By kevin.nix
Following our trip to the National Organization for Marriage office yesterday asking for their 2009 tax returns, we can report this afternoon that the organization was compelled to hand over a hard-copy of its c (4) Form 990. My colleague Dan Rafter went asking for it. And got it here.
The Form 990 is the tax return NOM is required to submit to the IRS. NOM dated its 990 November 14, 2010, yet did not disclose it publicly until today when it gave an HRC representative a hard-copy of the tax return.
We haven’t had a chance yet to cull through it with a fine-tooth comb but here’s an observation regarding the group’s donors. Most of the $7.1 million in revenue in ’09 came from a few very large donors. These donors could be individuals or corporations. Here is how NOM’s top donations break down.
1. $2,475,000
2. $1,230,000
3. $1,100,000
4. $400,000
5. $150,000
Running the numbers, this means that 3 wealthy donors contributed 68% of their total donations; 4 donors gave 73% and 5 donors gave 75%.
These figures reinforce what we and others (Fred Karger) have been saying: the National Organization for Marriage does not represent some sizeable (or even small) grassroots constituency. The only “constituency” they represent is that of a few anti-gay folks who have a lot of money. NOM’s reluctance to make their tax returns available publicly is par for the course in their pattern of secrecy and shadowy dealings.
On Monday, January 3, HRC went to the Washington, D.C. NOM office and asked for a copy of its 2009 990 for both its (c) 3 and (c) 4 organizations. Video of the exchange is here. On Tuesday, January 4, HRC went back to the office and obtained a hard-copy of the (c) 4 990. It appears NOM did not provide us with a complete return.
source
No comments:
Post a Comment