Dustin DeVito, 1792 Exchange’s Director of Research, joined Timcast IRL to discuss his Washington Post piece on the political screen inside corporate gift matching. He explained how Benevity, the platform behind many corporate gift-match programs, relied on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate list, what happened to the archived evidence after the piece ran, and how companies are responding. He also covered the origin of the 1792 name and the launch of the American Company.
The hate list behind your company’s gift match
DeVito describes how companies exposed in 2024 pledged to stop funding controversial non-business causes. Our Back to Business Tracker followed through on those pledges, and companies like Walmart and Lowe’s shifted to six-figure grants for hurricane relief in North Carolina.
The hate list behind your company’s gift match
DeVito explains how more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies use Benevity to vet the charities they match. Benevity’s internal vetting document shows its list builds on the SPLC’s hate list, which includes Turning Point USA, Alliance Defending Freedom, Focus on the Family, Do No Harm and Moms for Liberty.
The SPLC’s credibility problem
DeVito explains that the SPLC, now under federal indictment, is accused of funding the extremist groups it claims to counter. He points to the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, whose gunman drew on the hate list, and the SPLC’s attacks on Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk. Because of that list, ordinary Americans can’t even find many charities in their company’s giving portal.
The evidence disappears
DeVito explains that the Wayback Machine links to Benevity’s documents in his piece now return an exclusion notice, which suggests Benevity sought to have them removed. He calls on Benevity’s new CEO, Soraya Alexander, to remove the SPLC filter entirely.
Companies are turning off the filter
DeVito describes the coalition letter 1792 Exchange sent to Benevity with the organizations unfairly placed on the list. He takes the research into boardrooms, and after a few dozen meetings, around 10 major companies have turned off the filter.
What makes an American company?
DeVito introduces the American Company and its three obligations: Civic Identity, Constitutional Stewardship and Economic Patriotism. A company earns the name American by its conduct, not by where it keeps its headquarters. Nominate one today.
Why 1792?
DeVito explains the name. The Buttonwood Agreement, signed in 1792, became the basis for the New York Stock Exchange. 1792 Exchange calls companies back to business: creating value for shareholders and serving customers instead of funding activist causes.