May 27, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
After meeting with representatives of about 30 nonprofit groups last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has asked the participants to work together to propose ways for the department to crack down on nonprofit efforts to finance terrorists without hurting legitimate charitable activities.
Treasury officials have asked the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and others to discuss alternatives to previous guidelines issued by the government to prevent charities and foundations from unwittingly providing money to terrorists. Nonprofit groups have criticized the guidelines, which they are not required to follow, saying the guidelines were too vague and would chill international charitable activities (The Chronicle, August 7, 2003).
Some foundations have already revamped their own policies, even though they were not required to, but these changes have met with criticism. Last month, nine universities said the new antiterrorism language in the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations’ grant agreements would infringe on academic freedom (The Chronicle, May 13).
Specifically, Treasury officials have asked nonprofit leaders to help the department develop indicators to determine when charitable money is being misused to support militant activities, and to examine ways foundations and international-aid groups can best work in “high-risk zones,” such as the Palestinian territories and Somalia, where humanitarian need is great but oversight of charitable spending is considered weak by U.S. regulators.
It is uncertain whether nonprofit groups will agree to work together to craft antiterrorism proposals. Robert L. Buchanan, director of international programs for the Council on Foundations, said the organizations advising Treasury are still discussing how to proceed. “Things haven’t jelled at this point,” he said.
Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, in Los Angeles, said he hopes efforts will progress quickly, because any delay hurts humanitarian efforts in poor, war-torn countries.
