Announcing "Citizens for Fair and Balanced Funding"

self | February 16, 2003 | dware

[dware]

Are you getting sick of all the anti-war protestors? Want to make a difference? Now you can, by becoming a part of the "Citizens for Fair and Balanced Funding" (CFBF) chapter right here on Free Republic.

The CFBF Committee will take on the task of exposing the funding sources, organizations and individuals supporting the anti-war movement. We will do this through in-depth research of organizations who are both providing and receiving public money or tax benefits for their support of the movement.

In many cases, these organizations have been formed under the IRS as 501(c)3 corporations, and are not being completely truthful about their activities. Take ANSWER, for instance, a non-profit group listed as a day care center with the IRS. CFBF will work towards exposing these organizations, and pursue them in the media, with government agencies and so forth.

Below is the founding outline for CFBF. Please take a moment to read over it, and get involved. If you would like to take part on the Committee, please FReepmail me, or email me at warehouse@gvii.net

Citizens for Fair and Balanced Funding

What We Believe

1. Government entities entrusted with the care of public monies, and other public and private organizations that receive tax benefits from their financial support of non-profit or charitable organizations, have a moral and fiduciary obligation to balance their support among organizations that reflect the diversity of thought on critical legal and social issues of importance to all American taxpayers and citizens.

2. Government status review for possible reclassification, donor notification and/or legal action should be initiated against non-profit organizations whose operations differ significantly from representations made in legal tax exempt filings or printed informational/promotional materials.

Mission Statement

Citizens for Fair and Balanced Funding (CFBF) will research and disseminate information on the patterns of tax beneficial philanthropic support by government and non-government organizations in an effort to encourage a better balance that reflects the intellectual diversity of America, and on charitable organizations whose activities differ significantly from stated representations in legal tax exempt filings or informational/promotional materials.

Goals

1. Research and document the financial and non-financial patterns of charitable support of local, state and federal governments, private corporations, foundations, and other public and private organizations and institutions.

2. Identify agencies or organizations where findings indicate a significant imbalance in the intellectual diversity of the recipients of their charitable support.

3. Further encourage identified agencies or organizations to balance charitable support in a way that fairly represents the intellectual diversity of American taxpayers and citizens.

4. Disseminate information, findings of fact and CFBF activities to the government, the media and to the public.

Objectives

1. Initially, identify 3 - 5 groups providing and 3 - 5 groups receiving, significant charitable funding for social and political related activities under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.

2. Using public records (IRS 990, etc.) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), research & identify the following:

a Tax exempt status and representations on IRS applications and filings
b. Sources of all income and recipients of all grants/funding
b. Represented activities for which grants/funding was received/given
c. All general and specific activities of the receiving organization
d. Total income and expenses of receiving organizations
e. Information on principles/directors/officers/members of the organization

3. Using public records, private data vendors and other public and private information sources, compile historical and biographical data on the organizations, their founders, funders and other individuals involved with the organization. Biographical data includes, but is not limited to, business listings, business dealings, criminal records (if applicable), financial data and more.

4. Compiled research data and other information to be disseminated as follows;

a. To the public via CFBF website and other internet vehicles, radio and television interviews, informational brochures and display advertising in the print media.
b. To television, radio, internet and print media outlets via press releases and press packets.
c. To members of government directly and via informational packets, letters, email and faxes.
d. To identified organizations and entities directly, via informational packets, calls, letters, email and faxes to officers, directors, stockholders, members and donors.

For more information or to get involved, please contact David Ware (dware) via FReepmail or by email: warehouse@gvii.net

[dware]

Participants will receive a crash course in using public records (on & offline), private data vendors and the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) to research organizations, corporations, foundations and individuals.

Please contact me to get involved.

[rwfromkansas]

bump

[dware]

PING!

[Lexington Green]

follow the money....

[dware]

PING

[dware]

FYI PING

[chnsmok]

Great idea.

[dware]

FYI

[dware]

Thank you - does that mean you are enlisting?

[chnsmok]

Already sent you an email. Do I get my own office or a cubicle?

[diotima]

bump!!

[Bob J]

GOOD LUCK DWARE! Let us know what we can do to help!

ANOTHER GREAT FREE REPUBLIC NETWORK CHAPTER!

The FRee Republic Network!
Educate, Motivate, Activate!

[visualops]

This place has some good info.
http://www.activistcash.com/

As I find them, I will post links here to sources of info or anything else useful I may turn up.

[dware]

Just to clarify a bit - CFBF Committee members need not worry about spending TONS of time on these projects. We are looking for folks who can contribute a little or a lot. Much of the work is done online, and can be completed in minutes. When you contact me, just let me know how much time you can spend.

[lodwick]

Looks as though you hit the mother lode with that link - nice work.

[arasina]

ANSWER is listed as a DAYCARE with the IRS? No kidding? HOW do they get away with THAT?

Your idea is a good one and the activistcash.com site appears to have a great deal of good info.

My question is, what can be done with the compiled info once you have it? Expose it how? No one even asks QUESTIONS about ANSWER in the "mainstream" media. If you already know that fact about them, what good does it do just "knowing" it?

I'd also be asking the same thing about non-profits set up for the Conservative side if an expose' is intended as the Left will inevitably find one or two and effectively debunk your well-researched data with the old "you do it too" argument.

[arasina]

Also...I know your mission statement explains you'll be doing more than just gaining knowledge. I'm just suggesting both sides need to be scrutinized to avoid the typical response to all your hard work.

How can ANSWER be exposed and stopped? Most of us know that Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH is corrupt in the same way, but it continues to steamroll right over companies and the voting public. Will the IRS do anything about it in either case?

This topic really got me going, didn't it? :-)

[Bob J]

As far as the targets they choose, that will be up to the chapter leaders and members. I wouldn't worry what the response fromt he left will be, no matter what CFBF does, they will find an angle to attack them. The key is getting the information out first, and letting the left froth at the mouth as they play defense. As long as you control the debate, you control the message. Everyone remembers what the Prez says in the SOTU address, only partisan wonks remember what the response from the other side was.

[Henchman]

BUMP! Sic 'em boy, Sic 'em. And while you are at it, don't forget Jesse Jackson (PUSH shove?). As I understand it, he went to Merry Olde England to support their Communist Union Supported demos.

[visualops]

This is an older article, but, using the Tides Foundation and Tides Center as an example, shows how the flow of money from charity foundations, private donors, and anywhere else, can be effectively hidden.
http://www.sfbg.com/News/32/02/Features/secret.html

Another item- Give For Change was an online donation center giving people a choice between several hundred organizations to donate to (another 'project' of the Tides Foundation). According to them, they raised a collected $3 million. They are set to close up shop on March 15th of this year, but are passing people on to Groundspring.Org to make donation (groundspring was Give For Change's partner in processing online donations). Groundspring reportedly has taken in $5 million in online donations.
You might find Groundspring's "Statement for Peace" on their front page will give an indication of their political sentiments:
In the wake of September 11, 2001, the current administration has had the responsibility to respond to the worst acts of terrorism in United States history. Unfortunately, that response has come in the form of draconian rollbacks of fundamental civil liberties, the dismantling of privacy protections, poorly managed and inflammatory immigration policies and a steady flow of saber-rattling rhetoric. Now we face an imminent yet ill-defined and unprovoked military strike against Iraq."

http://www.groundspring.org/

Their statement also lists other involved organizations, and a new funding body devised by Tides to channel funding for 'anti-war' and 'social justice'.

Toward this end, Tides Foundation announces the Peaceful Strategies Fund, which will support media advocacy, grassroots organizing and public education efforts that promote just and peaceful resolutions to the current international crises.
You'll note that they say 'crises' not 'crisis'.

As an aside:If you dig into ANSWER and it's related groups, you'll see many of them share the same address, which started out as a "daycare".

This article was written by the founder of Tides, and if you scroll to the bottom, he gives info about online funding, tools we can use too.
http://www.morethanmoney.org/articles/mtm26_onlinegiving.htm

The enemies of freedom are well organized, and well funded; both intentionally and by the useful idiots.