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Non-profit

National Whistleblower Center (NWC)

Website:

www.whistleblowers.org/
Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

52-1770068
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $882,505
Expenses: $1,284,937
Assets: $472,205
Type:

Whistleblower Policy Advocacy
Founded:

1988
Executive Director:

Siri Nelson

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National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is an educational and advocacy organization focused on protecting and rewarding left-leaning, especially environmentalist, whistleblowers. 1 It was founded by whistleblower attorneys Stephen Kohn, Michael Kohn, and David Colapinto, who also partnered to form whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto.

NWC advocates for policy changes that protect and reward whistleblowers and has been involved in changes to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act to incorporate whistleblower protection and rewards. 2 NWC actively encourages whistleblowers in environmental areas, including energy and industrial logging, claiming that these industries are “responsible for the vast majority of the world’s carbon pollution.” 3

Background

The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) was established in 1988 as an educational and advocacy organization focused on protecting and rewarding whistleblowers. 4 NWC was founded by attorneys Stephen Kohn, Michael Kohn, and David Colapinto during the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant case that challenged the practice of having employees sign non-disclosure agreements which resulted in them being unable to report safety concerns to federal regulators. The case resulted in voiding these agreements. 5

NWC provides legal assistance to whistleblowers, advocates for policy changes that protect and reward whistleblowers, and educates the public on the laws pertaining to whistleblowers. NWC has been involved in the incorporation of whistleblower protection and reward laws into the Dodd-Frank Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. 6

Work Areas

National Whistleblower Center has ten active campaigns, many of which are focused on working with whistleblowers in environmental areas. The Climate Corruption Campaign is focused on encouraging whistleblowers to expose illegal activities in the fossil fuel and industrial logging industries, along with the banking and securities organizations that support them, wildlife trafficking, shipping pollution, and fishing. 7 NWC claims that these areas carry a “high risk of fraud,” and that conventional energy and industrial logging are “responsible for the vast majority of the world’s carbon pollution.” 8

NWC campaigns also focus on money laundering, holding social media companies more accountable for criminal activity on their websites, and strengthening whistleblower laws. 9

National Whistleblower Day

In 2013 the United States Senate recognized July 30, the date in 1778 on which the Continental Congress passed the first whistleblower law, as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. On February 9, 2023, National Whistleblower Center sent letters to U.S. agencies asking that they provide information on plans to support whistleblowers and offering to provide educational materials and assistance in supporting the efforts to celebrate the day. 10

July 27, 2023, was NWC’s 10th annual National Whistleblower Appreciation Day event with almost 200 whistleblowers, attorneys, and experts participating. 11 Speakers at the event included former FBI whistleblower Jane Turner and Theranos whistleblower Erika Cheung. 12

Financials

National Whistleblower Center’s 2021 revenues were $882,505 and expenses were $1,284,937. 13

NWC donors include Georgetown University, Greater Houston Community Foundation, Posel Foundation, Sawhney Family Foundation, E & S Siegel Foundation, Schwab Charitable Fund, Skoll Foundation, and the United States Energy Foundation. 14 15

Associated Organizations

National Whistleblower Center has a sister group, National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund (NWLDEF), 16 which sponsors a whistleblower legal assistance program and provides legal representation to NWC. 17

NWLDEF started the Whistleblower Protection Blog in 2007 to share information to whistleblowers. This site is now Whistleblower Network News (WNN), which provides information on whistleblowing. NWC’s executive director, Siri Nelson, is WNN’s editor and legislative correspondent. NWC co-founders Stephen Kohn and David Colapinto make up WNN’s editorial advisory board. 18

NWC is a member of the Whistleblower Project, which is a collaboration of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Government Accountability Project (GAP). 19 GAP, launched by left-of-center think tank Institute for Policy Studies, is a whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. 20

Leadership

Siri Nelson became executive director of National Whistleblower Center in 2021. She earned a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 2019. In 2020 she joined the law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto which specializes in whistleblower legal advocacy. 21 Nelson is also president of United Women in Business, a nonprofit organization focused on personal and professional development for women. 22

Stephen Kohn is co-founder and board chair of NWC. He earned a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 1984. He co-founded whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and National Whistleblower Center in 1988. 23 Kohn is on the Northeastern University faculty, has authored several books on whistleblowing, and was a director for the Government Accountability Project. 24 Kohn won the largest individual whistleblower award of $104 million for UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. 25

Michael Kohn is co-founder and president of NWC. He earned a law degree at Antioch School of Law and partnered with Stephen Kohn and David Colapinto to form whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and National Whistleblower Center in 1988. He is a trustee of the National Whistleblowers Legal Defense and Education Fund and served as legal ethics director at the Government Accountability Project.26

David Colapinto is co-founder and general counsel of NWC. He earned a law degree at Antioch School of Law then co-founded whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and National Whistleblower Center in 1988. 27

The board of NWC also includes FBI whistleblowers Jane Turner and Fredrick Whitehurst. 28

References

  1. “The National Whistleblower Center (NWC).” USLegal – Associations. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://associations.uslegal.com/the-national-whistleblowers-center-nwc/
  2. “About Us.” National Whistleblower Center.” Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/about-us/
  3. “Global Climate Whistleblower Center.” National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/global-climate-whistleblower-center/
  4. “The National Whistleblower Center (NWC).” USLegal – Associations. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://associations.uslegal.com/the-national-whistleblowers-center-nwc/
  5. “Mission & History.” National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/mission-history/
  6. “About Us.” National Whistleblower Center.” Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/about-us/
  7. “Campaigns.” National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/take-action/current-campaigns/
  8. “Global Climate Whistleblower Center.” National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/global-climate-whistleblower-center/
  9. “Campaigns.” National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/take-action/current-campaigns/
  10. “NWC Urges Federal Agencies to Recognize Whistleblower Day in 2023.” National Whistleblower Center – Press. February 9. 2023. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/news/nwc-urges-federal-agencies-to-recognize-national-whistleblower-day-in-2023/
  11. Robert Devaney. “Celebrating National Whistleblower Day.” The Georgetowner. July 30, 2023. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://georgetowner.com/articles/2023/07/30/celebrating-national-whistleblower-day/
  12. Max Kohn. “Whistleblowers, Advocates, Government Officials Gather for National Whistleblower Day 2023.” Whistleblower Network News. August 2, 2023. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://whistleblowersblog.org/national-whistleblower-day/whistleblowers-advocates-government-officials-gather-for-national-whistleblower-day-2023/
  13. National Whistleblower Center. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2021.
  14. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – National Whistleblower Center. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=national+whistleblower+center
  15. “2022 National Whistleblower Center Annual Report.” National Whistleblower Center – Annual Report. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/12-26-UPDATED-NWC-2022-Annual-Report-.pdf
  16. [1] “The National Whistleblower Center (NWC).” USLegal – Associations. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://associations.uslegal.com/the-national-whistleblowers-center-nwc/
  17.  “Find a Whistleblower Attorney Today.” National Whistleblower Center – Know Your Rights. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/find-a-whisteblower-attorney/
  18. “About.” Whistleblower Network News. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://whistleblowersblog.org/about/
  19. “The Whistleblower Project.” Society of Professional Journalists. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.spj.org/whistleblower/whistleblowing-organizations.asp
  20. Government Accountability Project website. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://whistleblower.org/
  21. LinkedIn – Siri Nelson. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sirinelson/
  22. Beth Treffeisen. “How whistleblowers went from being viewed as snitches to people who help enforce laws and safeguard our society.” Northeastern Global News. April 28, 2023. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/04/28/whistleblowers-women-law-conference/
  23. LinkedIn – Stephen M. Kohn. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-m-kohn/
  24.  “Stephen Kohn.” Northeastern University School of Law – Faculty Directory. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://law.northeastern.edu/faculty/kohn/#:~:text=Stephen%20Kohn%20is%20a%20partner%20in%20the%20Washington%2C,as%20the%20nation%E2%80%99s%20leading%20expert%20on%20whistleblower%20law.
  25. “Our Whistleblower Lawyers.” Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto – About. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://kkc.com/our-whistleblower-law-firm/our-whistleblower-lawyers/stephen-m-kohn/
  26. “Our Whistleblower Lawyers.” Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto – About. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://kkc.com/our-whistleblower-law-firm/our-whistleblower-lawyers/michael-d-kohn/
  27. LinkedIn – David Colapinto. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davecolapinto/
  28. “2022 National Whistleblower Center Annual Report.” National Whistleblower Center – Annual Report. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.whistleblowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/12-26-UPDATED-NWC-2022-Annual-Report-.pdf
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 1992

    • 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
    2021 Dec Form 990 $882,505 $1,284,937 $472,205 $74,257 N $856,128 $650 $1,767 $312,565
    2020 Dec Form 990 $1,173,389 $1,004,228 $868,880 $68,500 N $1,154,055 $0 $1,004 $297,478
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,084,767 $795,459 $699,719 $68,500 N $1,085,956 $0 $815 $96,788 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $519,299 $369,390 $416,911 $75,000 N $480,520 $38,432 $347 $0 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $554,045 $820,532 $267,009 $75,000 N $551,704 $0 $2,341 $76,538 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $708,017 $274,523 $533,496 $75,000 N $632,955 $75,000 $62 $59,228 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $295,990 $297,462 $25,002 $0 N $182,925 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990EZ $30,354 $27,036 $37,030 $10,556 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990EZ $29,353 $14,347 $53,208 $30,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990EZ $173,112 $196,041 $8,202 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990EZ $134,949 $203,442 $31,131 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2010 Dec Form 990 $398,539 $303,746 $99,624 $0 N $360,646 $7,968 $2 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    National Whistleblower Center (NWC)

    3238 P ST NW
    Washington, DC 20007-2755