Subscribe to RSSInvisible children donor brings controversial issues to cause
Invisible Children, the group behind the KONY 2012 campaign, who had held their universal promotion campaign push on the stoner holiday April 20, have come under a tremendous amount of scrutiny from supporters of gay marriage and liberals, which are of course the same group of people. Invisible Children’s first yearly report of 2006 gave a “special thanks” to the “Caster Family Foundation”, while their 2007 report didn’t beat around the bush when thanking Terry and Barbara Caster. To those unaware as to who the Casters are, this might sound less media worthy than Kim Kardashian’s failed attempts at relationships. However, to the trained eye, the Caster family is more than a humble family with a swimming pool and a dog named Bud. The Casters are one of the biggest financial backers of California’s anti-same sex marriage Proposition 8. Holy scandalmole, Batman! As if this weren’t enough to throw more kerosene on the liberal scrutiny of the organization, it came to attention that Philip Anschutz, who supported Colorado’s 1992 anti-gay marriage Amendment 2, also gave $5,218 in 2007 as well.
Now this shouldn’t put a damper on what the organization stands for, or what they’re trying to accomplish in Darfur, but unfortunately, it has. Alternet’s B. E. Wilson researched 990 IRS tax forms and yearly reports from Invisible Children and 990s from its major donors, and what he found was more shocking than the Goonies were when they found One-Eyed Willy’s ship. Wilson uncovered deep (yet never secretive) financial ties to evangelicals and major funders of antigay organizations. Well, why not? Money is money, and when the cause is as righteous as the one Invisible Children has been fighting for a little over half a decade, then let the money roll in from any racists, bigots or homophobes that are willing to empty their pockets to help the children of Uganda. As long as Invisible Children utilizes the donations to help rescue the child abductees and see to it that Joseph Kony, if alive, is banished to a small tropical island with nobody but the cast of the new Three Stooges, who have to remain in character, and a mule with down syndrome to keep him company. Just because the organization accepts donation from anti-gay groups doesn’t make them an anti-gay organization.
All this homophobic fire comes at the same time that the authenticity of Invisible Children’s cause is being questioned. There is much speculation as to whether or not Joseph Kony is even still alive. If he is alive, critics are even questioning whether he’d still be in charge of the child abducting rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. If Invisible Children is chasing a phantom, then so are the 100 American troops stationed in Uganda and so is the International Criminal Court, which has Kony at the top of their list. But the criticism of his possible non-existence is in the background now compared to the ruckus caused by the “anti-gay” affiliations.
The National Christian Foundation (NCF) is the largest, most active funder of the Far Christian Right, and states on its website that they “make certain every dollar that comes to [them] is ultimately distributed according to [their] Christian mission” and they only fund nonprofits that “enable followers of Christ to give wisely to advance His Kingdom.” It’s really quite infantile of the media to scour the ethics of Invisible Children just because the NCF decided to hand over $350,000 in 2007 and $414,000 in 2008 to help fight the oppressor. If Kony is, in fact, still alive, then let the money roll in from whoever wants to give it so the world can see the bastard hung up like a turkey on Thanksgiving.
