Treasury Department to Reissue Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities

June 7, 2006

A Treasury Department official indicated at a recent conference call with members of the Treasury Guidelines Working Group that the Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities is undergoing internal review and will likely be made public within the next several weeks.

The Treasury Guidelines Working Group is a broadly representative group of more than 40 U.S. charities, foundations, religious organizations, corporations, umbrella associations, watchdog groups and advisors. The Working Group was created in the spring of 2004 and is coordinated by the Council on Foundations. The Treasury Guidelines Working Group requested that the Treasury Department withdraw the revised Guidelines and endorse in their place the Principles of International Charity (in PDF).

The Treasury official also stated that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is developing a risk matrix which will list potential risk factors for charitable organizations with a corresponding level of risk. The release date of this risk matrix has not been established.