FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Microsoft has stopped systematically excluding conservative nonprofits from its corporate generosity program, the Daily Signal has learned.
The tech giant—the fourth-largest company in the world by market capitalization—has directed its corporate generosity platform, Benevity, to stop relying on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate map” to filter out nonprofits. Critics say the SPLC unfairly condemns mainstream conservative and Christian nonprofits by putting them on this map with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. The SPLC maintains that these nonprofits vilify people typically for their immutable characteristics.
“Microsoft’s decision is a major victory against ideological blacklisting in employee gift-matching programs and an important win for conservative and religious organizations,” Tim Schwarzenberger, director of corporate engagement at Inspire Investing, told the Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday.
According to a report exclusively provided first to the Daily Signal, Microsoft disclosed the move away from the SPLC in response to a shareholder proposal.
Inspire Investing, a Christian financial adviser that focuses on “Biblically Responsible Investing,” had filed a shareholder proposal asking Microsoft to evaluate the risks associated with excluding religious organizations from its employee gift-matching program and the use of third-party ideological screening.
“During engagement, Microsoft confirmed that it had removed the SPLC filter from its Benevity platform in late 2025,” the report states. “As a result, otherwise eligible IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organizations are no longer subject to that additional ideological screening within Microsoft’s employee gift-matching program.”
SPLC Backlash
The SPLC publishes a “hate map” that critics say conflates mainstream conservative and Christian organizations with genuinely extremist groups. Critics note the map includes Moms for Liberty, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Focus on the Family.
In 2012, a since-convicted terrorist told the FBI he used the SPLC’s map to target the Family Research Council in an attempted mass shooting. The SPLC condemned the attack but kept the council on the map.
FBI Director Kash Patel officially cut the bureau’s ties with the SPLC following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In April, a federal grand jury indicted the SPLC for wire fraud and bank fraud for allegedly funneling money to Klan members, propping up the hate threat in order to raise money by claiming to oppose it. The SPLC says the payments involved informants identifying threats, but prosecutors dispute that claim.
1792 Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing ideological balance back to public companies, and Alliance Defending Freedom called on corporate generosity platforms to stop using the SPLC.
The Daily Signal reached out to the SPLC for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
What Is Benevity?
Corporate generosity platforms such as Benevity connect employers to a host of nonprofits. Benevity connects “nearly 1,000 enterprise companies” to a network of 513,000 nonprofits. Benevity acknowledged in 2021 that it uses the SPLC to vet almost “2 million nonprofits.”
Benevity maintains that the SPLC “hate map” is an optional filter, not a default setting.
Thanks to shareholder activism from 1792 Exchange, Bowyer Research, the Heritage Foundation, and others, a growing list of companies has directed Benevity to stop using the SPLC. The list includes American Express, AT&T, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Nvidia, and Salesforce.
Companies use other corporate generosity programs as well, and have directed them to stop using the SPLC list.
DoorDash directed the platform Deed to stop using the SPLC for this purpose. Verizon directed CyberGrants, another such platform, to stop using the SPLC for its employee giving.
The Daily Signal reached out to Benevity for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Implications of Microsoft’s Decision
Schwarzenberger, the Inspire Investing director, told the Daily Signal that Microsoft’s decision “demonstrates that even one of the world’s largest companies can administer its employee gift-matching program using objective charitable standards without relying on additional ideological screening imposed by outside advocacy organizations.”
He also noted that Microsoft is “part of a broader trend we’ve seen across corporate America as companies reevaluate employee gift matching, strengthen charitable neutrality, and give employees greater freedom to support lawful IRS-recognized charities consistent with their convictions.”
This trend “has the potential to redirect millions of dollars in matching gifts to otherwise eligible charitable organizations that may have previously been excluded under additional ideological screening criteria.”
Schwarzenberger said he hopes Microsoft’s “leadership encourages others across corporate America to do the same.”
The Daily Signal reached out to Microsoft for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
