Church Militant’s Ménage à Trois

Part 2 of Another Dynamic Founder Goes Off the Rails

• Double Trouble at St. Michael’s Media/Church Militant … a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4

• Joining the couple is a quasi-entity called the Deposit of Faith Coalition

• Do donors understand to which entity they are giving?

• The boards of St. Michael’s Media and Church Militant have neither the discipline nor the accounting infrastructure to properly manage the two nonprofits plus the coalition.

[Disclosure and background: I am a former employee of the Detroit-based, Catholic news website popularly known as Church Militant (CM). Both before and after I was laid off on March 31, I tried to warn my former colleagues as well as donors that negligent nonprofit governance was at the root of Church Militant’s problems.

Trust But Verify was the first public platform to call for the resignation of St. Michael’s Media’s (SMM) entire employee board. That opinion is now widely embraced. That call is now also applied to the employee board of Church Militant.]

COMMENTARY

The slow-motion collapse of St. Michael’s Media (a 501(c)3), Church Militant (a 501(c)4) and the quasi-entity known as the Deposit of Faith Coalition is a case study:  first, in the kissing cousin dangers between 501(c)3s and 501(c)4s; and second, the risk organizations run when they affiliate, even loosely, with nonprofits run by individuals who are deliberately ignorant of their legal responsibilities.

Viva la Différence!

Most people are completely unaware of the distinction between various non-profit entities. Donations to some are tax deductible, others are not. Some have to file IRS Form 990 which discloses information about the organization, others (such as churches) do not.

These non-profit organizations, because they are tax-exempt, are highly regulated. For example, donations to non-profit charitable organizations — 501(c)3s — are tax deductible. However, these organizations are not allowed to engage in partisan political activities.  So a 501(c)3 organization can encourage its stakeholders to vote, but it can’t promote a specific political party or candidate.

In recent years, the trend toward political polarization has filtered into the nonprofit sector. In response, many 501(c)3 organizations are forming fraternal twin 501(c)4 organizations, which must also be nonpartisan but can engage in “social welfare” activities benefitting the public good. For example, they can engage in unlimited lobbying efforts in support of specific public policies. However, gifts to 501(c)4 organizations are not tax deductible; they are not charitable gifts.

An example of these interrelated organizations is Planned Parenthood, a 501(c)3 organization. But there is also the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, lobbying for reproductive rights and sexual health care. Another example is Turning Point USA, a 501(c)3. It has a 501(c)4 fraternal twin, Turning Point Action which, like Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), engages in broadly-construed public policy activities.

And then … there is St. Michael’s Media, a 501(c)3 and its twin, Church Militant, a 501(c)4.

501(c)4 Abuses

Some left-leaning 501(c)4 nonprofits, and now some right-leaning organizations as well, are taking advantage of both the ambiguity of social welfare activities benefiting the public good and the IRS’ lack of regulatory oversight.

Because donations to 501(c)4 organizations can be kept anonymous, the billionaire class uses them to fund their political activities. These are the funds often referred to as “dark money.”

The most notorious 501(c)4 organization is the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the wealthiest nonprofit you’ve probably never heard of. According to Open Secrets, the fund has 13 secret donors producing $635 million in revenue. The Sixteen Thirty Fund then distributes money to 501(c)3 organizations like “Promote the Vote” which then target key demographic groups such as minorities, young people, immigrants, for “nonpartisan” but strategically segmented voter registration efforts.

These 501(c)4 nonprofits have become the “problem child” in the non-profit community, and so far, the IRS isn’t doing much about it. But that may soon change. The following headlines detail the concerns.

·      Could Congress Actually Crack Down on Tax Exempt Political Organizations?

·      How the IRS Gave Up Fighting Political Dark Money

·      The IRS is not enforcing the law on political nonprofit disclosure violations

·      501(c)4 Nonprofits’ Image Problem Is a Problem for All of Us

·      Are 501(c)4 nonprofit groups too partisan?

One expert source warned:

“At this point it is clear that 501(c)(4) organizations are here to stay as part of the political and public policy advocacy landscape, and can be a useful tool. Because of their growing prevalence and several high-profile instances of their misuse, 501(c)(4) organizations are frequently scrutinized by the media, regulators, and prosecutors. Whether one is considering establishing or merely donating to a 501(c)(4) organization, it is important to do so with care.”

Non-profit 501(c)4 organizations should be under caution that they are no longer flying under the radar; they are being singled out for greater scrutiny.

Church Militant is a 501(c)4 … Who Knew?

Church Militant’s status as a 501(c)4 nonprofit was a secret hidden in plain sight. Since 2021, when Church Militant was founded as a separate corporate entity, the Church Militant website included separate financial reports for St. Michael’s Media and Church Militant. The nonprofit status distinguishing them was not made clear. Donors were left to figure that out for themselves.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund is more forthcoming. First, PPAF has an entirely separate website that requests donations, where donors are clearly told: “Contributions or gifts to Planned Parenthood Action Fund are not tax deductible as charitable contributions or as business expenses under IRC Section 162(e).”

Individuals who go to Church Militant’s donation page see the Church Militant logo at the top but then are directed to make their gifts to 501(c)3 organization St. Michael’s Media. Is it any wonder many people used the two names interchangeably.

The defamation lawsuit brought by Manchester, N.H. Diocese Judicial Vicar Rev. Georges de Laire, names St. Michael’s Media a/k/a [also known as] Church Militant as a defendant.

According to records filed with the state of Michigan, from 1/11/17 to 1/11/21, Church Militant was an assumed name for St. Michael’s Media, which also operated under other assumed names:

·      Catholic Cruise Consultants                            9/22/2015 to 12/31/25

·      Concept Communications                              1/11/2017 to 12/31/22

·      Pewsitter                                                         2/26/2019 to 12/31/2024

·      Real Catholic TV                                              1/11/17 to 12/16/2020

So between January 2017 and January 2021, Church Militant was an assumed name for St. Michael’s Media. It was in 2021 that Church Militant quietly became a separate corporate entity, a 501(c)4.

In official filings with the state of Michigan in June 2023, the boards of the two organizations were identical.

St. Michael’s Media, 501(c)3                                      Church Militant, 501(c)4

Michael Voris, President                                             Michael Voris, President

Philip Haapala, Treasurer                                            Philip Haapala, Treasurer

Mary McCann, Secretary                                            Mary McCann, Secretary

Marc Rivard                                                                 Marc Rivard

Christine Niles                                                             Christine Niles

Susan Vance                                                                Susan Vance

Mike Sherry                                                                 Mike Sherry

Charles Hornbacher                                                    Charles Hornbacher

It is not illegal for the two boards to be identical; but given the abuses of the 501(c)3 board, the 501(c)4’s business practices are now also suspect.

Sources tell Trust But Verify that board members are planning to use funds from the 501(c)4 to keep recently-ousted founder Michael Voris in a smoked-filled back room. These sources also believe all income from Premium Subscriptions, the subscription that gives access to the site’s theological content, goes to the social welfare 501(c)4 organization not to the 501(c)3 organization dedicated to saving souls.

Leaders at SMM/Church Militant also are said to be expecting a windfall settlement in the $5 million range from the city of Baltimore. Before Voris’ ouster, they were promising employee raises and bonuses. Whatever the settlement with Baltimore is, it will land in the coffers of St. Michael’s Media, the 501(c)3, because that was the corporate entity that sued the city of Baltimore.

It is the same corporate entity that is in turn being sued by Fr. Georges de Laire. A judgement in his favor could gobble up any windfall from the Baltimore lawsuit. So it could a case of the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

SMM/Church Militant’s Trois in the Ménage

There is yet another “quasi-entity” implicated in this corporate ménage à trois — the Deposit of Faith Coalition, a group of Catholic nonprofits SMM/Church Militant casually recruited to support the Church Militant 501(c)4 activities.

The organizations signing onto the Deposit of Faith Coalition are: The American Life League, Arcadia Films, Complicit Clergy, Lepanto Institute, Regina Magazine, The Angry Catholic, The King’s Men, the Roman Catholic Faithful, and Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

Little did they know Church Militant was soliciting funds under the Deposit of Faith Coalition banner. When donors click the Deposition of Faith Coalition donate button, naturally, they believe they are making a gift that will benefit that coalition. But they would be wrong.

The funds go directly to Church Militant, the 501(c)4, and they are not tax deductible. Planned Parenthood’s 501(c)4 gives donors a heads up, telling them their gifts are not tax deductible. Not Church Militant. It’s possible not disclosing that information could be a form of fraud.

Consider this question on IRS Form 990, Part V, line 6a: “Does the organization have annual gross receipts that are normally greater than $100,000 and did the organization solicit any contributions that were not tax deductible as charitable contributions?” Then Line 6b: “If “Yes,” did the organization include with every solicitation an express statement that such contributions or gifts were not tax deductible?”

In July Trust But Verify contacted Board Member Susan Vance about the problem of gifts to the Deposit of Faith Coalition not being tax deductible. She said those decisions fell under the purview of Simon Rafe. It is not clear whether the concerns were passed along.

Equally bad, at least one of the endorsing organizations belonging to the Coalition told Trust But Verify it had no idea Church Militant was using the Deposit of Faith Coalition to raise money, and furthermore, there had been no agreement that any funds raised would be shared. The only beneficiary of the donations is Church Militant’s social welfare 501(c)4.

Last Call for an Independent Audit and Some Friendly Advice

The lack of professionalism on both the CM and the SMM boards makes the likelihood of sloppy accounting practices between the two non-profit entities a real possibility.

Donors can continue to give to St. Michael’s Media in hopes their dollars will be used to save souls, but they should be cautioned that those funds can easily be shifted over to Church Militant, the 501(c)4, where they will underwrite, for example, press conferences on climate change and similar topics in Ritz Carlton hotels.

Furthermore, if current board members retain control of either organization, there is reason to believe Voris will eventually return to the helm. Given the current board’s loyalty to Voris, it is entirely possible Voris is the puppet master pulling the organizations’ strings even now.

Dear Family, as you make your charitable gifts at the end of the tax year, carefully scrutinize the non-profit status of the organizations to which you are giving. Double check your gift receipt, and make sure it says your gift is tax deductible.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.”

Merry Christmas!