Nonprofit Organizations and Counterterrorism Measures

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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300,000 Sri Lankans Urgently Need Aid; Nonprofit Funds Seized by Government

Dec 9, 2008 by Kay Guinane

Amnesty International (AI) is calling for urgent humanitarian aid for more than 300,000 people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the northern Wanni region of Sri Lanka. Turmoil between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has left thousands of people, "in desperate need of shelter, food and sanitation."

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Conviction of Holy Land Foundation Raises Questions, Concerns for Nonprofits

On Nov. 24, the two-month retrial against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and five of its leaders ended with guilty verdicts on charges of supporting Hamas, which was designated as a terrorist organization in 1995. The convictions came even though the prosecution admitted that all funds went to local charities, called zakat committees, that are not on government watchlists. Attorneys for the defendants said they would appeal.

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Jury Convicts Muslim Charity of Terrorism Charges

Nov 25, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

In the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) retrial, a federal jury in Dallas decided that the charity and five men who worked with it were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal transfer millions of money to Hamas. They were found guilty of supporting terrorism, money laundering and tax fraud. The verdict came after eight days of deliberations and a 42-day trial.

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Report Finds U.S. Aid Not Regularly Impartial

Nov 20, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Washington Post reports that according to a survey by a Madrid based nonprofit group that monitors donors' performance, the United States does a poor job at promoting humanitarian aid as independent and neutral. The Development Assistance Research Associates (DARA) Humanitarian Response Index 2008 measures how effectively the world's largest donors deliver aid. The U.S. ranked 15th in overall effectiveness.

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More Information Released on the Surveillance on Nonviolent Activists in MD

Nov 19, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Following up on previous reports that Maryland state police engaged in surveillance of local peace and anti-death penalty groups during the administration of former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R), the Washington Post now details some new findings.

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Reform Recommendations for Security Laws Impacting Charities and Foundations

Nov 19, 2008 by Kay Guinane

A joint effort by civil liberties, human rights and nonprofit sector organizations coordinated by the Constitution Project has published its ">Liberty and Security Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress. It includes specific recommendations for Charities and Foundations. The Introduction states:

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Study Says Nonprofits Help, Not Hinder, the War against Extremism

On Oct. 30, the Fourth Freedom Forum and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame released Friend Not Foe: Civil Society and the Struggle Against Violent Extremism. The report urges countries, including the United States, to move away from counterterrorism measures (CTMs) that harm nonprofits and do not improve security. The report also calls on nonprofits to be more proactive in countering misinformation and shaping policy alternatives.

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Federal Court Says Treasury Action Shutting Down Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation Unconstitutional

Nov 7, 2008 by Kay Guinane

On Nov. 7 Judge Garr King of the United States District Court in Oregon ruled that the Department of Treasury's action in shutting down Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. in 2004 violated basic due process rights. The judge also ruled that the definition of "material support" of terrorists is constitutionally vague.

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HLF Trial Moving Along

Oct 30, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Last year, a federal jury in Texas deadlocked on all charges against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and most of the charges against five of its leaders. HLF was designated as a supporter of terrorism in 2001, shut down and had its assets frozen. And now, the retrial is reportedly moving along.

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Nonprofits Call for Withdrawal of Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines

A December 2006 letter from Council on Foundations President Steve Gunderson on behalf of the Treasury Guidelines Working Group, which is made up of nonprofit sector organizations, international NGOs, grantmakers and legal experts calls for withdrawal of the Department of Treasury's Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines. Here are the main points:

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