Millions of American workers participate in employer-sponsored charitable giving programs managed through third-party platforms such as Benevity, Bonterra, and Groundswell. Benevity, the largest of these services, processes billions of dollars in donations annually and serves over 200 Fortune 1000 companies. These portals are intended to offer employees a vetted selection of legitimate nonprofit organizations to support, encouraging confidence that excluded groups fail to meet objective standards related to legal compliance, financial transparency, or organizational integrity.

However, recent analysis by the nonprofit 1792 Exchange raises concerns about potential political biases influencing the selection of eligible charities within Benevity’s system. The research indicates that many companies using Benevity incorporate the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Hate Map as a criterion to determine which nonprofits qualify for employee donations and company matching funds. This list categorizes certain organizations as hate groups, resulting in their exclusion from giving portals despite their recognized nonprofit status.

Among the organizations barred from Benevity-enabled giving programs are Focus on the Family’s Wait No More initiative, which supports foster and adoptive families; Do No Harm, an organization addressing pediatric medical interventions; and Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy group active in religious liberty and free speech cases. These groups contend that being classified alongside extremist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan unfairly restricts employees from donating to charities aligned with their values. An open letter from twelve groups on the SPLC list criticized the practice for favoring nonprofits that reflect one political perspective over others.

While the SPLC is used as a reference point for exclusion by many Benevity clients, the organization itself remains eligible for donations through the platform. Data shows corporate donors have contributed more than $3.5 million to the SPLC via Benevity since 2020. This dynamic has drawn scrutiny, particularly following federal allegations that the SPLC funneled funds to individuals linked to extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations. The SPLC has denied wrongdoing, describing the claims as a misrepresentation of its paid-informant program meant to combat extremism and accusing prosecutors of political motivations. The legal process is ongoing.

Benevity has stated that it does not independently exclude organizations based on the SPLC list; rather, client companies choose to apply that filter. The company’s spokesperson noted that use of the SPLC Hate Map is optional and controlled solely by the clients. However, inquiries to several companies using Benevity revealed a general lack of awareness about the SPLC filter’s presence in their portals. Former Benevity CEO Kelly Schmitt confirmed in 2021 that the list was applied as a nonprofit exclusion filter. Moreover, documentation as recently as October included the SPLC as part of Benevity’s nonprofit vetting framework, without clear mention of client opt-out options.

Experts suggest that employer-sponsored charitable giving platforms adopt transparent, nonpartisan criteria such as IRS 501(c)(3) status to determine nonprofit eligibility. This approach offers a federally regulated and viewpoint-neutral standard, avoiding the potential politicization of employee donations. Several large firms, including Microsoft, American Express, and AT&T, have reportedly removed SPLC filtering from their Benevity programs.

Calls have also been made for Benevity’s current chief executive, Soraya Alexander, to take public steps to eliminate reliance on the SPLC Hate Map from the platform’s screening process, ensuring that workplace charitable giving remains governed by impartial and transparent standards acceptable across the political spectrum.