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I was playing around on my computer last night putting off a project that needed finished–and still does–when I hit on the Pro Publica Non-Profit Explorer to while away the hours instead of working. It’s a neat database that tells you who is funding whom and who is getting what. Just type in the name of a non-profit and it will tell you both ways. You can also download 990s. The d/b probably won’t list dark money, but then there’s a reason, of course, why it’s called “dark.” Puttering around with it is a fun way to put off doing my job and do it at the same you. You know. Connecting the dots and other amusing activities.
So I typed in Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc. . . . and Meow! I learned that between 2017 and 2020, the organization got nearly $75,000 in private grants! These grants, with one exception, are not grants or donations for an individual box or another project of a specific nature, such as those from Right to Life affiliates, crisis pregnancy centers, the Knights of Columbus, or private foundations and businesses we’ve picked up from the media and already posted on our Baby Box Promoters page.
No, this amount is for general operating expenses to start up and keep the place running.
Private Foundation Grants for General Operations
| Year | Grantor | Location | Amount | Category |
| 2017 | Community Foundation of Southern Indiana | Indianapolis, IN | $5,000.00 | General Support |
| 2017 | Roach Family Foundation | St. Paul, MN | $4,000.00 | General |
| 2017 | Samaritan Foundation | Haviland, OH | $10,000.00 | Humanitarian |
| 2018 | Samaritan Foundation | Haviland, OH | $10,000.00 | Humanitarian |
| 2018 | William C Meier Foundation | Carmel, IN | $400.00 | General Support |
| 2019 | Roach Family Foundation | St, Paul,IN | $5,000.00 | General |
| 2019 | Samaritan Foundation | Haviland, OH | $10,000.00 | Humanitarian |
| 2020 | Parkview Health System | Ft. Wayne IN | $10,000.00 | Program offering 24-hour hotline for mothers in crisis |
| 2020 | Samaritan Foundation | Haviland, OH | $30,000.00 | Humanitarian |
| 2021 | Bon Secours Mercy Health, Inc | Cincinnati, OH | $10,000.00 | Mission Support |
| 2021 | Huntington County Community Foundation | Huntington, IN | $10,000.00 | Operating Support |
| 2021 | Orange County Community Fund | Paolli, IN | $15,000.00 | Program Support |
| 2021 | Rose & K.V. Mathew Foundation | Rockville, MD | $200.00 | General Operating |
| 2021 | Samaritan Foundation | Haviland, OH | $15,000.00 | Humanitarian |
| 2021 | Unruh Charitable Foundation | Floyd’s Knob, IN | $4,720.00 | Support |
| 2022 | Knights of Columbus Council #656 | Kokomo, IN | $200.00 | Unknown |
| TOTAL | $129,520 |
State Grants Allocated for Safe Haven Baby Boxes
| Date | State | Amount | Purpose |
| 2022 | Indiana | $1,000,000 | Funds allocated by legislature to assist communities to install and promote Baby Boxes (presumably through grants). No procedures have been released. |
| 2022 | New Mexico | $330,000 | Grants up to $10,000 each to communities to pay for installation of baby boxes; limited to 1 location per county. New Mexico has no SHBB law, but communities are installing them anyway. |
| 2023 | San Antonio, Texas | $438,000 | City funds for installing up to 12 baby boxes in the city. |
| 2023 | Beech Grove, Indiana | $19,000 | COVID-19 response funds dedicated to installation of a baby box in the township. |
| STATE/LOCAL GRANTS | $1,787,000 | ||
| ALL GRANTS | $1,916,520 |
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting grants. General operation grants are quite common, and these grantors are a pretty innocuous crew. Nonetheless, I’m posting them here and have added them to the Promoter’s Page to fill-in the financial landscape some more.
It’s curious how these grants and state funds such as the $1 million Indiana and the $330,000 the New Mexico legislatures allocated to pay for baby boxes across their states are never mentioned in SHBB Inc website, social media, or their annual reports. The latest posted annual report is a “review” of 2020 and a very short financial summary. If SHBB Inc were a for-profit stockholders would be screaming. Don’t most non-profits publish annual financial reports or produce them upon request to anyone–especially when they are raking in the money like SHBB Inc.? Apparently “build and they will come” publicity doesn’t apply when it comes to taxpayer or private foundation money and not the gullible grassroots public who buy into crying poor.
I wonder if the grantors realized they were helping to fund an organization that endorses the legalization of newborn adoption trafficking in Indiana? Or deny adopted people their right to records and identity? Or consider adopted people rabble without a cause?
I am still confused. Why are individuals and corporations and foundations and politicians donating money to create more adopted people when most adoptees are still legally second-class citizens? Why do they want to make more? Don’t they care? Count me with the rabble! In love and solidarity, Angelika, the Personal Assistant Cat
Revolting !The public is a grab box, grab it at the expense of anyone other than yourself ! This is exactly why, in the 21st century, every state that continues to keep mothers and children from truth, is still in the DARK AGES ,!!!!!
Thanks for writing. Revolting indeed! The SHBB movement is,IMO, the biggest enemy of adoptee rights and birthparent rights in the US today. Nobody, and I mean nobody, asks questions except for us and academics. If one dares to, they are smeared and attacked. For all intents and purposes, there is a media blackout except for raving on about how great boxes are. Even those who support Safe Haven laws but not boxes are dragged. Adoptees “have issues” and should seek therapy SH advocates who oppose are jealous and “don’t understand the problem.” It’s sick. I am continually floored that baby abandonment is now a courageous act to be encouraged and praised.