Why does CompuMentor work on a grant involving the 'USA PATRIOT Act?'
The USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is a set of mandates signed into law by the U.S. Government in October 2001. One of its goals is to prevent U.S. funds from supporting terrorist organizations.
Under this Act, nonprofits suspected of granting money to terrorist organizations, or of granting money to other organizations that are suspected of re-granting it to terrorist organizations, risk having their assets frozen by the U.S. Government.
What CompuMentor thinks about the USA PATRIOT Act
CompuMentor considers the USA PATRIOT Act a serious governmental over-reaction. We believe that it encroaches on the civil liberties of many Americans and that it hampers nonprofit work.
Under the PATRIOT Act, law enforcement officials have increased powers to shut down and to encroach upon nonprofits' efforts to fulfill their missions. For example, under the Act, the FBI has spied on Americans using library records. CompuMentor works extensively with libraries and we support their efforts in opposing the USA PATRIOT Act.
To find out more about what the USA PATRIOT Act means for charities we strongly urge you to examine
http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Publications/2004/CounterTerrorismHandbook.pdf
and
http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Newsletters/InternationalDateline/2004/LD2Q2004.pdf.
What the Mott grant is about?
All grant-making organizations, including the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, are affected by the USA PATRIOT Act. Therefore, Mott asks their grantees that re-grant Mott monies to other individuals or organizations to check their grantees against the lists of terrorist organizations.
Mott grantees are asked to run the names of at most two key staff members through a documented list-checking procedure. If the names are on one of those "suspected terrorists" lists provided by the US government, Mott requests the organizations to take additional steps before re-granting Mott funds. You can find out more about Mott's policy at http://www.mott.org/toolbox/resources/patriotact.aspx.
CompuMentor received a grant from the Mott Foundation to provide technology assistance to Mott's re-granting grantees. Our work mandate is to ensure that grantees have the necessary technology capability to perform the list-checking. We also offer data care and management information to help grantees get the most out of their databases.
Why we agreed to work on this grant
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CompuMentor wants to help nonprofits make informed decisionsThe USA PATRIOT Act levies harsh penalties on organizations that are found supporting individuals or groups that support or practice terrorism. Organizations can have their assets frozen if they are suspected of giving to a suspected terrorist. And there is no definition of what is meant by "suspected."
CompuMentor thinks that it is important for any organization, but vital for advocacy groups, to know whether or not they work with individuals or groups recorded on "suspected terrorist" lists.
If a match with a watch list is uncovered, the Mott Foundation and the organization can determine how best to proceed. Because of this work, the nonprofits Mott grants to can prepare for consequences should they decide to continue materially supporting a person or group identified with terrorism.
CompuMentor believes that organizations should act with the full knowledge of the consequences of their actions. An organization that does not perform a list-check does not know if it is put at risk by its giving policies. An organization that does perform the list-check can make decisions with the full knowledge of risks. We want to be sure that Mott grantees are not trapped because they could not or did not access various and confusing government and quasi-governmental lists.
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We support the desire of the Mott Foundation to continue giving and to provide tools to the organizations they support The Mott Foundation wants to keep giving, and they want to keep giving without putting themselves or the organizations they support at undue risk.
If Mott's funds were to be frozen, many organizations would suffer. We don't want that to happen. We want the good work that Mott is doing, and that Mott grantees are doing, to continue.
Talk back
If you'd like to let us know what you think of the USA PATRIOT Act and our involvement in the Mott grant, please email Lea Policoff, lpolicoff@compumentor.org.
