Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable Block Southern Poverty Law Center Grants After DOJ Indictment

Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable blocked donor-advised fund grants to the Southern Poverty Law Center after the Justice Department indicted the civil rights nonprofit on federal charges of committing financial crimes.

“Back at my office in Lechiagat, after putting the final touch on my previous article about Jared Taylor’s visit to France, I surrendered to this now-familiar ritual, scanning the American press at dawn”

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The New York Times reported that Fidelity Charitable told customers with “over 350,000 charitable giving accounts” that they could not donate to the center through the accounts anymore, citing an email that said, “the organization is not an eligible grant recipient during the ongoing investigation.”

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Vanguard Charitable declined a grant request with a message that “The organization has had allegations and/or charges brought against them for activities that may call into question their ability to carry out their tax-exempt charitable purpose.”

Fox Business added that Fidelity and Vanguard paused grants “through their donor-advised funds” while the case moves forward, after the Justice Department charged the SPLC with financial crimes including wire fraud and money laundering.

The Justice Department indictment described the SPLC as funneling $3 million in donations to people linked to violent extremist groups, including Unite the Right, the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations, according to Fox Business.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement, “They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups.”

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SPLC interim CEO and president Bryan Fair responded that the organization was “outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC,” and said, “Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is.”

In the Hill report, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the charges are rooted in evidence of SPLC paying informants to monitor extremist groups, adding, “It was not dismantling extremism, but funding it.”

The financial impact of the donor-advised fund blocks extended beyond individual giving, with The Hill reporting that Fidelity moved to block SPLC donations after the federal indictment and quoting Fidelity’s email to a donor about an “ongoing governmental investigation.”

“Fidelity and Vanguard’s charitable arms have reportedly paused grants to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) through their donor-advised funds after the group was indicted on federal charges”

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The Hill also said Fidelity currently has 350,000 charitable giving accounts, while the SPLC vowed to fight the federal charges and described itself as a 501(c)(3) organization that tracks hate crimes nationwide.

In a separate statement, the San Francisco Foundation said it would “continue to allow our donors to make grants to the Southern Poverty Law Center,” arguing that “An indictment is an allegation. It is not a conviction.”

Fox News reported that the Treasury Department is tightening IRS tax-exempt reporting requirements, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent writing, “We are ending the days of hiding fraud, abuse and extremist activity behind complicated nonprofit arrangements.”