Look Who it Was Random video

Donors Trust: Little-Known Group Helps Wealthy Backers Fund Right-Wing Agenda in Secret

1,347 views · Published 19 February 2013 · 11:15 · Indexed 30 September 2026

Channel: Democracy Now! · 2013 · News & Politics

Watch on YouTube

DemocracyNow.org - Since 1999, the non-profit charity Donors Trust has handed out nearly $400 million in private donations to more than 1,000 right-wing and libertarian groups. The fact it has been able to quietly do so appears to explain why it exists: Wealthy donors can back the right-wing causes they want, without attracting public scrutiny. The most detailed accounting to date shows Donors Trust funds a wish list of right-wing causes, prompting Mother Jones magazine to label it "the dark-money ATM of the right." We're joined by John Dunbar, politics editor at The Center for Public Integrity, and co-author of the group's months-long investigation into Donors Trust. 

Dunbar says: "They're essentially a pass through. What they do is they act as kind of a middleman between what are very large well-known private foundations created by mostly by corporate executives, like the Kochs for example. And they direct the money of those contributions to a very large network of right-leaning free market think tanks across the country, including those that you've named. By running into the middle man, it essentially obscures the identity of the original donors of the folks who have provided the funds themselves. And the organization itself makes that clear on its own website, essentially saying people who give money to the organization can avoid being identified or being connected with potentially controversial issues."

To watch the entire weekday independent news hour, read the transcript, download the podcast, search our vast archive, or to find more information about Democracy Now! and Amy Goodman, visit http://www.democracynow.org.

Democracy Now!, an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,100+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday.

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:  
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/democracynow
Twitter: @democracynow
Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/democracynow
Listen on SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/democracynow  
Daily Email News Digest: http://www.democracynow.org/subscribe

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today, visit http://www.democracynow.org/donate/YT

More from this channel