North Carolina NAACP loses tax-exempt status over alleged failure to file tax returns for three years

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The NAACP’s North Carolina chapter has lost its federal tax-exempt status after allegedly failing to file tax returns for three years. 

The Internal Revenue Service stripped the organization of its tax-exempt status in May, but the status change was not made public until this month. 

A man wearing a NAACP jacket walks between demonstrators before a protest march in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 24, 2021. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The IRS revokes the tax-exempt status for nonprofits that fail to file federal tax returns for three consecutive years, according to its website. 

The loss of federal tax-exempt status was first reported by The News & Observer in Raleigh. Experts on charitable giving say losing the status could hinder fundraising efforts and drain the organization's resources through taxes on donations and fines, according to the paper. 

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The newspaper also reported that the national NAACP intervened in 2019 to place the state chapter under a punitive administratorship, giving the national organization more input in how the state branch is staffed and operated. The state and national organizations are working to restore the branch's tax-exempt status.

Da'Quan Love was recently appointed by the national organization to serve as executive director of the North Carolina NAACP. He told WRAL-TV he views his role as a consultant to help the state chapter shore up its finances as the national organization performs a multi-year audit of its finances. He previously served as a leader of the Virginia branch of the NAACP.

Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, center, of North Carolina, and other protesters representing the Black Lives Matter movement march to the Capitol after a "die in" in the Longworth cafeteria to call on Congress to take action on racial issues. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

"The national NAACP has launched a financial audit, a full financial, multi-year audit of the state conference as well as all the branches in the state of North Carolina to rectify these issues and get to the bottom of these challenges and ensure that this does not happen again and we're in good financial standing," Love told WRAL.

He said the national organization will provide the state chapter with resources and support so it can continue its civil rights work, including get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of the November election.

Fox News has reached out to NAACP’s North Carolina chapter for comment but did not hear back before publication. 

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The loss of tax-exempt status became public weeks after former state chapter president The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman was found dead in his home. A cause of death has not been released. Spearman, who lost a bid in 2021 for re-election to lead the state chapter, had filed a lawsuit against state and national NAACP officials accusing them of defaming him and conspiring to remove him from the presidency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.