Black Lives Matter removed from Amazon’s charity platform for failing to disclose millions in donations

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has been taken off Amazon’s platform for charities because it did not disclose where tens of millions of dollars it received in donations almost two years ago has been sent.

AmazonSmile, the platform which gives a portion of eligible purchases on the site to charities, said it “had to temporarily suspend” the group, according to an Amazon spokesperson.

“States have rules for nonprofits, and organizations participating in AmazonSmile need to meet those rules,” the spokesperson commented. “Unfortunately this organization fell out of compliance with the rules in several states, so we’ve had to temporarily suspend them from the program until they come into compliance.”

Amazon said it plans to keep any funds that have accumulated for BLMGNF “until they’re back in compliance.”

As noted on its website, AmazonSmile has raised over $300 million for eligible charities. Back in October of 2020, BLMGNF raked in more than $65 million in donations from Thousand Currents, which is a charity that manages the assets of grassroots nonprofits.

That information was disclosed in documents filed with the California attorney general, but BLMGNF still has not disclosed what was done with the money.

For failing to disclose, several states have taken the group’s ability to collect donations. As a result, in California, the state in which the organization is based, the state’s Department of Justice warned leaders of BLMGNF earlier this month that they would be held “personally liable” for delinquency fees and fines.

BLMGNF did release its federal tax filing on February 11, but it additionally changed its accounting period from a calendar year to a fiscal year.

The filing does not indicate any contributions or grants during the January through June period, and the organization likely will have another year to file its return for the rest of 2020.

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