Prominent corporate donation platforms have turned to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for guidance, which has led to the halt of donations to various conservative, faith-based organizations unfairly categorized as “hate groups.”
Benevity, a service commonly used by many companies for managing employee donations, reports processing a record amount—around $18.5 billion. This platform uses a list from the SPLC to help employees decide where to donate.
The company’s global cause investigation document asserts, “We are committed to reputational, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism research and validation against established watch lists and internal lists based on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Malicious Organizations List.”
Daniel Cameron, CEO of 1792 Exchange, remarked to DCNF that, “Benevity has delegated moral judgment to a group that has long since abandoned objectivity.” He criticized the platform for allowing ideological bias to shape corporate philanthropy and undermine free speech.
Organizations like Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have been tagged as “hate groups” by the SPLC, particularly due to their critiques of LGBTQ positions and other progressive movements.
Documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation reveal that Benevity users may be blocked from donating to organizations listed by the SPLC or that these organizations simply don’t pop up in the database. A notable point of controversy is the murder of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, which has intensified scrutiny on the SPLC for its labeling of TPUSA.
Moreover, groups that advocate for LGBTQ rights or support protest actions seem to be included in the Benevity system, suggesting a bias against conservative organizations like ADF. Despite ADF’s presence in Benevity’s records, they were missing from searchable databases within companies scrutinized by DCNF. Meanwhile, organizations that engage with LGBTQ youth appear available for donations.
Interestingly, the SPLC itself can receive donations via Benevity, raising questions about whether it’s fair for one nonprofit to influence which others can receive funding, especially when it benefits from the same system.
According to multiple reports, employees encountered obstacles when trying to donate to ADF, and messages from Benevity attributed the issues directly to ADF’s inclusion on the SPLC’s list—without providing any additional reasons.
Alliance Defending Freedom’s attorney, Michael Ross, commented that while discrimination against religious organizations isn’t new, Benevity explicitly stating it blocks donations based on SPLC’s allegations is problematic.
A spokesperson from Benevity emphasized that only registered 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing are available on their platform. However, it remains unclear how they define “available” or whether being listed means an organization is guaranteed to receive donations.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced a severance of ties with the SPLC, criticizing its so-called hate maps for fostering violence against mainstream Americans. This echoes concerns about the SPLC’s reputation, especially following incidents where individuals targeted organizations listed by them.
It’s crucial to recognize that not just Benevity leverages SPLC guidelines for vetting nonprofits. For instance, Groundswell and Millie—used by various companies—also use SPLC’s resources, outlining their reliance on the organization for accurate vetting.
These circumstances indicate a broader issue where political affiliations and ideologies may unfairly influence charitable giving practices, potentially sidelining significant portions of the nonprofit sector based on perceived biases.
