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Charity and Security Network

Short-term solutions to national security threats passed since 2001 are having negative long-term consequences for the entire U.S. nonprofit sector and the people they serve. Millions of dollars donated for aid programs have been frozen indefinitely. Broad interpretations of "material support" of terrorism conflict with standards set by the Red Cross. All groups, from local charities to international programs, must deal with threat of being shut down without opportunity to appeal. The costs of these measures far outweigh any national security benefits gained.

To address these problems the Charity and Security Network was launched in November 2008 by charities, grantmakers, faith-based and advocacy groups. Our work includes:

  • public education aimed at bringing attention to this often overlooked problem
     
  • promoting alternative regulatory approaches that reflect the realities and needs of successful nonprofit programs and grantmaking, and
     
  • coordination and support for nonprofit stakeholders to take joint action for reform.

     

Mission:

Eliminate unnecessary and counterproductive barriers to legitimate charitable work found in current counterterrorism measures.
 

 

CSN's Advisory Committee:

Melanie Greenberg, President and CEO*
Alliance for Peacebuilding
Michael Price,
Brennan Center for Justice*
Michelle Richardson, Policy Counsel
American Civil Liberties Union
Ellen Willmott, Deputy General Counsel Save the Children USA
Abed Ayoub, Executive Director*
Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee
Dalell Mohmed, Executive Director*
KINDER USA
Shane Kadidal, Senior Counsel Center for Constitutional Rights
Sue Smock, Consultant*
Sharon Bradford Franklin, Senior Counsel
Constitution Project
Wendell Belew, Attorney
Mohamed Elibiary, President and CEO
Freedom and Justice Foundation
Sahar Aziz, Attorney, Associate Professor of Law
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
Suhail Khan, Senior Fellow Institute for Global Engagement
Prof. David Cole, Georgetown University Law Center
Joel Charny, Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice 
InterAction
Mazen Asbahi, Esq.
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Douglas Rutzen, President* International Center for Not for Profit Law
Pete Stanga, Executive Director Grantmakers Without Borders

Sue Udry, Executive Director*
Defending Dissent Foundation

Mason Clutter, National Security Counsel
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
 
 * Steering Committee member