International Public Organizations and International Funding

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I have also been asked recently whether foreign NGOs work in the U.S. and whether American NGOs receive funding from abroad. The answer to both questions is yes. Foreign civil society organizations working in the United States range from the German Goethe Institute, which promotes German and German studies abroad and encourages international cultural exchanges, to the network of Confucius Institutes, which provides information on Chinese education, culture, economy and society. Another example is the Hitachi Foundation, based in Japan, which focuses on strengthening communities in the U.S. through programs such as the Business and Jobs program aimed at improving the lives of underserved Americans.

Since 2007, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) has supported key lobbying actions in favor of abolishing the death penalty in Illinois and Maryland. The European Commission acts as one of the largest donors of development projects in the world, and dozens of American civil society organizations submit project proposals to the European Commission for funding. All of Germany’s party institutes also work in the U.S. International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, which has five offices in the US, and Amnesty International, which has six offices in the US, publish reports on the human rights situation in the US.

An individual does not need to be a U.S. citizen to register an NGO in the United States. Registration requirements vary from state to state, but no government permission is required to register an NGO. Foreign-funded organizations have no special restrictions on their activities. They can hold meetings and publish materials in free form. They do not have to report to the federal authorities, if they pay taxes. NCOs have the right to receive funding from abroad and work with foreign governments to achieve their goals. NCOs are not required to report on outreach work, recruitment and staffing to the authorities, and the authorities do not seek to influence foreign-funded NCO offices.

However, foreign nationals cannot fund political campaigns or parties unless those nationals are “lawful permanent residents.
Some citizens and organizations, if they are representatives of a foreign entity, must register with the Department of Justice and submit program information and financial records under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA for short). The term “agent” is the key term in this law-it means that the organization or citizen is conducting its activities under the instruction of and on behalf of a foreign entity.

Simply receiving funds does not qualify a party as a foreign agent. Foreign entities can be foreign governments, foreign political parties, individual citizens or foreign organizations (excluding U.S. citizens), or organizations operating under the laws of a foreign country or conducting their principal activities in a foreign country. Many of the organizations registered in the United States as “foreign agents” are companies that directly and openly represent foreign governments (usually lobbyists).