A dark money organization headed by Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors acquired the bulk of its recent funding from a hidden fund utilized by Silicon Valley tech companies.
The Mystery
According to Cullors’ most current tax returns, Dignity and Power Now received $4.2 million in undeclared contributions in 2020.
While the organization does not reveal its wealthy backers, Fox News Digital revealed $2.5 million of that money went through the Silicon Valley Community Hub, then into the BLM activist’s social action organization.
“There was nothing ‘black’ or ‘non-transparent’ about money Fox had been able to establish the origin and paperwork for so readily,” said Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson, executive director of Dignity, as well as Power Now.
A “dark money” organization is something that does not reveal its financing sources. Cullors’ charity keeps its contributors private.
The $2.5 million in donations were discovered when Fox News Digital combed through dozens of 990 tax forms from charity foundations. Silicon Valley funding accounted for roughly 60% of the total for 2020.
BLM leaders spent $6 million on a mansion. Some supporters don’t see a problem with that. https://t.co/nkb2Be0FPE pic.twitter.com/JwOuUoliFK
— MoneyTalk w/Melanie (@MoneyTalkMel) May 5, 2022
“When we make charitable contributions, it is based on the promise and reality that we are moving resources directly into improving the quality of life of the black and brown communities in which we operate and are committed to,” he stated.
“Our work and impact speak for themselves, and we are delighted to keep doing it.”
“We will react if what you post contains inaccuracies and distortions,” Clayton-Jonnson stated.
The Silicon Valley Foundation is a multibillion-dollar, donor-advised fund with ties to a number of high-profile industry executives.
Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as well as Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, have all invested in the company.
It collected $2.1 billion in donations in 2020, as per its tax records, making it one of the biggest institutions in the United States.
It is, nevertheless, impossible to establish who sponsored Cullors’ organization from the organization.
It does not reveal who funnels money into it, nor does it reveal which of its donors sends money from the foundation to outside organizations.
They Are Hiding
Until its leaders were entangled in a scandal over its “toxic” work climate, which included bullying and inappropriate touching, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation kept a quiet profile.
📢 A dark money nonprofit chaired by BLM's Patrisse Cullors has received millions of dollars from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a secretive fund used by tech giants.https://t.co/fnLUxdKrwJ
— Dispatches of the Lotus Eaters (@lotuseatersnews) May 6, 2022
According to The Mercury News, Emmett Carson, the previous president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Foundation, was fired. He got $300,000 in severance compensation as a result of the repercussions.
Cullors-affiliated organizations have received significant money from well-known tech CEOs and their wives.
Between 2017 and 2020, Fb co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his spouse, Cari Tuna, donated $5.5 million to Dignity and Power Now.
Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008. He still has a 2% stake in the firm, now known as Meta, that Forbes claims accounts for a significant portion of his $12.1 billion in total wealth.
