In the introduction to this Firebreak series on how foundations fund activists, I noted there were a wide variety of foundations: from generous endowments to publicly funded humanitarian organizations to donor-advised money mills. Many do due diligence and cooperate with their recipients to ensure that the funds are well used. The money mills, though, just take money from a secret donor or interest group, wash it clean of any fingerprints, and, according to the advice of the donor, pass it on to the targeted recipient (minus a hefty laundering fee for the fund manager).Donor-advised funds allow activist groups to receive unlimited donations from undisclosed sources. This is important in cases where an NGO, activist, researcher or tort law firm is acting on behalf of the interests of the funders (ie, shilling) and where disclosure of the source might discredit the campaign outcome or reveal a conflict of interest. It allows the NGOs to more easily deceive their public.This non-disclosure is a sacred part of the donor-advised money mill. If a donor with an interest has no problem having the donation made public, then the funds would be given directly to the recipient rather than paying fees to have the financial source “purified”. It is essentially dark money but unlike mob money in brown envelopes, it is tax deductible. Donor-advised funds are not at all transparent, deceptive and, I would argue, unethical. Since it hides sources of influence, it should be illegal.In the case of the NGO, US Right to Know, we can also add: hypocritical.