Full Breakdown
USAID Funding of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Related Controversies
4/25/2026, 6:25:59 AM
USAID Funding of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Between 2016 and 2024, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded $27 million to the Tides Network under its Civil Society Innovation Initiative. The Tides Center, a fiscal-agent nonprofit, used part of that grant to create a fund for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Vote Your Voice” program.
Funding Structure and Scale
USAID’s 2024 portfolio totaled $35 billion, with a large share directed to Washington-based contractors rather than overseas projects. Salary data from recent reporting show USAID employees earning $175,000, contractors $127,000, and USAID-funded NGO staff $272,000, while a nonprofit CEO received $1.178 million in 2024. The agency’s workforce comprises roughly 16,000 employees and 280,000 contractors.
Key Actors
Primary entities include USAID, the Tides Center led by executive director Ayesha Khanna, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and senior foreign-assistance official Jeremy Lewin. Media commentators such as Rick de la Torre, Robert Sterling, and Austen Allred have also discussed the funding.
Official Response
Jeremy Lewin stated, “Contrary to false media narratives, the data shows that President Trump’s foreign assistance review maintained and improved frontline lifesaving programs, while reducing NGO bloat and costs.”
Criticism and Opposition
Critics have described the arrangement as a “government laundering” of preferences through NGOs (Austen Allred) and highlighted high salaries, noting a USAID employee earning $175,000 (Robert Sterling). Chris pointed out that a federally funded nonprofit paid its CEO $1.178 million in 2024, and VoxDawg warned that NGOs closing when federal funding stops are not truly independent.
Conflicting Reports and Gaps
The $27 million allocation to the SPLC is reported by a single source; no USAID statement confirming or refuting the claim is cited. Layoff figures rely on anecdotal New York Times examples, leaving the total number of affected staff unspecified.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Sheryl Cowan, 57, was making $272,000 a year as a senior VP at a U.S.A.I.D.-funded nonprofit when she was let go at the end of March 2025. Last month she had an online interview for a $19-an-hour job managing a Penzeys Spices store in Falls Church, Va.” — Alec MacGillis (Twitter)
- “USAID funneled $27 million through the Tides Center, with some of it going directly into the Southern Poverty Law Center.” — (attributed to reporting)
- “178 million in 2024 alone, per publicly available data from ProPublica linked to IRS filings.” — Chris (Twitter)
- “The government laundered its own preferences through ‘independent’ NGOs, watchdogs and platforms, recommending itself as the only savior.” — Austen Allred (Twitter)
Outlook
Since its September 2025 launch, the Global Health Strategy has secured 31 bilateral compacts exceeding $21 billion and a Lenacapavir partnership with Gilead. Congressional scrutiny of USAID’s domestic funding is likely to increase.
