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| ACT! for America and American Congress for Truth Why Two Organizations— and What’s the Difference? by Guy Rodgers Executive Director Dear Harold, We are frequently asked questions like the ones above, and they’re good questions. The answer is that we have two organizations because of IRS regulations concerning non-profit organizations. Both American Congress for Truth and ACT! for America are non-profit organizations. American Congress for Truth is classified as a 501 (c) (3) organization, and ACT! for America as a 501 (c) (4) organization. The differences between the two organizations relate to function and tax-deductibility of contributions. ACT! for America Brigitte launched ACT! for America in late 2007 as the vehicle for issues advocacy and the citizen action network she envisioned. As its disclaimer states, because ACT! for America engages in activities such as lobbying, contributions are not tax-deductible for federal purposes. ACT! for America is necessary because, as we are fond of saying, “education is necessary,but not sufficient.” Education alone will not roll back the rising tide of radical Islam. That requires action—and that is the primary mission of ACT! for America. Hence its name. It is through ACT! for America that we produce congressional scorecards and voter guides,and it is through ACT! for America that we do our lobbying. American Congress for Truth 501 (c) (3) non-profit organizations include charitable organizations, educational organizations,and foundations. American Congress for Truth is an educational and research organization, and contributions to it are tax-deductible. Because of its tax status, American Congress for Truth, as is the case with all 501 (c) (3) organizations, is very limited as to what it can do in such areas as lobbying. Brigitte Gabriel founded American Congress for Truth back in 2002, but because a big part of her vision was the creation of a grassroots citizen network that included lobbying and other public policy advocacy, she recognized that American Congress for Truth could not, by itself, completely fulfill the vision. The types of education and research projects American Congress for Truth has undertaken include the national webcast conference targeted to elected officials; the online resource library that the organization has just completed and is ready to launch; and the Citizen Media Monitoring Guide. The greatest value of having an organization like American Congress for Truth is that we can fund important educational and research projects with tax-deductible contributions. But with tax-deductibility comes government-imposed limitations on the kinds of activity that the organization can engage in. Summary Both organizations fulfill functions essential to the vision and long-term objective, which is the rolling back of the threat of radical Islam. This is why we have the two organizations. Yours for America,  Guy Rodgers Executive Director |
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