Sunday Read: Reasons to Give

This article was sent as part of NWC’s “Sunday Read” series that aims to educate supporters about whistleblower stories and whistleblower legislative or policy initiatives and current events. For more information like this, please join our mailing list.

Giving Tuesday is 9 days away. It is the biggest day of giving every year, and the beginning of the biggest annual fundraising. cycle. The day was designed as a compliment to Black Friday, one of the biggest sales days of the year. In this season of giving, National Whistleblower Center is grateful for your readership and support for whistleblowers.

This Sunday, we share a bit with you about NWC’s work and our goal to raise $20,220 this Giving Tuesday.

National Whistleblower Center’s Successful Fundraising in 2022

In 2022, National Whistleblower Center raised nearly $20,000 from individual donors. Contributions range from $5 to $3,000 and we are honored to have such a broad range of donors supporting our work. This year, our incredibly successful National Whistleblower Day fundraiser raised over $5000 for whistleblower recognition next year. The robust support for our most important day shows us how much real support there is for whistleblowers. Together we can keep supporting whistleblower throughout the year and beyond.

Your support for whistleblowers throughout the year has shown us that we can take things a step further — we want to double this years contributions in just a few weeks. You are the key to NWC’s success!

NWC’s Work Works

National Whistleblower Center champions whistleblowers and shows the world why effective whistleblower protections are critical today and into the future. Our work on whistleblower best practices has sparked improvements and expansion of whistleblower protections worldwide.

This year, NWC has supported laws that improve or introduce whistleblower protections in urgently needed ways. Our support for the Anti-Money Laundering whistleblower program incentives, protections for Peace Corps whistleblowers, and improvements to the Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower program have seen real results.

Anti-Money laundering incentives were reintroduced this year, with the support of NWC leadership and advice. The reintroduction of this bill has resulted in robust discussion and analysis of the concept of whistleblower rewards and generated even more evidence for the value of reward provisions. The bill is positioned to be enacted as law, and NWC’s continued support will ensure that the AML program remains a topic of discussion for Congress — until and after it becomes law. Whistleblowers like Johannes Stefansson, the “fishrot” whistleblower, know what it is like to have information about bribery and other financial violations and have no meaningful avenue to report.

Peace Corps whistleblower protections have been introduced in both chambers of Congress, and NWC’s expert advice has helped the relevant legislators understand whistleblower best practices. Sara Thompson, Peace Corps whistleblower, is a leader in the advancement of these protections. Thompson knows first-hand how important whistleblower protections are for Peace Corps volunteers, and NWC has been by her side in advocating for the passage of this bill.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been revising their highly successful whistleblower program for years. This year, the SEC adopted new rules that fixed major issues in the 2020 amendments which could have capped whistleblower rewards and prevented whistleblowers from being fully rewarded. NWC’s comments to the SEC were cited in the rule changes. NWC’s comments showed the Commissioner’s how important it was to reward whistleblowers without arbitrary limits. And, this year, the SEC Enforcement Annual report once again announced the vital importance and incredible success of the Commission’s whistleblower program.

Working with Whistleblowers into 2023

Whistleblowers like Johannes Stefansson, Sara Thompson, and Kimberly Young-McLear have faced retaliation and continue to fight for what’s right. Each one of these whistleblowers has an important project in 2023 that will advance all whistleblowers’ fight for accountability and legal protections.

NWC has committed to help these whistleblowers. We will share more about their experiences, work with Congress, and give them other forms of support throughout 2023. Already, the work we have done with these whistleblowers has resulted in progress in laws to protect whistleblowers in the Peace Corps, Anti-Money Laundering whistleblower provisions, and building awareness about retaliation.

These changes take time. NWC has been fighting for whistleblowers for decades. We are committed to continuing these efforts and plan to make significant investments into raising awareness these whistleblowers in 2023. With your support we can go to the next level and impact laws critical in the fight for justice alongside strong whistleblower leaders like Johannes Stefansson, Sara Thompson, and Commander Kimberly Young-McLear.

Support NWC this Giving Tuesday

With your support, we can make major strides for whistleblowers and make a real difference together. By raising $20,220 this Giving Tuesday we can keep sharing our expertise and supporting whistleblowers to change the law for the better. Together. we could make AML incentives and Peace Corps whistleblower protections a reality. We are calling on you, our loyal supporters, today. Kickstart this season of giving with us!