If you donated money to Black Lives Matter, then it might have gone to the wrong organization.
Black Lives Matter was founded by three women in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter Foundation was founded by Robert Ray Barnes in 2015 after his wife’s ex-husband was killed by police. The similarity in the names has caused a lot of confusion.
BLM Foundation founder Robert Ray Barnes was interviewed about the confusion.
Monetary contributions by companies and businesses that direct donations to specific groups, like GoFundMe and PayPal, have been frozen until they can sort it out. Barnes claims he has returned checks made out to BLM and Black Lives Matter. He won’t say how much money he returned, or how much he kept.
Both groups claim that the other took the name BLM. The name of the organizations, however, is where the similarities end. BLM, for example, calls for defunding the police and “disrupting” the nuclear family. The BLM Foundation’s mission statement is just the opposite.
The confusion in the organization’s names is so striking that the BLM Foundation has a disclaimer on the mission statement page of its Benevity donation-management platform. In addition, the New York Attorney General ordered the BLM Foundation to stop collecting donations in New York.
So where does all the money go? Who decides which local groups get the donations? To whom are they accountable?
A search on OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political spending, reveals that BLM donations go through “ActBlue.” This nonprofit online fundraising platform for progressive organizations gives billions in donations to Democrat politicians and progressive causes.
The confusion stems from the ActBlue website itself. The website clearly says that it has over 11 million “Democratic donors.” ActBlue has raised over $5.7 billion since its founding in 2004.
Furthermore, its stated mission is to “empower small donors.” The website says it is “Powering Democratic candidates, committees, parties, organizations, and c4s around the country.” But donations are not tax deductible.
No wonder people feel there is another agenda!
Investigations were launched into BLM fundraising by news outlets such as CBS8 News in San Diego, WUSE9 in Washington, and KHOU*11 in Houston, among others.
ActBlue responded to CBS8 News with the following statement. “When you donate on an ActBlue or ActBlue charities page, the donation is earmarked for the group listed on the form. We pass along the contribution directly to the receiving campaign or entity. We do not choose the recipient of the contribution, the donor does.”
The problem is that all the money donated through ActBlue goes to Democrats and progressive charities. So where do the BLM donations actually go?
No one seems to have a definitive answer. Millions of dollars have been donated to Black Lives Matters and groups claiming to represent BLM. But no one can show where the money has gone or how it has been spent.
As for right now, if you donate to Black Lives Matter, or another organization claiming to be or to represent BLM, you do so at your own risk.
Take a word of caution from the Latin phrase Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). Let the donor beware!
Image from: signalscv.com
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