There are moments in this work when we don’t have the luxury of putting a thing aside, even for an afternoon. This is one of those moments.

If you skim this post quickly, fine — but don’t delay acting on it. Not this time. Not with what’s at stake.

An important federal case — Buckeye Institute v. IRS — is moving fast, and the nonprofit community has only a short window to do something that has proven, historically, to be one of the very few ways we can push back when government power gets grabby: sign on to an amicus brief and show the courts that the charitable sector stands united in protecting donor privacy.

The last time we did this, in the Bonta Supreme Court case, it worked.  It worked because 126 charities — conservative, progressive, and everything in between — stood shoulder-to-shoulder and told the Court that compelled disclosure of donor lists violates the First Amendment and chills giving. The Court listened. The Court agreed. The Court struck it down.

And yet, here we are again.

A Little History: Abuse of Power Is a Bipartisan Tradition

Let’s not kid ourselves or pretend this is a new phenomenon.

Every generation has watched the attempt to turn the IRS — quietly or publicly — into a political tool.

• Lyndon Johnson tried to use the IRS to intimidate the Sierra Club.
• Richard Nixon kept an “enemies list” and encouraged audits of groups and individuals who displeased him.
• Administrations of both parties have, at one point or another, leaned on the Service to apply pressure where it served their interests.

This isn’t a “red” problem or a “blue” problem.  It’s a government power problem — one that resurfaces whenever vigilance wanes.

And vigilance, Dear Agitator, is our job. It always has been.

What’s Happening Now

Despite the Bonta ruling binding the states, the IRS continues to insist that it should collect donor names and addresses from 501(c)(3)s on the Form 990’s Schedule B — even though:

1. The IRS has openly admitted, for years, that it has no routine use for this information, and has essentially never used it for the purpose it claims to need it.
2. The federal government is no more immune to breaches, data leaks, or politicized misuse than the states are — and arguably far less.
3. Congress itself created this mess years ago when a tax reform law required the IRS to request information it does not need and cannot reliably safeguard.

In other words: the IRS is holding data it cannot justify, cannot secure, and has no demonstrated legitimate use for.
So naturally — we’re back in court.

The Buckeye Institute v. IRS appeal now before the Sixth Circuit is the nonprofit sector’s chance to close the door on this federal overreach once and for all. If the courts ruled in Bonta that states cannot compel donor disclosure, neither should the federal government. Full stop.

Which brings us to the task at hand.

What You Need to Do — Right Now

A new amicus brief is being prepared and The Nonprofit Alliance is shepherding the process of gathering signatures for the brief. This brief is modeled directly on the one that helped win Bonta. Its purpose is simple: to demonstrate, clearly and unmistakably, that nonprofits across the ideological spectrum want donor privacy protected and government overreach stopped.

Some major organizations have already signed on:

• Catholic Charities USA
• PETA
• FIRE
• Reporters Without Borders
• Susan G. Komen
• National Space Society
• Feeding America
• People for the American Way Foundation
• The Wilderness Society
  …and many others.

Your organization should be there, too.

Signing is simple:

Email Robert Tigner, TNPA’s Regulatory Counsel, at rtigner@tnpa.org.

You’ll receive a near-final draft of the brief to review.  You can withdraw consent any time before it goes to the printer. There’s no cost. No risk. Just a chance to help secure a victory the sector badly needs

Why It Matters

This isn’t abstract.  This isn’t technical.  This isn’t “someone else’s fight.”

Donor privacy is the thin membrane that protects nonprofits from the full force of political retaliation, cultural backlash, and government manipulation.

It protects the donor who gives quietly to a controversial cause. It protects the donor who supports a local food bank and doesn’t want their address circulating in databases.
It protects the organization that needs room to breathe — and fears being squeezed by whoever holds power next year, or the year after that.

You don’t have to be ideological to support donor privacy. You just have to understand history.
And if you’ve been reading The Agitator for any length of time, you do.

Please Don’t Set This Aside

If you believe in charitable independence —get your organization to sign.  If you believe in donor privacy — get your organization to sign.If you believe that governments of all stripes will abuse tools when handed to them —get your organization to sign.

This is one of those rare moments when the sector has a chance to speak in one voice and stop a bad thing before it becomes a permanent thing.

Send the email to Bob Tigner. Add your organization’s name.  And pass this post along to every nonprofit leader you know.

We’ve won this fight before.  We can win it again.   But only if we show up.

Roger