Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online
Two Texas energy billionaires have used campaign donations and a network of think tanks, other nonprofits, and political action committees to gain influence over the state’s Republican politics, with an eye toward national domination. Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks have poured tens of millions of dollars into campaigns and PACs, and millions more into 501(c)(4) social-welfare organizations, with a goal of making Christianity the basis of the state’s culture and laws. Alongside crusades on abortion, gun rights, and immigration, the pair are waging a long battle for taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools. (New York Times and ProPublica)
Background from the Chronicle: What Pro-Democracy Activists Can Learn From Their Adversaries
A fledgling group is providing a safe place for gay and transgender refugees escaping persecution in their own countries. Launched last year by the State Department, the Welcome Corps works with nonprofits and volunteers. It has so far connected 3,500 sponsors with 1,800 refugees, while 100,000 people have applied to become sponsors. Many refugees come from countries where homosexuality has been outlawed, sometimes on pain of death. (Los Angeles Times)
Background from the Chronicle: As LGBTQ Rights Come Under Threat, Lambda Legal Mounts Effort to Raise $180 Million
More News
- JD Vance’s Old Yale Law Classmates Raise Money for Springfield’s Haitian Residents (New York Times)
- Heritage Foundation Staffers Flood Federal Agencies With Thousands of Information Requests (ProPublica)
- Nonprofits Serving Californians With Disabilities Must Make Records Public Under New State Law (KQED)
- Bill Gates Falls To Lowest Rank On The Forbes 400 In Nearly 25 Years (Forbes)
Nonprofit Scandals
- Nonprofit In D.C. Council Member’s Bribery Case Got Millions in City Contracts (Washington Post)
- State Investigates the Foodbank of Southern California’s Use of Government Funds Amid Dueling Accusations of Corruption (Long Beach Post)
Note: In the links in this section, we flag articles that only subscribers can access. But because some journalism outlets offer a limited number of free articles, readers may encounter barriers with other articles we highlight in this roundup.