Are companies unwittingly supporting terrorism? (Charity).

Being a good corporate citizen is difficult these days. There was a time when companies encouraged employees to give to worthy nonprofits, matched their contributions, received a nice tax break and trusted that they were helping make the world a better place. No longer.

Today, a controversial piece of legislation called the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 is causing a big dilemma for corporations. It raises the possibility that if they unwittingly give to a charity that supports terrorism, they could be charged with criminal activity. USA PATRIOT stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." Its official goal is "to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes."

Good intentions aside, the ramifications of this bill -- specifically as it affects people and organizations who never intended to support terrorism -- have many businesses worried.

"Suppose one of your employees makes a donation through your corporate matching program, and unbeknownst to you, that charity then funneled money to a terrorist group or an individual that's been designated a terrorist by the U.S. government," says Craig Wichner, CEO of Kind-Mark, a provider of integrated online corporate giving solutions. "It's possible that your company could be held liable. It may not matter that neither you nor your employees knew they were supporting terrorism."

Wichner advises companies not to stop giving, but to do "due diligence" on every charity the companies supports, and to establish a screening process that ferrets out terrorist financing, fraud and corruption. He offers the following tips:

* Screen all charities before including them in an approved matching or direct grant database. Pre-qualify these charities based on internal policies, as well as checking them against known terrorist link resources such as the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) list.

* Screen charities that have received grants in the past, not just those that are new. Even if the donor thinks it knows the organization, somewhere down the line there may be a link to terrorism.

* Insist that charities actively acknowledge compliance with company internal policies -- in areas such as PATRIOT Act compliance, nondiscrimination, overhead costs, lawsuits, religious policy, etc. -- on an annual basis.

* Reaffirm the status of each charity prior to every funding cycle. This could mean doing so 4 to 12 times a year, depending on whether the company offers payroll deduction of contributions.

* Offer a fair and open appeals process for nonprofits identified as problems or exclusions. Screening software can contain inaccuracies, and human beings can make mistakes.