Transparency - American Media Institute

Transparency

AMI believes in transparency, not just for other organizations, but for ourselves. In that spirit, we present our non-profit tax returns (Form 990s) from the formation of AMI to the present.

We are not in the pocket of any interest group or individual, including our donors.

We have exposed wrongdoing by politicians of both parties. We have uncovered abuses by large corporations. We love a good story and don’t care whose ox we gore.

By law, all donors to every 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity are anonymous, unless both the charity and the donor agree otherwise. This is true for individuals, corporations, foundations, or any other type of donor. There is no legal requirement to publicly disclose the names of donors and, in practice, very few 501(c)(3) charities do.

Nevertheless, we publish the names of all our donors. Some of our donors support investigative journalism through family trusts or donor-advised funds. When we receive this type of support, we publish the names of those entities instead of naming individuals who may have donated to those funds. Some trusts or funds have thousands of individual donors and the IRS requires us to list the fund, not individuals, so our report to the IRS must match our report to the public.

IRS Letter Granting AMI Tax-Exempt 501(c)(3) Status

Feb 12, 2014 - IRS Letter Granting 501 (c) (3) status to AMI

IRS correspondence and form 2848, May 2012-May 2014

Form 990

Bylaws

Jan 24, 2014 - AMI Bylaws (Amended)

Policies and Guidelines

Policy on Lobbying

The American Media Institute does not lobby any entity at any time for any reason. It does not accept money from any organization or person that engages in lobbying. It is a non-partisan news organization.

Policy on Non-Partisanship

The American Media Institute is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) news organization. It does not support any political party, partisan organizations, political philosophy, or religious perspective. Our organization and our staff do not support the views, interests, or policies of any particular political or religious group. Any involvement in any political activity, including campaigns for public office, by any staff member, is strongly discouraged. Donations to any candidate by any staff member are also strongly discouraged.

Editorial Independence Policy

While the American Media Institute relies on donations to support its nonprofit, non-partisan mission of investigative reporting and public accountability journalism, at no time shall any donor, development officer or any other non-editorial employee suggest any topic, idea, story or angle to any editor, reporter or other editorial employees. At no time shall any donor (or development person) receive any advance (or per-publication) notice of any article to be published. As in other news organizations, there shall be a “Chinese Wall” between news and fundraising.

Donation Acceptance Policy

The American Media Institute shall not accept any money (or any other form of support) from any corporation, union, interest group, or government agency (foreign or domestic). Nor shall the Institute accept any funds or support from any person or entity that is the subject (even indirectly) of any investigation or article.

Donor Transparency Policy

All donors who contribute more than $1,000 in any calendar year shall be listed on the transparency page of the American Media Institute’s website. The donor shall be listed by the entity through which the money is given, such as a foundation or donor-advised fund.

All nonprofit tax returns (IRS Form 990s) for all years since the organization’s funding shall be published on the transparency page of the American Media Institute’s website.

All correspondence with IRS and state regulatory bodies, relating to donors, shall also be published on our website.

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