How-to Guide
Research Your Investments & Charitable Contributions
Interpret News Reports
Become a Leader in Disaster Preparedness & Prevention
Research Your Investments & Charitable Contributions
Terrorists can find financial support through state sponsors, individuals and even through charities and businesses, some of which are set up as legitimate fronts for illegitimate terrorist activity.
For example, Iran provides an estimated $100 million annually to Hezbollah. And, the Islamic Africa Relief Agency operated in Missouri as a Sudanese charity, when it in fact provided funds to al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hamas.
Since an Executive Order was signed in September 2001, the U.S. has frozen more than $300 million in assets of individuals and groups that provide support to terrorist organizations on the lists maintained by the U.S. government.
The following government agencies and organizations provide detailed information to assist you in researching your investments and charitable contributions. In addition, you may want to check with your financial advisor to ensure your investment funds or charitable contributions are not inadvertently supporting terrorist organizations.
The United States Department of Treasury
The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
The mission of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is to marshal the Treasury Department’s policy, enforcement, regulatory, and intelligence functions in order to sever the lines of financial support to international terrorists organizations. This website provides the most up-to-date information on organizations illegally supporting terrorist activity, and government efforts to combat them.
Designation Lists and Financial Advisories
The United State’s Treasury provides a list of sanctioned countries, specially designated nationals (SDN) and a link to advisories produced by the Depart of Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
FinCEN provides up-to-date advisories, bulletins and fact sheets on various organizations and investments that are either suspected of illegally using funds to support terrorist activity and provides guidance for different financial sectors and institutions.
Protecting Charitable Organizations
This website provides unique information and resources for all stakeholders involved in supporting and running charitable organizations. Charities provide value services nationally and around the world. Here you will find strategies to help safeguard your charity and charitable contributions from potential financial abuse by terrorist organizations.
The United States Department of State
Office for the Coordinator of Counterterrorism
The Office for the Coordinator of Counterterrorism is designed to coordinate and support the development and implementation of all United States Government policies and programs aimed at countering terrorism overseas. This website provides helpful links about the financial sanctions placed on other governments and entities.
A list of countries determined by the Secretary of State that provide ongoing support for acts of international terrorism and have been designated as “State Sponsors of Terrorism” in United State’s law.
This website contains the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), the Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) and Executive Order 13224. Together these three documents provide important information about the United State’s effort to crack down on terrorist supporting organizations and cut-off their ability to raise financial resources.
Daily News & Updates from the United States Department of State
You can subscribe to free news feeds that provide the most up-to-date information about countries and entities that support terrorism and sanctions designed to cut-off the flow of financial resources.
Understanding the political, social and economic trends domestically and internationally is critical to staying informed about the global trend of terrorism. Self-education provides community members and business owners with an enhanced awareness of the potential hazards facing their community, their business and those in their supply chain and our country. Many government agencies and world-renowned think tanks provide free news feeds and critical analysis on the most pressing issues affecting local and global threats to our safety and security. In addition, these institutions offer solutions designed to increase your level of awareness, preparedness and resilience. The following government agencies, think tanks and international organizations provide daily updates and in-depth analyses about the political, social and economic issues most directly affecting the threat of terrorism and our ability to enhance local preparedness and resilience.
Free Daily Government News Feeds
The United States Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security provides daily email updates and RSS feeds to broadcast information about current emergency situations occurring around the country and important information impacting critical infrastructure protection.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation provides daily email updates and RSS feeds to broadcast breaking news, information about ongoing investigations into terrorist activity and updates for existing crime prevention programs and initiatives.
The United States Department of Treasury
The Department of Treasury provides daily email updates and RSS feeds to broadcast breaking news and ongoing efforts to curb the abuse of financial institutions by terrorist groups and other illicit organizations.
The United States Department of State
The Department of State provides daily email updates and RSS feeds to broadcast breaking news and updates about government efforts to counter terrorism overseas.
Think Tanks
The Lawson Terrorism Information Center
Run by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), the Lawson Terrorism Information Center provides RSS feeds, academic research and analysis of the most pressing issues affecting the fight against terrorism, national and international conferences and access to the Stephen Sloan Collection of terrorism-related research.
Established in 1964, RAND is an international think tank designed to improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis of both domestic and international issues. It provides world-class analysis and information in the areas of national security, public safety, and terrorism and homeland security.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Organizations
The American Islamic Congress (AIC) is a non-religious civic initiative working to promote moderation, interfaith understanding, gender equality and peace. Founded after September 11, 2001, it runs numerous programs around the world to designed to challenge widely-held stereotypes and promote non-violence.
The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group. For more than a decade, IPT has investigated the operations, funding, activities and front groups of Islamic terrorist and extremist groups in the United States and around the world. It has become a principal source of critical evidence to a wide variety of government offices and law enforcement agencies, as well as the U.S. Congress and numerous public policy forums.
National Homeland Defense Foundation
National Homeland Defense Foundation (NHDF) is a non-partisan, nonprofit forum and rallying point for our country’s response to the eminent presence of terrorism tactics, and preparing and responding to natural disasters around the country. NHDF conducts the nation’s leading public forum at an annual Symposium where experts in government, industry, academia and media converge to discuss, educate and share ideas to help secure our nation.
Become a Leader in Disaster Preparedness & Prevention
Disaster preparedness and prevention is a critical component in the fight against terrorism. Taking proactive steps today helps to ensure our communities’ are prepared for and able to quickly recover from a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. As private citizens and business owners, we all have a major role to play in the enhancement of our community and nation’s resilience.
Starting a neighborhood watch program, helping friends and family members develop an emergency supply kit, working with local first responders to promote your community’s emergency response plan and becoming involved in local organizations like the American Red Cross, Citizen Corps and the Community Emergency Response Team. These are all proactive measures you can take today to become a local leader in disaster preparedness and prevention.
Enhancing the level of preparedness in your home, business and community for a future terrorist attack or natural disaster is one of the most important steps you can take to increase local and national resilience. The following links provide detailed information about the many you can become a local leader in disaster preparedness and prevention.
Helpful Links
The American Red Cross recruits volunteers and trains community members to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks or natural disasters. This website provides information on how to find your local Red Cross chapter and pursue volunteer opportunities.
Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) Program
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.
The Citizen Corps is a national program sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It is a network of over 200 million U.S. citizens, organized into over 2,000 local councils, designed to train private citizens to prepare for a disaster relief and support local emergency response professionals in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.
Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership (CEPP)
CEPP is a unique public-private partnership designed to strengthen the state of Colorado’s capacity to prevent, respond to and recovery from natural or human-caused disasters. It works to streamline the communication and planning process between private businesses and government agencies in order to enhance the state’s level of preparedness and resilience.
Neighborhood Watch Programs are one of the oldest and most well-known crime prevention programs in United States history. Over the years, it has a more proactive, community-oriented endeavor bringing together local officials, law enforcement officers, emergency response professionals and private citizens. This website provides ways to search for an existing neighborhood watch program in your community and tips on how to start a new program.
