For immediate release:
July 1, 2021
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Washington – According to a jointly submitted amicus report from PETA, the Nonprofit Alliance and the Fundraising Specialists Association, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled overturning the California rule requiring charitable organizations to disclose their primary sponsors and found it in violation of the First Amendment on the right to freedom of association.
“Today’s decision reaffirms that Americans have the constitutional right to support charities whose work is important to them without fear of retaliation,” said Jeff Kerr, senior vice president and general counsel for the PETA Foundation. “From closing circuses to defeating the fur industry, PETA’s animal rights victories have been made possible by generous donors whose rights matter too.”
“We are pleased that the court recognized the importance of confidentiality in donor selection to support a wide range of reasons, both socially significant and completely undeniable. The trust and confidence of donors in the non-profit organization is essential for the continued activity of the charitable sector, ”says Robert Tigner, General Counsel of The Nonprofit Alliance. “We support governments’ efforts to protect donors from fraudulent ‘charities’ with the robust investigative tools already at their disposal. But over-coverage in this case could have created the same, if not greater risk for donors. ”
“AFP supports this decision because we believe that donor privacy is a fundamental aspect of fundraising and the continuing generosity and philanthropy of Americans, but we also believe that the government should be able to regulate philanthropy and fundraising to some extent,” said Mike Geiger , MBA. , CPA, and President and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “This case does not undermine the ability of states to control charities – information related to this case can be obtained by states in other ways, if necessary. We felt that regulation went too far and could overburden charities in raising funds, and we believe charities and donors would benefit from this decision. ”
Karen Donnelly of Copilevitz law firm, Lam & Raney PC coordinated and filed the amicus memo on behalf of the Nonprofit Alliance, the Fundraising Specialists Association, PETA and 123 other organizations that subscribed to it.
Since 1960, the Association of Fundraising Professionals has been the benchmark for professionalism in fundraising. Its 26,000 members raise over $ 100 billion annually for a wide variety of charities around the world through ethical and effective fundraising practices based on its Code of Ethics. For more information go to AFPGlobal.org.
The nonprofit alliance exists to foster the development and growth of nonprofit organizations and to protect the vital services they provide, as well as the sponsors, members, partners and volunteers who support them. Participants represent a diverse landscape and include industry experts who assist nonprofits in their outreach, fundraising, and resource development. For more information visit TNPA.org.
PETA – whose motto is “Animals are not ours to experiment, eat, carry, use for fun or otherwise abuse” – opposes arrogance, which is a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information on PETA visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…