Charity Governance

A BRANCH OF THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE: VITO LOPEZ UPDATE

DATELINE: October 14, 2010, Chicago

Several weeks ago we wrote about the Ridgewood Bushwick Citizens Council, a Brooklyn, New York nonprofit closely associated with New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez.  Although Lopez is not an employee or director of the organization, the extensive newspaper coverage in several papers draws a close connection.  At that time, someone has just begin to open what has quickly become a can of worms.  Since then, the lid has been removed to reveal several alleged abuses of this nonprofit.

As just one example, Aaron Short of the Brooklyn Paper reported yesterday that Brooklyn Queens Family Respite, which is a subsidiary of the Ridgewood Bushwick organization, received $1 million in taxpayer money to aid seniors.  This is Supposed to be A Senior Center. It’s Actually Vito Lopez’s Clubhouse (Oct. 13, 2010).  You would naturally expect to see happy seniors on the ground floor of the organization's facility.  Instead the first floor is used as a...

FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER GALE SAYERS HAS A LOT TO TEACH THE NFL AND OTHER ATHLETES WHEN IT COMES TO CHARITY

DATELINE:  September 13, 2010, Chicago

Jared S. Hopkins, a Chicago Tribune reporter, fronted the Tribune’s website this past Friday with a story on the Gale Sayers.  Promises Unmet for Gale Sayers' Charity (September 10, 2010).  We seem to have another messed up charity run by a former athlete.  This is all too common, largely because athletes apparently and mistakenly believe anybody can run a charity.  All too often, the charity is a place to stash hangers-on.  We don’t know whether that is the case here, but there are several facts in the article that point in that direction.

According Hopkins, the Gale Sayers Center has collected in excess of...

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: LAWSUIT OVER CLOSURE OF ST. VINCENT’S HOSPITAL

DATELINE:  August 17, 2010, Chicago

Verena Dobnik reported in yesterday’s Washington Post that a group calling itself  The Coalition for a New Village Hospital has filed a lawsuit in New York State court. Former Staff File Suit Against Closed NY Hospital (August 16, 2010).  The suit was filed by Yetta Kurland, an attorney, on behalf of former hospital employees, one-time patients, and area residents.  The Coalition is seeking disclosure of documents under a freedom of information act.  It is demanding a probe and public hearing regarding St Vincent’s finances.  According to Dobnik’s reporting, the complaint questions the salaries of the hospital's top executives and amounts paid to consultants, among other questions it raises regarding the hospital's management.

The filing should be of interest to regulators, nonprofit hospitals, and communities throughout the country.  While we can’t predict how the recently enacted health care reform legislation will play out, it is a good bet, particularly given the already precarious condition of many nonprofit hospitals and other nonprofit health care providers, that this is not...

PROPOSED LEGISLATION LIMITING THE SALE OF MUSEUM COLLECTIONS IS DEAD AND FOR GOOD REASONS

DATELINE: August 12, 2010, Chicago

Some in the New York State Legislature thought they knew more about running museums and other cultural institutions than the managements and boards of those institutions.  A bill (A06959) had been proposed that would have prohibited the sale of  objects from collections to finance operating expenses.  Fortunately, the proposal died in this term of the New York State Legislature.

Those behind the legislation seemed to have forgotten that many cultural institutions are private entities.  So long as these institutions can abide by the terms of donor-imposed restrictions, they should not be limited in how they deal with their assets.

Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, at the forefront of the crusade to tell private entities how to run their operations, told Robin Pegrebin of the New York Times,  “If we don’t act here, ...

THE MET’S BOARD SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE DAY WHEN ITS PRESENT MEMBERS PASS FROM THE SCENE

DATELINE:  April 29, 2010, Chicago

We wrote about the Metropolitan Opera’s financial difficulties a little over a week ago.  The inspiration for that post was an article in this month’s Vanity Fair by Nina Munk entitled, The Met’s Grand Gamble.  As we read the article, we thought  the New York State Attorney General might want to...

THE LITTLE BOY WITH HIS FINGER IN THE DIKE: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

DATELINE:  April 15, 2010, New York City

During the last year we’ve read story after story about nonprofit failures that are attributed to hard economic times.  While many may disagree, a lot of that failure should be attributed to poor financial management. In the good times, organizations need to plan for the bad times by building financial capacity.

This seems to be the week that the focus has been altered.  Rather writing exclusively about failure, the media suddenly seems to be fascinated with...

THE CURRENT RECESSION: NONSENSE. WHERE WAS THE BOARD?

DATELINE: April 12, 2010, Chicago

Let’s see.  According to the Forms 990s for the Harlem School of the Arts, the organization ran $104,980, $526,972, $195,418, $380,699, $502,281, $1,820,362 deficits for its 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 fiscal years respectively.  It showed a $91,196 surplus for 2002.  For 2001, it reported total assets of $2,392,976 in assets and $425,563 in liabilities.  No organization can...

THE ART OF THE STEAL: DR. BARNES CHALLENGES INFINITY AND LOSES

DATELINE:  March 15, 2010, Chicago

 Inside the museums infinity goes up on trial

          Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna

We can no longer find the reference, but we recall film critic Roger Ebert pointing out that great documentaries are anything but objective when he responded to a complaint by a reader.   On that score, the Art of the Steal, a documentary about the Barnes Foundation and the decision to move its collection to downtown Philadelphia, is the greatest documentary ever made despite...

INTANGIBLE ASSETS BEAT TANGIBLE ONES: THE IMPENDING CLOSURE OF THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE

Dateline: February 3, 2010, Chicago

The generation currently holding the reins of power has a strong preference for flashy expenditures, yet it likes to talk about green, conservation, and recycling.  Maybe it should stop building McTheatres and McMuseums.

Case in point is the Pasadena Playhouse, a venerable California institution that presents award winning live theatre.  It recently announced it would be...

STOP WASTING MONEY: DEATH PANELS FOR NONPROFITS

DATELINE: August 20, 2009, Chicago

Larry Handfield, the interim chairman of the James E. Scott Community Association (known as JESCA) told the Miami Harold,   “This is the prudent thing to do…To stay in existence and not let 84 years be in vain.”  Matthew Haggman, Social Services Agency JESCA Files for Bankruptcy Protection (August 18, 2009).  Nonsense.  The Miami Herald’s story recounts a train wreck that appears to have been long in the making.  There is no reason to waste resources on this failed enterprise and doing so is not be prudent.  Liquidate it.

According to the Miami Herald, JESCA is one of South Florida’s oldest anti-poverty agencies.  That’s nice, but is it one of South Florida’s most effective agencies?  Sunk costs and time don't mean anything when it comes to making decisions about the future use of resources.  Longevity shouldn’t count for anything if a nonprofit isn’t doing the job.

The Miami Herald doesn’t talk about effectiveness, but given the financial stewardship, it is hard for us to believe that this was an agency that got results. JESCA filed bankruptcy on August 5, 2009, seeking to reorganize under Chapter 11.  We don’t think reorganization...