Donors Trust was characterized as "a dark-money ATM funding the conservative movement," referring to dark money, that is, funds given to nonprofit organizations that can receive unlimited donations and are not required to disclose their donors,[1] and referring metaphorically to automatic teller machines (ATMs), by The Guardian,[2] Salon,[3] the National Review,[4] the Business Insider,Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). the Huffington Post,[5] Democracy Now!,[6] and Moyers and Company.[7] Donors Trust was characterized as "the ATM for climate denial" by Moyers and Company[7] and Democracy Now!.<ref name=democracynow20130219b>
- ^ "Political Nonprofits". opensecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne; Bengtsson, Helena (June 9, 2015). "Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
The anonymous cash flow came from two secretive organisations – the Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund – that have been called the "Dark Money ATM" of the conservative movement.
- ^ Eidelson, Josh (October 23, 2013). "Defying Koch cash and D.C. gridlock, airport town will vote on a $15 minimum wage". Salon. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
Federal filings show donations from Donors Trust — a group supported by Charles and David Koch that Mother Jones' Andrew Kroll called the "dark-money ATM of the conservative movement"...
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nr20140924was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Raden, Bill (February 2, 2015). "The One Percenters: How A Handful Of California Power Brokers Work To Further Inequality". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
Dubbed "the dark money ATM of the conservative movement," DT (and its sister trust, Donors Capital Fund), is a "donor advised fund" that offers its wealthy libertarian patrons both anonymity and guarantees of ideological purity by funding assaults on labor unions, climate scientists, public schools and economic regulations of all stripes.
- ^ Goodman, Amy (February 19, 2013). "Donors Trust: Little-Known Group Helps Wealthy Backers Fund Right-Wing Agenda in Secret". Democracy Now!. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
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."
- ^ a b Riley, Theresa (February 21, 2013). "Donors Trust: The ATM for Climate Denial". Moyers and Company. Public Affairs Television. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
According to Mother Jones and The Guardian newspaper, over the past decade, a little-known group called Donors Trust has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars from wealthy contributors to a host of right-wing organizations, advocacy groups and think tanks. MJ's Andy Kroll dubs it the "dark-money ATM of the right" because of all the conservative campaigns the group had bankrolled.