|
Enviro-Group Finances
Caught on 'Web'
(CNSNews.com) - If you've ever wondered from where environmental activists get their money, you're not alone, and a Washington, D.C. think tank is drawing a map to help follow the money. The Capital Research Center (CRC) is preparing for its Monday launch of Green-Watch.com, an online database and information service that monitors "about 500 or so different environmental groups, focusing on their funding - where their money's coming from and what they're doing with it," said CRC Director of Communications Andrew Walker. "It's constantly a work in progress," Walker commented. Currently, the site is focusing on domestic environmental organizations such as the San Francisco, Calif.-based Sierra Club and Eugene, Ore.-based Earth First. Also included in the database will be information on some international organizations that use the U.S. for their base of operation. "What you see is that a lot of the international ones end up really being based in America or affiliates are connected with American organizations," said Walker, who noted Greenpeace International as an example. The militant environmental group is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Most of the funding information uncovered and reported by CRC is the result of combing through public records. "Nonprofit groups have to file what's called a 990 form with the IRS," said Walker. "That's public knowledge that you can get a copy of that and see who is funding them - where their large donations come from." CRC started building its database for the Green-Watch.com site about 2 years ago, Walker said and now, "it's gotten to the point where we're ready to take it public."
|