The Woke's effort to target the un-Woke now even stretches into the sphere of charitable giving. Fidelity Charitable, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and the nation's top grantmaker – distributing $9.1 billion to charities in 2020 – enables donors to strategically contribute to causes they deem worthy. Now, a coalition called Unmasking Fidelity, led by left-wing and Islamic activist groups, is calling on Fidelity Charitable to disclose contributions to a variety of causes the coalition deems unworthy. This effort has wide-ranging implications, writes an executive at one of the conservative groups being targeted:
On the list of Unmasking Fidelity’s demands was a call for Fidelity Charitable to disclose five years’ worth of its contributions to 10 targeted organizations, including the Family Research Council, Turning Point USA and my employer, the Alliance Defending Freedom. These are organizations with which the activists disagree on a variety of hot-button issues. Unmasking Fidelity is also demanding that Fidelity Charitable impose viewpoint-based litmus tests on the charities and causes its account holders can support. Those litmus tests would handicap conservative groups and advocacy.
No matter what you think about the issues of the day, everyone should oppose this name-and-shame censorship. A politicized philanthropic culture, in which an outside activist’s demands trump a donor’s intent—and even expose donors to harassment—is dangerous for people of every political stripe.
