TAX-EXEMPT

Nonprofits Used for Donations

As corporations seek political influence.

Sheldon Adelson may be willing to write million-dollar checks, but some in the corporate world prefer to be more discrete. A new investigation found that two years after the Citizens United decision made it possible to donate unlimited sums to super PACs, corporations may prefer to throw their weight around by giving to nonprofits, tax-exempt entities that are not required to disclose their donor lists. And sometimes, those donations show priorities different from those espoused by the companies in public—such as when Aetna, an insurance company, gave $3 million to a group that attacked Obamacare supporters, even as Aetna’s CEO said he himself was in favor of the health-reform law.