[Vision2020] a non-profit that isn't

[Ted Moffett]

What the heck?

I just in the past hour had this exact website from Charity Navigator
regarding the SPLC ready to post to Vision2020... Good to read someone else
doing it...

I was holding off on posting till I did my own research on some of the
claims in this article on the SPLC from the Washington Free Beacon.

Everyone has political and ideological confirmation bias filters that
result in unquestioning belief in information that confirms their bias, and
disbelief in and rejection of information that disputes their bias.  Thus
it behooves everyone to check on the veracity of all information sources,
regardless!  Right?

I dug a bit deeper into the Washington Free Beacon story on the finances of
the SPLC regarding this claim:

"The SPLC, which claims <https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice> to
boast a staff of 75 lawyers who practice in the area of children's rights,
economic justice, immigrant justice, LGBT rights, and criminal justice
reform, reported
<https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/990_103116.pdf> spending
only $61,000 on legal services in 2015."

Here is the tax form source the story was referencing:

https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/990_103116.pdf

I read through this rather long tax form to find the $61,000 legal
expenses figure
they referenced.  I assume this is what they were quoting:
Under Part IX "Statement of Functional Expenses," 11b Legal, is the amount
$61, 808.  But I do not think this is the total legal expenses spent on
their entire staff of lawyers, unless I am misinterpreting.  This is a
separate legal cost figure for only a part of their operations.  So if I am
right (?), the Washington Free Beacon is engaging in a grossly misleading
use of so called "facts" to promote an agenda.

Here is a figure for the SPLC "legal services" from their 2016 Annual
Report on page 18 of the pdf at the following website, toward the bottom.
The tax form with the $61,808 legal cost figure is from 2015, but still the
figure given below for 2016 legal costs blows the $61,000 claim out of the
water!

https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/com_splc_
annual_report_2016-2017web.pdf

*STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES*
Legal Services $15,352, 662
--------------------
Regarding their "offshore" financial connections, they do list "non-US
equity funds" under "Assets" at $69,093,576, and other types of "funds,"
the parsing between I admit at this moment I do not possess the banking
expertise to explain.
---------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett


On Thu, Aug 31, 2017 at 4:28 PM, Ron Force <ronforce at gmail.com> wrote:

You can judge how accurate this is by looking nonprofits up on Charity
> Navigator. Here's the SPLC info:
>


> https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4482
>
> Ron Force
> Moscow Idaho USA
>
> On Thu, Aug 31, 2017 at 2:09 PM, g crabtree <direoutcome at gmail.com> wrote:
>


> "The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a liberal, Alabama-based
>> 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization that has gained prominence on
>> the left for its "hate group" designations, pushes millions of dollars to
>> offshore entities as part of its business dealings, records show.
>>
>> Additionally, the nonprofit pays lucrative six-figure salaries to its top
>> directors and key employees while spending little on legal services despite
>> its stated intent of "fighting hate and bigotry" using litigation,
>> education, and other forms of advocacy."
>>
>> For the rest of the story please see:  http://freebeacon.com/issues/
>> southern-poverty-law-center-transfers-millions-in-cash-to-of
>> fshore-entities/
>>
>> An extremely eye opening read. Perhaps folks will stop citing these money
>> grubbing grifters as the font from which all moral authority flows.
>>
>>
>> g.
>>
>> =======================================================
>>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>>
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
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