Non-profit

Dignity and Power Now

Website:

dignityandpowernow.org/

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

Tax ID:

46-3064675

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2018):

Revenue: $1,455,797
Expenses: $1,464,195
Assets: $402,154

Formation:

2012

Type:

Left-of-center grassroots organization

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Dignity and Power Now (DPN) is a left-of-center grassroots advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, California. DPN was formed in 2012 by Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter. DPN advocates for increased civilian oversight over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and also opposes the construction of new jails. 1 2 DPN has also endorsed far-left proposals such as “Defund the Police” and establishing centers for the supervised injection of opioids. 3 4

The leadership of DPN has years of experience in left-wing causes. Patrisse Cullors has described herself as a “trained Marxist.” 5 Shalomyah Bowers, a board member for DPN, also founded a political consulting firm BOWERS. 6 His firm worked with DPN to pass a left-of-center criminal justice ballot initiative opposed by the Los Angeles County Sherriff. 7

In June of 2021, the New York Post reported that in 2016, DPN failed to report at least $175,000 worth of donations to the IRS. 8 This reporting came a month after a allegations by the Daily Caller News Foundation that Cullors may have used donations to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation to enrich herself. 9

History and Leadership

The leadership of Dignity and Power Now has years of experience working for left-of-center causes.

Patrisse Cullors founded Dignity and Power Now in 2012. Cullors was an activist trained by the left-of-center Labor Community Strategy Center. She has described her training as learning “anything from Marx, to Lenin, to Mao…all types of global critical theory.” 10 Cullors was also a co-founder of Black Lives Matter in 2013. 11 In 2020, she became the executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. 12

DPN board member Shalomyah Bowers also founded BOWERS, a political consulting firm. BOWERS worked with Dignity and Power Now to advance a ballot initiative to grant subpoena power to the oversight board of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. 13 BOWERS has worked with Democratic candidates and left-wing causes across the United States. 14

DPN board member Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson has also worked for Resilient Strategies, a group that supports social movements for “healing justice.” 15 In 2017, Clayton-Johnson was a Soros Justice Fellow with Open Society Foundations, a network of left-of-center grantmaking organizations funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. 16 17

Political Activism

Dignity and Power was a key organization in the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence. The coalition advocated for the establishment of an oversight board over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. 18 In 2014, Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted to establish a Civilian Oversight Commission. 19 However, Dignity and Power Now continued to campaign to increase the power of the commission, including giving it the power to issue subpoenas. Dignity and Power Now also called for the exclusion of any former member of law enforcement from serving on the council. 20

Measure R was a ballot initiative to grant subpoena power to the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission. 21 Measure R was opposed by Los Angeles County Sherriff Alex Villanueva (D), who argued that it would “open the floodgates for many more ill-advised lawsuits designed to seek documents that are not legally available for public release.” 22 In 2020, DPN worked with BOWERS, a political consulting firm founded by DPN board member Shalomyah Bowers, to place Measure R on the Los Angeles County ballot. 23 In March of 2020, Measure R was approved by Los Angeles County voters. 24

Dignity and Power Now formed JusticeLA, a coalition of organizations that has called for Los Angeles to stop constructing new incarceration facilities. 25

In 2020, Dignity and Power Now called for “defunding of law enforcement in totality.” 26 DPN endorsed the BREATHE Act, a bill co-authored by Patrisse Cullors. 27 28 The bill would take away federal resources from policing. 29

In 2021, Dignity and Power Now expressed support for a California bill to create centers for supervised injections of opioids in Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco. 30 Such centers are currently illegal across the United States under federal law. 31 32

Controversy

In May of 2021, Patrisse Cullors resigned from her position as executive director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. 33 Earlier that month, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported that Cullors had potentially used funds she received for future activist projects to instead enrich herself. 34 35 In June of 2021, the New York Post reported that in 2016 Dignity and Power Now failed to disclose to the IRS at least $175,000 it received in donations. 36 The National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group, has filed complaints with the IRS and with the California Attorney General demanding an audit of Dignity and Power Now. 37

References

  1. “End Sherriff Violence.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/coalition/.
  2. “Justice LA.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 26, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/justicela/.
  3. “Statement on Recent Policy Brutality, George Floyd and a Call for Defunding Policy.” Dignity and Power Now. June 4, 2020. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/2021/01/20/inauguration-day/.
  4. “Dignity and Power NOW Supports California Bill for Safe Injection Sites.” Dignity and Power Now. April 29, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMMEDIATE-RELEASE-Dignity-and-Power-NOW-Supports-California-Bill-for-Safe-Injection-Sites.pdf.   
  5. Steinbuch, Yaron. “Black Lives Matter co-founder describes herself as ‘trained Marxist.’” New York Post. June 25, 2020. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/blm-co-founder-describes-herself-as-trained-marxist/.
  6. “Board Members.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/about-us/
  7. “Dignity and Power Now.” BOWERS. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.bowersconsulting.com/dignity-and-power-now.
  8. Vincent, Isabel. “Nonprofit tied to Patrisse Cullors failed to disclose significant donations.” New York Post. June 19, 2021. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://nypost.com/2021/06/19/nonprofit-tied-to-patrisse-cullors-failed-to-disclose-donations/.
  9. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors To Step Down Following DCNF Reports Of Potential Self-Dealing.” Daily Caller News Foundation. May 27, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021.  https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/27/patrisse-cullors-black-lives-matter-california-2/.
  10. Walcott, Text Rianna. “How the founder of Black Lives Matter started a global movement.” DAZED. April 5, 2018. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.dazeddigital.com/politics/article/39587/1/black-lives-matter-founder-interview-patrisse-khan-cullors.
  11. “About.” Patrice Cullors. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://patrissecullors.com/about/.   
  12. “Seven Years of Growth: BLM’s Co-Founder and Incoming Executive Director Reflects on the Movement.” Black Lives Matter. September 11, 2020. https://blacklivesmatter.com/seven-years-of-growth-blms-co-founder-and-incoming-executive-director-reflects-on-the- movement/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_39375873b2c1172b73d7f640f6e6b69f5b34b3a9-1627242610-0-gqNtZGzNAo2jcnBszQi6.
  13. “Dignity and Power Now.” BOWERS. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.bowersconsulting.com/dignity-and-power-now.
  14. “Our Clients.” BOWERS. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.bowersconsulting.com/work-wins.
  15. “About Us.” Resilient Strategies. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.resilientstrategies.org/about.
  16. “Resilient Strategies Team.” Resilient Strategies. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.resilientstrategies.org/our-team.
  17. “Soros Justice Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-justice-fellowships.
  18. “End Sherriff Violence.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/coalition/.
  19. Hing, Julianne. “In L.A., Civilians Will Have Power Over Sheriff’s Department.” ColorLines. December 15, 2014. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.colorlines.com/articles/la-civilians-will-have-power-over-sheriffs-department.
  20. “End Sherriff Violence.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/coalition/.
  21. “Los Angeles County, California, Measure R, Civilian Police Oversight Commission and Jail Plan Initiative (March 2020).” Ballotpedia. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Los_Angeles_County,_California,_Measure_R,_Civilian_Police_Oversight_Commission_and_Jail_Plan_Initiative_(March_2020).
  22. Altic, Josh. “Los Angeles County Measure R approved.” Ballotpedia News. March 5, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://news.ballotpedia.org/2020/03/05/5858/.
  23. “Dignity and Power Now.” BOWERS. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.bowersconsulting.com/dignity-and-power-now.
  24. “Los Angeles County, California, Measure R, Civilian Police Oversight Commission and Jail Plan Initiative (March 2020).” Ballotpedia. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Los_Angeles_County,_California,_Measure_R,_Civilian_Police_Oversight_Commission_and_Jail_Plan_Initiative_(March_2020).
  25. “Justice LA.” Dignity and Power Now. Accessed July 26, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/justicela/.
  26. “http://dignityandpowernow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Police-Brutality-Press-Release-1.pdf
  27. “Statement on Recent Policy Brutality, George Floyd and a Call for Defunding Policy.” Dignity and Power Now. June 4, 2020. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/2021/01/20/inauguration-day/.
  28. Cullors, Patrisse. “The BREATHE Act Is the Modern-Day Civil Rights Legislation We Need.” Accessed July 25, 2021. November 19, 2020. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-breathe-act.
  29. “What is the Breath Act.” The Breathe Act. Accessed July 25, 2021. https://breatheact.org/learn-more/.
  30. “Dignity and Power NOW Supports California Bill for Safe Injection Sites.” Dignity and Power Now. April 29, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. http://dignityandpowernow.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMMEDIATE-RELEASE-Dignity-and-Power-NOW-Supports-California-Bill-for-Safe-Injection-Sites.pdf.
  31. Beam, Adam. “California Senate Oks supervised sites for drug users.” AP News. April 22, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/health-government-and-politics-california-9376cd8ac6659434c54c16773235649a.
  32. Dale, Maryclaire. “US appeals court: Supervised injection site defies drug law.” AP News. January 12, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-public-health-philadelphia-coronavirus-pandemic-247fdc735c337cbb4b7ae0305da834f8.
  33. “Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Announces Leadership Transition.” Black Lives Matter. May 27, 2021. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/black-lives-matter-global-network-foundation-announces-leadership-transition/.
  34. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors To Step Down Following DCNF Reports Of Potential Self-Dealing.” Daily Caller News Foundation. May 27, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/27/patrisse-cullors-black-lives-matter-california-2/.
  35. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Has Funneled Business To Company Run By Father Of Her Only Child, Records Show.” May 6, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/06/patrisse-cullors-damon-turner-black-lives-matter-contract-payments/.
  36. Vincent, Isabel. “Nonprofit tied to Patrisse Cullors failed to disclose significant donations.” New York Post. June 19, 2021. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://nypost.com/2021/06/19/nonprofit-tied-to-patrisse-cullors-failed-to-disclose-donations/.
  37. “NLPC Files Complaints Against Group Headed By Black Lives Matter Founder Patrisse Cullors.” NLPC. June 20, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021. https://www.nlpc.org/corporate-integrity-project/nlpc-files-complaints-against-group-headed-by-black-lives-matter-founder-patrisse-cullors/.

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Shalomyah Bowers
    Board Member
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 2014

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2018 Dec Form 990 $1,455,797 $1,464,195 $402,154 $0 N $0 $1,455,797 $0 $336,500 PDF

    Dignity and Power Now

    3655 S GRAND AVE
    Los Angeles, CA 90007-4316