Tag: charities

Drag Queen Show for Kids Advocacy Group Cancelled After Community Backlash

Local complaints have prompted a child-focused charity in New York to ditch a drag event for kids set for next Sunday – and its cancelled drag queen host is not happy.

The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester, a nonprofit “dedicated to giving children a voice and putting an end to abuse,” announced last week it would not hold its “all-ages,” “drag bingo” fundraiser.

Its scheduled cohost, drag queen “Mrs. Kasha Davis,” in reality a man named Ed Popil, took to a Rochester news station and said the cancellation was giving into “hate.”

Popil described his comments in a phone call to Mary Whittier, the charity’s chief executive officer, when she informed him the event was off.

He told the ABC affiliate, WHAM:

I said on that call, well, then we’re letting hate win. Because pretty much on a daily basis, unfortunately, as a drag artist, as a performer, especially when I do story hour, and most recently I was at a Pride festival, and I brought the kids up and we’re dancing, and then when you look at the comments, the hateful, negative, angry comments were plentiful.

Even after the cancellation, which included a formal, obsequious statement by the nonprofit that apologized to “our LGBTQ+ partners, allies, and supporters,” critics continued to pounce.

“Inclusion of LGBTQ should have NOTHING to do with a non profit whose ‘supposed’ mission is to advocate for our communities most traumatized youth. NOTHING!!,” a New Yorker named Michele Fischette wrote on the group’s Facebook page. “Why is this even a thing? Wildly inappropriate…”

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Sorry, L.A. Fire Victims, the NGO Borg Ate Your FireAid Money

We thought it was a betrayal of Los Angeles fire victims that the local government slow-rolled the building permit process to wait out property owners so the state could replace their homes with “low-income” apartments. It turns out, however, that the betrayal has just gotten worse.

We learn this week, thanks to the great work of a lone reporter at a small Southern California publication called Circling the News, that a whopping $100 million donated to help fire victims isn’t making its way to actual fire victims. 

In the fires that started on January 7, 2025, about 6,800 homes were destroyed in the Pacific Palisades. Not all were mansions but all were on very valuable property in a tony section of Los Angeles that is close to Malibu and Santa Monica. In Altadena, a neighborhood close to leafy Pasadena, 9,400 homes and structures were destroyed in the fires. 

Only a few weeks later, the biggest names in show business would come together to selflessly give their talents and time to put on a show that raised $100 million. 

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Questions Surround $100 Million in ‘Fire Aid’ for Los Angeles

Questions are being raised about how the roughly $100 million raised by “Fire Aid” concerts in the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires earlier this year is being spent — with some claiming victims are receiving nothing.

The star-studded bill for the benefit concert, held on two separate stages, raised a massive sum. But many residents of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu (Palisades Fire), and of Altadena and Pasadena (Eaton Fire), say they have not benefited.

There have been two significant local investigations by local news outlets, each of which came to different — though not necessarily contradictory — conclusions about Fire Aid’s money.

The first, by ABC affiliate KABC-7, concluded that the money was being well-spent — on organizations:

Roughly 120 organizations split $50 million when the first round of FireAid funds was released in February. 7 On Your Side tried reaching out to every single one of them, and heard back from more than 50 to find out how the money is being used.

…

The Pasadena Humane Society used $250,000 from FireAid to treat and house pets burned and left homeless by the flames.

Heal the Bay received $100,000 and used it to test for contaminants along our coast.

However, Circling the News, as highlighted by local Fox affiliate KTTV,  found that few victims had benefited.

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Warren Buffett donates record $7.7 billion Berkshire shares to Gates Foundation, family charities

American billionaire Warren Buffett donated on June 28 another US$6 billion (S$7.7 billion) of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago.

The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Mr Buffett’s overall giving to the charities to well over US$60 billion.

He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation respectively.

Mr Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire’s stock, based on reported shares outstanding.

His US$152 billion net worth prior to the June 27 donations made him the world’s fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine.

Mr Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the US$5.3 billion he donated in June 2024. He donated another US$1.14 billion to the family charities in November 2024.

In a statement, Mr Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares.

Now 94, Mr Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006.

He changed his will in 2024, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children.

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Supreme Court Sides With Catholic Charities in Case About Tax Exemptions for Religious Organizations

The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Catholic Charities Bureau on Thursday, ruling that Wisconsin discriminated against the organization by denying tax exempt status and violated the First Amendment’s protection for religion. 

Wisconsin has a law, similar to most states and the federal government, that exempts certain religious organizations from paying unemployment compensation taxes. The statute exempts nonprofit organizations “operated primarily for religious purposes” and “operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches.” Catholic Charities Bureau and four of its sub-entities tried to obtain the exemption in 2016 as an organization controlled by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin.

After years of litigation, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately denied the exemption, ruling that Catholic Charities Bureau was not “operated primarily for religious purposes” because they do not engage in proselytization or limit their charitable services to Catholics. However, Catholic Charities Bureau argued that Catholic teachings do not permit “misus[ing] works of charity for purposes of proselytism.”

“There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court. 

“When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny,” she continued. “Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.”

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When did charities turn into insufferable activist groups?

When did charities become so political? From Oxfam to the British Heart Foundation, many British charities are going well beyond their core missions of saving lives and helping the needy and have branched out into political lobbying, whether it’s for sugar taxes or so-called climate justice. The third sector has relegated old-fashioned charity work to second place, behind lobbying the government for ‘progressive’ policies.

This trend should not be allowed to pass unnoticed, especially when there is such a clear revolving door between charities and politics. According to research from Transparency International in 2023, almost one in three ex-Conservative ministers ended up in jobs that overlapped with their government brief – many in charities. After last year’s General Election delivered a landslide of new Labour MPs, more than 35 per cent of parliamentarians now have a ‘background’ in the charity sector, including eight members of the cabinet.

Labour figures have proved most adept at floating seamlessly between NGOs and government. Gordon Brown’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, now specialises in ‘refugee resettlement and assistance’ at the International Rescue Committee. Others, like UNICEF and Save the Children’s Justin Forsyth, have gone back and forth between charity and government. In 2023, Oxfam appointed Halima Begum as its chief executive, who tried to become Labour MP in 2019.

The result of this echo chamber is clear in charities’ output. Last year, Oxfam, which was founded to help famine relief efforts in the developing world, called for a 60 per cent tax in the UK on income, stocks, shares, rent and other revenue ‘that the rich disproportionately rely on’. The British Heart Foundation pledges to reach Net Zero by 2045 and pushes for nanny-state policies like sugar and salt taxes. Christian Aid was set up to provide life-saving support when wars blighted some of the world’s poorest communities. Now it also campaigns for ‘climate justice’, whatever that means.

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Under The Guise Of Charity: CIA’s Hidden Money Laundering Network Exposed

We’re diving deeper into our investigation of CIA actions that contradict U.S. national interests. Today, we uncover another CIA-affiliated company using taxpayer money to supply Ukraine with weapons and military equipment — outside the scope of official aid packages.

Typically, money laundering scandals involve substantial sums, ranging from tens of millions to billions of dollars. In such cases, unscrupulous individuals are driven by greed and fear that this rare chance for enrichment might slip away, making it crucial to act quickly before the opportunity vanishes. The record suggests that most schemes unravel precisely in these moments of haste.

And it seems the CIA has also recognized this risk, shifting its approach toward laundering relatively small amounts while increasing the number of transactions. This method significantly reduces the chance of detection, even with high financial transparency, avoiding unnecessary scrutiny from oversight bodies. While the scheme appears to work effectively, one can’t help but wish that the CIA had used these skills for more constructive purposes.

Now, we will discuss a non-profit organization called the American Rescue Project (ARP), based in Washington D.C., at 800 Maine Ave SW suite 400.

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Charity Involved With Adolescence Suggested Boys Engaging in “Locker Room Banter” Can Lead to “Genocide”

The charity which met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a plan to screen the Netflix show Adolescence in UK schools previously published material suggesting that boys engaging in “locker room banter,” advocating for “strict gender roles” and “bragging” can ultimately lead to genocide.

Yes, really.

Adolescence is a 4 part drama based around a 13-year-old white boy who murders a girl after being radicalized by incel culture and ‘Manosphere’ social media influencers like Andrew Tate.

Despite the fact that the show is a complete work of fiction, it has somehow become a rallying cry for new policies and laws which will ultimately lead to more online censorship.

The child character in the show is a white boy from a married home, despite producers admitting the plot was primarily based on the murder of a 15-year-old black girl by a black Ugandan immigrant.

Tender has been instrumental in working with the producers of the show to bring it to a wider audience, leading to a plan to broadcast the series in all UK schools which has been backed by the government.

Representatives from Tender in addition to Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne and producers Emma Feller and Jo Johnson met with the UK Prime Minister on Monday.

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Grenell Calls Out Bass-Appointed L.A. Fire Recovery Chief for $500K 3-Month Salary: ‘Gross, Offensive’

Ric Grenell, President Donald Trump’s Envoy for Special Missions, slammed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s (D) fire “recovery czar” for his large three-month salary of $500,000 paid by charity groups.

Bass announced former L.A. police commissioner Steve Soboroff as the head of the rebuilding efforts following the devastating fires that destroyed homes and businesses and claimed at least 29 lives over a three-week period.

Soboroff will be “paid $500,000 over three months, with funding coming from charitable groups,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Real estate executive Randy Johnson, who worked with Soboroff in developing the ritzy Playa Vista neighborhood in the Westside area of L.A., will receive $250,000 from charity groups over the 90-day period as he helps with the recovery efforts.

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REPORT: Tim Walz Administration Awarded $2 Million to Charity Linked to Al-Qaeda in Minnesota

Did anyone in the Harris campaign even vet Minnesota Governor Tim Walz?

It seems like every other day we are learning some new damning fact about Kamala’s running mate, whether it’s about his military service or his ties to communist China.

Now in an another potentially explosive development, it is coming to light that his administration in Minnesota awarded $2 million to a charity with ties to the terror group al-Qaeda.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Walz administration awarded $2 million to Muslim group fundraising for al Qaeda-linked charity

Under Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the state of Minnesota awarded over $2 million to an Islamic group that fundraises for a charity linked to an al Qaeda affiliate, according to funding records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

The Islamic Association of North America, the recipient of the state grants from 2019 to 2024, is fundraising after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel last year for Rahma Worldwide, a Michigan-based charity that says it is shipping humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to flyers. In a since-deleted Facebook post in October 2023, Rahma Worldwide President Shadi Zaza revealed his charity was collaborating on an aid initiative with the Islamic Heritage Revival Society of Kuwait, a terrorist group sanctioned by the U.S. government for funding al Qaeda.

News of the Walz administration’s grants to the IANA comes as the Democratic vice presidential candidate faces backlash after a series of Washington Examiner reports revealed his ties to Muslim cleric Asad Zaman. As Minnesota’s governor, Walz has repeatedly hosted Zaman, who shared a pro-Adolf Hitler movie on social media and defended the Oct. 7 attack. Moreover, according to unearthed footage, Walz referred to Zaman as a “master teacher” at a 2018 event held by the Zaman-led Muslim American Society of Minnesota, which partners with the IANA.

Where does it end with this guy?

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