Tracing funding for Black Lives Matter requires following a murky trail of complex legal entities that facilitate raising millions of dollars for the activist group. In some ways, the path has characteristics of a money laundering operation because other nonprofits act as a pass through for funding BLM.
Black Lives Matter has evolved from a hashtag in 2013 to an international movement with a seemingly unlimited supply of cash to fund operations. Although BLM has never been certified as a charitable organization, it is the recipient of millions of tax-free donations from other lesser known groups.
Navigating the financial labyrinth, involves deep research that no mainstream media outlet is interested in doing. The intricate curving trail appears to be a deliberate effort to skirt the edges of laws of the Federal Elections Commission and charitable foundations.
The corkscrew road begins with ActBlue, a political action committee (PAC) that fundraises for Democratic Party politicians and causes. In what appears to be a sleight of hand to frustrate nosy reporters, ActBlue is an umbrella brand for two separate not-for-profit entities.
The duo includes: ActBlue Charities, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; and ActBlue Civics, another charitable group that fundraises for liberal advocacy groups. The ActBlue PAC and the two charities share leadership and office space as well as the same political goals.
The political action committee ActBlue functions as a fund raising platform for the three affiliated entities. Billions of dollars have been raised to support the trio. The ActBlue PAC website claims it has collected $5.75 billion online since it was established in 2004.
The Black Lives Matter's website has disclaimer language at the bottom in small print that alerts visitors donations are processed through ActBlue Charities, making gifts tax-deductible. Money given directly to Black Lives Matter cannot be deducted. ActBlue is in fact functioning as a pass through to BLM.
There is nothing illegal about this arrangement. However, the funds arrive at BLM without the names of donors attached, allowing individuals to give money while remaining anonymous. The fundraising arm ActBlue charges a transaction fee of 3.95% for each donation it receives and passes along.
When the two ActBlue charities file their reports, the money it paid out is listed as a lump sum under pass through contributions. The two nonprofits don't have to identify which groups received the money or the amount of each donation, making it impossible to learn how much cash was funneled to BLM.
ActBlue is just one of the actors financially propping up Black Lives Matter. Another organization Thousand Currents, a non profit, provided what it called "fiduciary oversight, financial support and administrative services" for several years. However, it came under increasing public scrutiny.
Reporters at a conservative website recently revealed the vice chairman of Thousand Currents was Susan Rosenberg, a former member of the terrorist Weather Underground who was sentenced to 58 years in prison for possession of a cache of weapons and explosives after her arrest in 1984.
Rosenberg also allegedly was an accomplice in the 1981 Brink's truck robbery that resulted in the deaths of two guards. Her sentence was commuted in 2001 by President Bill Clinton. She served 16 years of her five-decades long sentence. Despite her crimes, the activist finagled a gig as vice chairman of a nonprofit.
After word leaked of her association with Thousand Currents, the organization was folded into a California nonprofit with ties to billionaire George Soros. A filing by Thousands Currents with the California Department of Justice on July 13, 2020 contained the following notice.
"Thousand Currents, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, (and) all the assets associated with Thousands Current fiscal sponsorship of the Black Lives Matter Global Network project," is being transferred to the Tides Center, a California nonprofit.
At the the time the papers were filed, an audit for 2019 showed that the organization held about $3.4 million in assets for Black Lives Matter. Thousand Currents had pumped nearly $1.8 million into the activist group in the previous fiscal year.
In the filing, Thousand Currents notified the state that Tides Center would "serve as the new fiscal sponsor for the Black Lives Matter Global Network project." Publicly available records show that the Tides Center had nearly $1 billion in total assets at the end of 2019.
InfluenceWatch, a public interest watchdog, has published extensive research on Tides Center, created in 1976. Tides operates like no other nonprofit. Donors make gifts to "savings accounts" held by Tides investments that grow in value. At some point, donors advise Tides to pay out grants.
Tides Foundation, an affiliate of Tides Center, paid out $291 million in grants to other liberal, Democrat nonprofits. Tides Foundation brags it has worked with more than 15,000 individuals and organizations to support projects which advocate "shared prosperity and social justice."
Under the Tides model, donors can give directly to fund projects without being identified with the political or social cause. Tides officials have made no secret of their mission to offer "anonymity" to donors. Tides promises this same anonymity to foundations that give money to fund their causes.
When a traditional foundation sends cash to Tides, they are not required by law to reveal any information about the grants eventual destination to the Internal Revenue Service. When Tides files its annual tax return, it lists its donations but is not compelled to reveal where the money came from.
Another unique feature of Tides is that it serves as an incubator for new activist groups. For example, if a donor wants to fund a specific agenda for which no group exists, Tides will assist in creating one, offering recruiting, financial, administrative and oversight support.
The Tides Foundation and the Tides Center fatten their idealogical war chest by charging an eight-to-nine percent handling fee on funds that pass through their accounts on the way to other activists. When Ben & Jerry's designated some profits to environmental charities, 20% of the cut was shipped to Tides.
Pew Charitable Trusts has dispatched more than $40 million to Tides since 1996. At least 17 other foundations have poured money into the charitable arm. Open Society Foundation, a George Soros nonprofit, has given at least $3.5 million to Tides. Tides has also supported nonprofits connected to Soros.
This tangled web is necessary for funding Black Lives Matter, according to its defenders. The reason? The organization claims it created a Black Lives Matter Global Network, which was incorporated in Delaware in 2016, as the initial step in creating its own foundation.
However, the network has not yet been recognized as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code Section 501(c)(3) and thus must rely on "fiscal sponsorships" from other nonprofits. Fiscal sponsorships are legal arrangements, according to the National Council of Nonprofits.
There is a difference in operating in a technically legal fashion and being totally transparent. An organization, such as Black Lives Matter with millions of dollars, should demonstrate it has nothing to hide by publishing a list of individuals and foundations that have provided funding.
The Black Lives Matter movement demands public accountability from police, public officials, businesses and individuals. Apparently, the group does not apply the same principle to its leadership or organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment