In a previous posting, I gave out some advice; it was: don’t give any donations to a charitable or
non-profit organization unless that organization has opened up its books. My main concern in that posting was the
history of secrecy surrounding the workings of the Vatican Bank and all the
questionable dealings that secrecy enabled on the part of Roman Catholic Church
officials. Apparently, US non-profits
do, by law, have to open up their financial statements. More specifically, they have to submit Form
990 to the IRS and these forms are not confidential. On that form, they have to divulge quite a
bit of information. They have to give
their tax related finances, salaries of their key officials, and the names of
key employees. But, according to an
article about the Koch brothers, The New
York Times reports that non-profits do not have to report who their
contributors are.[1] These sources of information are far from being
completely open and forthcoming. This
has become an issue with donors to the Clinton Initiative, for example, and questions
about potential influence such donors might have on Hillary Clinton, a current
presidential candidate, have been discussed.
Of course, this type of issue becomes important in a democracy: how much is the voice of the people
compromised when a relatively few can, by various means, buy public policy? One such means can very well be donations to
non-profit organizations. Other
nefarious aims can include the use of non-profit donations to instigate or hide
illegal activities such as laundering money.
Again, such activities harm the quality of a democracy and the spirit of
a federalist ethos.
So again, let me advise:
if you have the time – it wouldn’t take many of you – only give to
non-profit organizations and charities that are completely transparent in their
dealings and records. There’s enough
public secrecy plaguing our public discourse and interaction. Here is one area in which we can affect how
business is being done. And encouraging
a disposition to be so proactive can begin by informing civics students of the
problem and even assigning investigative projects that might look into local non-profits
that operate in the communities where they reside.
[1]
Confessore, N.
(2015). Koch brothers brave
spotlight to alter image. The New York Times, July 31, pp. 1A
& 17A.
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