In 2004, Independent Sector, InterAction, the Council on Foundations, and the Day, Berry & Howard Foundation released a handbook to help nonprofits and foundations meet new U.S. requirements for preventing their funding or activities from inadvertently being used for illegal acts, such as terrorist activities. The Handbook on Counter-Terrorism Measures: What U.S. Nonprofits and Grantmakers Need to Know, [PDF] discusses the laws, regulations and enforcement measures in place in the post-September 11, 2001, environment.

The Handbook examines the Executive Order issued in response to terrorist attacks of 2001, the Patriot Act, embargoes and trade sanctions, IRS rules and the Treasury Department’s voluntary guidelines, as well as special requirements for organizations funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. For example, Executive Order 13224 gives government the authority to freeze assets of organizations associated with terrorist activities—even when the organizations did not have knowledge of the link.