Southern Poverty Law Center

Mission

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm. Today, SPLC is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups. Throughout its history, SPLC has worked to make the nation's Constitutional ideals a reality. The SPLC legal department fights all forms of discrimination and works to protect society's most vulnerable members, handling innovative cases that few lawyers are willing to take. The SPLC Intelligence Project monitors hate groups and tracks extremist activity throughout the U.S. To combat the causes of hate, SPLC in 1991 established Teaching Tolerance, an educational program to help K-12 teachers foster respect and understanding in the classroom.

Proceed with Caution — Alleged Fraud

On April 21, 2026, The Associated Press reported on the operations of Southern Poverty Law Center in an article titled, "Southern Poverty Law Center charged with defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants." For more information, please see The Associated Press article.

  • On April 29, 2026, The New York Times published an article titled "Fidelity and Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center." For more information, please see The New York Times article
  • On May 26, 2026, CBS News published an article titled "Southern Poverty Law Center seeks dismissal of criminal charges, saying prosecution is vindictive." For more information, please see CBS News article
  • On August 12, 2026, PBS published an article titled "Former SPLC official charged in Justice Department's broader criminal case against group." For more information, please see PBS article

For more information about our alerts methodology, see here.

Montgomery AL | EIN: 63-0598743
Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
501(c)(3) organization

Southern Poverty Law Center

Mission

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm. Today, SPLC is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups. Throughout its history, SPLC has worked to make the nation's Constitutional ideals a reality. The SPLC legal department fights all forms of discrimination and works to protect society's most vulnerable members, handling innovative cases that few lawyers are willing to take. The SPLC Intelligence Project monitors hate groups and tracks extremist activity throughout the U.S. To combat the causes of hate, SPLC in 1991 established Teaching Tolerance, an educational program to help K-12 teachers foster respect and understanding in the classroom.

Proceed with Caution — Alleged Fraud

On April 21, 2026, The Associated Press reported on the operations of Southern Poverty Law Center in an article titled, "Southern Poverty Law Center charged with defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants." For more information, please see The Associated Press article.

  • On April 29, 2026, The New York Times published an article titled "Fidelity and Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center." For more information, please see The New York Times article
  • On May 26, 2026, CBS News published an article titled "Southern Poverty Law Center seeks dismissal of criminal charges, saying prosecution is vindictive." For more information, please see CBS News article
  • On August 12, 2026, PBS published an article titled "Former SPLC official charged in Justice Department's broader criminal case against group." For more information, please see PBS article

For more information about our alerts methodology, see here.

Montgomery AL | EIN: 63-0598743
Profile managed by nonprofit | Is this your nonprofit?
501(c)(3) organization

Beacon Report

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  • Additional Information
Accountability Panel
ScoreMetric
0%
Website Reported on Tax Form:No
100%
No Material Diversion of Assets:Yes
100%
Financial Statements:Yes
100%
Audit Oversight Committee:Yes
100%
No Loans Reported To or From Officers:Yes
100%
Records Retention Policy:Yes
95%
Website Disclosures:5 of 5
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