional mentors who will work together to establish an individualized program to provide a vast range of experiences and ensure that they will begin to develop legislative, litigative, and public interest campaign skills that will equip them for launching public interest careers.

For a limited time, donations to the fellowship will be matched up to $30,000.

To donate to the Farenthold fellowship from the Donate page, select Frances T. ‘Sissy’ Farenthold Fellowship from the ‘Please have my donation go to’ drop-down menu.