#Non-profits

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Andrew Bernard

“It has become clear that the explosion of antisemitic activity on college campuses has been supported and encouraged by bad actors who, in many cases, have used tax-exempt organizations for those purposes,” he said. “The violence and hatred directed at Jewish Americans and in support of terrorist organizations like Hamas are not some organic uprising.” 

“There are well-orchestrated efforts by anti-American and anti-Jewish organizations within the United States that provide financial and logistical support to those who harass and threaten Jewish students,” he added.

Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, the Tides Foundation and the People’s Forum were among the groups that Smith and others listed as playing a particularly pernicious and potentially illegal role in supporting both anti-Israel protests and Hamas.

“I’ve made a formal request to the IRS demanding they revoke the tax exempt status of an organization named the People Media group,” Smith said. “This organization funds a publication by the name of the Palestine Chronicle that employed a so-called journalist, who was caught actually imprisoning Israeli hostages in Gaza.”

In June, the Israel Defense Forces rescued two hostages, who were found to be held by Abdullah al-Jamal, a contributor to the Palestine Chronicle and an occasional spokesman for Hamas. 

The Chronicle stated in June that al-Jamal was a “freelance contributor,” who wrote for the publication on a “voluntary basis.”

[girlactionfigure]

For the first time, the Belgian Justice Ministry confirms that Hamas uses non-profit organisations to lobby and raise funds in Belgium.

We urge the Belgian government to conduct a thorough investigation and hold those involved accountable.

- - - - - 

🇧🇪Pour la première fois, le ministère belge de la Justice confirme que le Hamas utilise des organisations à but non lucratif pour faire du lobbying et collecter des fonds en Belgique.

Nous exhortons le gouvernement belge à mener une enquête approfondie et à demander des comptes aux personnes impliquées.

act_il_france🇧🇪

[tomorrowusa]

Another crooked far right Republican.

Republicans become outraged at the thought of raising the minimum wage. But the fanatically pro-Trump Republican National Committee committeewoman from California Harmeet Dhillon paid herself $120,000 for a two-hour work week. And that's just the tip of a corrupt iceberg.

Since becoming an RNC committeewoman for California in 2016, she made hundreds of appearances in conservative media, predominantly Fox News. From 2019, these appearances were often based on lawsuits sponsored by that non-profit she helms, the Center for American Liberty (CAL), and aimed at rightwing bugbears like Covid restrictions, leftist street protesters and gender-affirming healthcare. The Guardian has found that at least $1.32m has been transferred from the CAL to her law firm, Dhillon Law Group, in a move one charity expert described as “problematic”. Additionally, state and federal filings show Dhillon takes a $120,000 salary from CAL for a two-hour work week. Meanwhile, the non-profit has entered into a close relationship with a well-heeled rightwing foundation whose financial generosity has been matched by a seat on the non-profit’s board. CAL was founded in 2018, initially under the name Publius Lex, by California lawyers with extensive connections to Republican politics and rightwing legal organizations, according to state and federal filings.

There a variation of "double dipping" going on here.

Dhillon’s position as CEO in a non-profit whose biggest contractor is Dhillon Law Group is a “conflict of interest”, according to Joan Harrington, a fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at the Santa Clara University, and an expert on non-profit law and ethics. Harrington added that non-profits can navigate this, and that “the board can accept conflicts of interest if they are brought to the board’s attention annually”. But another ethical problem “the board can’t fix”, Harrington said, is the issue of compensation.

In the world of Trump-style business practices, ethics is for losers.

[Mark] Trammell, the executive director [of CAL], wrote on the extensive use of Dhillon Law that “the organization’s day-to-day legal operations are managed by me, its executive director”, adding, “I select the law firms the Center for American Liberty partners with on its public interest litigation.” Trammell also wrote: “We select law firms based on their expertise, geographical location, and interest in representing our clients at nonprofit legal rates.” But Harrington added that “transparency protects donors, and this is not a transparent situation”. With Dhillon acting as CEO and legal contractor, running cases sponsored by the non-profit, and making Fox News appearances in both guises, Harrington said: “It looks like Dhillon Law and the non-profit are overlapping to the extent that its hard to tell the difference.”

[pearwaldorf]

Copper Canyon Press is a local poetry publishing house based out of Port Townsend, WA. You may be familiar with some of their poets, who include Richard Siken, Ocean Vuong, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Natalie Diaz.

For many years their pressmark was the Chinese word for poetry, 诗*. The reason given was that the character combines the concepts of "word" and "temple", which is not true at all and most likely derives from orientalist bullshit and incorrect interpretation of characters as ideograms.

It was the 70s in rural Washington, of course there was going to be this sort of hippie nonsense. It was certainly not meant maliciously, and in the greater scheme of things you roll your eyes and move on with your life.

But. As part of their ongling DEI initiative, stakeholders elected to embark on a multi-year process to design a new pressmark, one that is more abstract and inclusive without the orientalist and appropriative vibes of the original. Their Racial Equity Work Plan details some of the thinking behind why they did this.

It can seem like bikeshedding to people who aren't in the know, and if that was the only thing that changed, it absolutely would be. But the Press is putting in the work, and adding updates as they follow through on list items. This is the sort of transparency other non-profits, especially those who have been taken to task about stated timelines and opaqueness, should strive to emulate.

--

*My Chinese name is 丽诗, which means "beautiful poem". My grandma came up with it, also to align with my English name.

Poetry is very important in Chinese culture. Yilin Wang explains some of the context, and why what the British Museum did to her translations and Qiu Jin's poetry was an act of colonialist violence by an institution that damn well knew better and backed down only with the threat of legal action.

[bivepen]

Salvation Army and LGBTQ+

Looking at all the Holiday Season donation asks, and wondering if the Salvation Army (change box outside my grocery store) still turns away LGBTQ+ folks rather than supporting them.

They have a page saying they've changed their ways, but is it the truth?

Inquiring minds (and wallets) want to know.

[charliejaneanders]

My latest newsletter is all about the the debate that tore the trans community apart back in 2001, and why I think we've moved past it. Gather round, kids! It's story time...

[fantastic-nonsense]

hmmm....I'm researching potential grant opportunities for my mom's church belltower restoration project and am not thrilled by the sheer number of grants that are locked behind paywalled websites

[mkdigi]

JOIN US AT THE GARDEN GET DOWN!

The Garden Get Down is a yearly jubilee raising funds for Grow Pittsburgh, one of this city’s greatest assets for their commitment to promoting food that is fresh, healthy, and local.  Developing and maintaining school and community gardens, conducting short workshops on growing and preserving food, providing summer-long Urban Farmers in Training employment, and much more, they’re an invaluable…

[coolbeansfangirl]

Volunteering

This past week (April 14-20) was National Volunteer Week in Canada. I had to prepare some social media content for this because the company I work for has a lot of dedicated volunteers. During the week, I’d occasionally scroll through the hashtag and see various organizations thanking their volunteers and highlighting exemplary individuals, as they should. Clearly, the volunteer community is…

[uplymedia]

Decentralized Fundraising: Non-Profits Navigating the Web3 Frontier

In the modern era of fundraising, non-profits grapple with a host of challenges, the most pressing of which involves middlemen and third-party platforms chipping away at valuable donations. However, an emergent technology promises a revolutionary shift. Welcome to the realm of Web3, where the ethos of decentralization offers non-profits a vibrant landscape to thrive in. For business owners…

[altpick]

February 24th - Altpick's Weekly Member Round-Up

This past week we highlighted work from illustrators Janice Fried and Klaus Kremmerz and photographer Greg Whitaker. To see more of their work, please visit their pages on Altpick.com. Illustrator – Janice Fried‘s mixed media work has been published widely and she is always exploring new ways to work and new venues to work in. ©Janice Fried Illustrator Klaus Kremmerz is skilled in creating…

[reportwire]

Pfister Energy Installs Solar for First Net Zero Energy Maryland School

Rooftop and Ground-mount solar part of overall renewable energy package for Wilde Lake Middle School. Press Release – updated: Mar 13, 2017 Baltimore, Maryland, March 13, 2017 (Newswire.com) – ​​Pfister Energy, a national commercial solar installer, was chosen by Howard County Public Schools to help create the first net zero energy school in Maryland, Wilde Lake Middle School. To achieve net…

[snarky-badger]

Places to donate to help Palestine

PCRF.net - They did over a 100 medical missions in 2022 (Palestine Children’s Relief Fund)

Middle East Children's Alliance - A Non-profit organization fighting for the well-being and rights of Middle Eastern Children. They also have a link to a 'tool kit' to help spread information about the Gaza Genocide. I'm linking to it directly HERE

Anera: Where Hope Finds a Way - They provide everything from food, medicine and hygiene kits. $30 equals 16 blood bags - an essential thing for helping doctors help people survive horrible physical trauma.

UNICEF.org - Link to where you can donate to help UNICEF get aid to those suffering in Palestine.

And because I know damn well that lots of people don't have the extra funds to donate money - you can help by simply clicking here once a day. It donates ad revenue. Click to help Palestine

[I wanted so much to find other places people could donate that weren't in the US or Canada, but I was having problems figuring out how to ensure that they were reputable. If anyone knows of any, please reblog and add the links!]

And some basic informational sources for those who want to understand what's really going on other than the misleading information from the media.

BDS - The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians. Offers actual news about what's happening.

Decolonize Palestine - In depth information about the history and origins of Palestine. Also has a great 'debunked myths' section that lists almost all of all the lies the Media has been peddling.

Mondoweiss - An independent website devoted to informing readers about developments in Israel/Palestine and related US foreign policy. (Be aware: Some articles show disturbing images of the horrors happening in Gaza.)

Petitions I found with reputable track records (there are a LOT of fakes out there)

Canada:

Independant Jewish Voices Canada - Gaza on the Brink Ceasefire Now! - Prewritten letter to Justin Trudeau and Mélanie Joly calling for an immediate ceasefire, and for an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians. Just sign your name and it sends a letter!

There are several other ways (Including email addresses to various people/companies, as well as physical addresses you can mail letters to) listed here.

DON'T send threats/hate mail. That does nothing but make them double down on their current stances. Be polite. You don't have to take a happy tone, but be polite.

United States:

USA - Tell Congress: Stop Fueling the Gaza Genocide - Demanding an immediate ceasefire and for Humanitarian Aid to be allowed into Gaza.

Jewish Voice for Peace - You can use their form for send a letter to Congress to demand that they should focus on de-escalation instead of sending money and weapons to Israel so they can continue their genocidal war against Palestinians.

Jewish Voice for Peace (part 2) - Fill out this form and inform President Biden that he should call for a ceasefire and stop supplying money and weapons to Israel.

[muffinlance]

Oh so the clown ads are over? Too late Tumblr I already cancelled ad free uninstalled your app and discovered the power of ublock in mobile FireFox. AND tags are editable in the web version?

There's no going back