Non-profit

Sheriffs for Trusting Communities (Sheriff Accountability Action)

Website:

sheriffaccountability.org

Location:

Durham, NC

Tax ID:

82-4042237

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $1,957,628
Expenses: $800,766
Assets: $1,380,455

Type:

Social advocacy group

Formation:

2017

Executive Director:

Max Rose

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Sheriffs for Trusting Communities (also known as Sheriff Accountability Action) is a left-of-center anti-policing nonprofit based in Durham, North Carolina. The group supports defunding sheriffs’ offices, “promotes alternative safety models,” and works to oppose “deportations and mass incarceration.” 1 2

Sheriffs for Trusting Communities also seeks to reduce the power of sheriffs and targets particular sheriff races and sheriff associations that the group claims are “anti-democratic.” 3 4

Activities

Sheriffs for Trusting Communities generally seeks to curb the power of sheriff’s departments across the country. The group highlights sheriff abuse stories in the media in an effort to support reducing the power of sheriffs, opposes “anti-immigrant” sheriffs who work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), promotes sheriffs who support “sanctuary” policies of non-cooperation with ICE in local races, seeks the passage of laws that reduce sheriff departments’ power through direct voter control, and seeks to control sheriff departments’ policies. 5

In 2022, the group co-authored a report on so-called “ethically conflicted” campaign donations, and other charges of improprieties of sheriffs in counties across the country, some of which were up for election. The report was co-authored with the liberal group Common Cause. 6 7

Funding

In 2023, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities reported $1,381,291 in revenues and $1,835,568 in expenses, with $1,034,793 in total assets and five employees. 1

In 2022, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities received $700,000 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund for “civil rights, social action, [and] advocacy” work. 1 The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a left-of-center non-profit known for its “dark money” activities financing left-wing groups, along with its sister organization the New Venture Fund. Both groups are administered by Arabella Advisors. 8 9

In 2022, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities received $325,000 from the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation to support its work “to educate [the] public about sheriffs.” 1 The Amalgamated Charitable Foundation is a nonprofit that financially supports left-wing groups through donor-advised funds. 10

In 2022, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities reported receiving $100,000 from NEO Philanthropy. 1 NEO Philanthropy is a New York-based nonprofit that hosts donor-advised funds and fiscal sponsorships for center-left groups. 11

In 2023, Sheriffs for Trusting Communities reported donating $100,000 to the Fairness Project, a labor union-backed advocacy group that promotes left-of-center policies such as minimum wage increases and Medicaid expansion. 12

People

Max Rose is the founder and executive director of Sheriffs for Trusting Communities. His works focuses on “the intersection of justice, racial equity and the South.” Rose also worked to build the organization Made in Durham, a race-based jobs program for Black individuals. 13 Rose is an outspoken critic of what he calls the “white supremacy” roots of sheriff’s departments. 14

References

  1. “Sheriffs for Trusting Communities.” Cause IQ. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/sheriffs-for-trusting-communities,824042237/.
  2. “Defund Sheriffs: A Toolkit for Organizers.” Safety Bound, September 3, 2024. https://www.safetybound.org/resources/defund-sheriffs-toolkit-for-organizers.
  3. [1] “Sheriff Accountability Action.” Sheriff Accountability Action. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.sheriffaccountability.org/.
  4. Pishko, Jessica. “She Wants to Fix One of Louisiana’s Deadliest Jails. She Needs to Beat the Sheriff First.” Politico, November 10, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/11/10/new-orleans-sheriff-election-progressive-reformer-tough-crime-incumbent-519654.
  5. “Our Work.” Sheriff Accountability Action. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.sheriffaccountability.org/our-work.
  6. [1] Bedford, Tori. “Suffolk Sheriff’s Race Hinges on: What Can a Sheriff Do?” GBH, September 5, 2022. https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2022-09-02/suffolk-sheriffs-race-hinges-on-what-can-a-sheriff-do.
  7. “How Sheriff Campaign Dollars Shape Mass Incarceration.” Common Cause. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CC_PaidJailer.pdf.
  8. Markay, Lachlan. “Over 100 Left-Wing Groups Sourced to DC Dark Money Outfit.” Washington Free Beacon, October 22, 2015. https://freebeacon.com/issues/over-100-left-wing-groups-sourced-to-d-c-dark-money-outfit/.
  9. “Fiscal Sponsorship.” Arabella Advisors, September 11, 2022. https://www.arabellaadvisors.com/expertise/fiscal-sponsorship/.
  10. “Our Commitment to You​.” Amalgamated Foundation. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.amalgamatedfoundation.org/.
  11. Callahan, David. “Inside Neo Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy, June 30, 2015. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015-6-30-inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un-html.
  12. “Working Families Win in Missouri: Voters Approve Proposition A, Granting Fair Wages and Ensuring Support for Parents and Children.” The Fairness Project, November 6, 2024. https://thefairnessproject.org/blog/2024/11/06/working-families-win-in-missouri-voters-approve-proposition-a-granting-fair-wages-and-ensuring-support-for-parents-and-children/
  13. “Max Rose.” Netroots Nation. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.netrootsnation.org/profile/max-rose/.
  14. “The New Sheriffs Coming to Town.” Data For Progress, April 7, 2021. https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2019/9/10/the-new-sheriffs-coming-to-town.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 2019

  • 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
    2022 Jun Form 990 $1,957,628 $800,766 $1,380,455 $14,321 N $1,957,628 $0 $0 $80,000
    2021 Jun Form 990 $926,454 $1,157,790 $218,026 $8,753 N $926,454 $0 $0 $86,235 PDF
    2020 Jun Form 990 $909,892 $471,535 $444,813 $4,204 N $909,892 $0 $0 $45,980

    Sheriffs for Trusting Communities (Sheriff Accountability Action)


    Durham, NC