1792 Exchange Urges Corporate America to Abandon Benevity Over Use of Discredited SPLC Hate Labels
SPRINGBORO, OH — 1792 Exchange today called on major American corporations to end their partnerships with Benevity, one of the nation’s largest charitable-giving platforms, if Benevity continues its reliance on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) “Hate Map” and “Hate List” to determine which nonprofits employees may support.
Benevity’s platform, which processes billions of dollars in employee donations and corporate matching gifts each year, uses SPLC’s data to screen participating nonprofits. This reliance allows a partisan activist organization to dictate corporate philanthropy, silencing mainstream religious, conservative, and family advocacy groups under the pretense of “hate prevention.”
“Benevity has outsourced moral judgment to a group that has long since abandoned objectivity,” said Daniel Cameron, CEO of 1792 Exchange. “By depending on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s slanderous and discredited labels, Benevity has allowed ideological bias to distort corporate philanthropy and undermine free expression.”
SPLC’s hate labels have been widely condemned for inaccurate and inflammatory classifications used to raise money and marginalize dissenting viewpoints. Groups such as Turning Point USA and Family Research Council have all been falsely labeled “hate groups,” despite being peaceful mainstream organizations.
Recognizing that the SPLC is an activist organization, the FBI terminated its connection with the SPLC last week.
The consequences of these designations have proven dangerous. In 2012, a gunman entered the Family Research Council’s Washington, D.C., office intending to commit mass murder. He later admitted he selected his target after seeing the organization labeled on the SPLC’s website.
More recently, the SPLC added Turning Point USA to its “Hate List” in 2024 and featured the group in its “Hatewatch” newsletter on September 9, 2025 – one day before the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. While investigators have not confirmed whether the assailant accessed SPLC content, the timing and context raise troubling questions about the real-world consequences of incendiary labeling.
“When corporations rely on a partisan list that has already inspired violence, they risk more than reputational damage,” said Cameron. “Benevity has a chance to correct course and model fairness for corporate America by severing its ties from SPLC.”
Employees at several major corporations have reported being blocked from donating to certain nonprofits through Benevity’s platform due to SPLC classifications, even as leftist organizations like Planned Parenthood remain fully eligible. This unequal treatment undermines the integrity of corporate philanthropy and restricts employee freedom of conscience.
1792 Exchange is urging corporations that use Benevity to act by:
- Ending partnerships with Benevity if it continues to rely on SPLC data.
- Adopting viewpoint-neutral giving platforms that evaluate nonprofits based on lawful standing and transparency, not ideology.
- Affirming the principle of equal access for employees and charitable organizations.
1792 Exchange is also introducing a new Activist Filter to its Corporate Bias Ratings, identifying companies that likely use Benevity to manage their charitable giving programs. The new analysis covers more than 200 Fortune 1000 companies, as well as the likes of Nintendo, Spotify, and T-Mobile. Based on this proprietary research, 66 companies have had their charitable policy risk levels upgraded by their association with Benevity’s politicized giving model.
###
1792 Exchange is a 501(c)(3), educational, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve freedom by steering public companies back to neutral on ideological issues. We create Spotlight Bias Reports, policies, and resources that expose coercion and corporate bias. We protect First Amendment freedoms and ensure all viewpoints have a seat at the table. We help corporate board members and executives maximize shareholder value, respect stakeholders, return to cultural neutrality, and serve customers with excellence and integrity. We also educate Congress, other leaders, and the American people about the dangers of stakeholder capitalism to safeguard Free Exercise, Free Speech, and Free Enterprise.
###