Southern Poverty Law Center - Finances

Finances

The SPLC's activities including litigation are supported by fundraising efforts, and it does not accept any fees or share in legal judgments awarded to clients it represents in court. Starting in 1974, the SPLC set aside money for its endowment because it was "convinced that the day (would) come when nonprofit groups (would) no longer be able to rely on support through mail because of posting and printing costs." The SPLC has received criticism for perceived disproportionate endowment reserves and misleading fundraising practices. In 1994 the Montgomery Advertiser ran a series saying that the SPLC was financially mismanaged and employed misleading fundraising practices. In response Joe Levin stated: "The Advertiser's lack of interest in the center's programs and its obsessive interest in the center's financial affairs and Mr. Dees' personal life makes it obvious to me that the Advertiser simply wants to smear the center and Mr. Dees." The series was a finalist for but did not win a 1995 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism. In 1996 USA Today called the SPLC "the nation's richest civil rights organization", with $68 million in assets at the time. Commentators Alexander Cockburn writing in The Nation and Ken Silverstein writing in Harper's Magazine have been sharply critical of the SPLC's fundraising appeals and finances.

The SPLC stated that during 2008 it spent about 69% of total expenses on program services, and that at the end of 2008 the endowment stood at $156.2 million. According to Charity Navigator, SPLC's 2009 outlays fell into the following categories: program expenses of 67.5%, administrative expenses of 13.4%, and fundraising expenses of 18.9%. In October 2011 the SPLC reported its endowment at $223.8 million.