Charity Governance

ACORN: “THIS IS ANOTHER FINE MESS YOU’VE GOTTEN US INTO, OLLIE”

DATELINE: November 16, 2008, Chicago

Last week, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the national anti-poverty program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, cut off its funding for ACORN, the controversial organization that was in the news during this just-completed election season because of allegations over voter registration fraud.  According to a November 13, 2008 press release CCHD cut off funding because of a major case of embezzlement which “raised serious concerns over ACORN’s financial accountability, transparency, governance, and organizational integrity.”  The press release then indicates that the allegations over voter registration fraud intensified CCHD’s concerns over ACORN's activities.  CCHD therefore extended its funding cut-off to any ACORN organizations.  We are not sure what the second cut-off adds to the first.  Maybe the first cut-off was similar to...

ALL STYLE, NO SUBSTANCE: THE SMITHSONIAN’S BOARD OFFERS LESSON IN WHAT NOT TO DO

DATELINE: April 15, 2008, Chicago

Much will be made of the today's article by Washington Post reporters James V. Grimaldi and Jacqueline Trescott regarding the February 2008 resignation of Pilar O'Leary, the head of the Smithsonian's Latino Center. Smithsonian Official Resigns After Ethics Violations. The story is tailor-made for critics of big-spending nonprofit executives. According to Grimaldi and Trescott, O'Leary was taking down about $200,000 in salary from the Smithsonian in 2005 and 2006.

Apparently wondering why O'Leary stepped down, the Post filed a FOIA request for the Smithsonian Inspector General's report covering his investigation of O'Leary. The Inspector General concluded that O'Leary "had...

HERE WE GO AGAIN: BUSINESS MANAGER CHARGED WITH STEALING $259,000 FROM CHURCH

DATELINE: March 27, 2008, Chicago

Hey, why worry about financial controls? They cost money, they add administrative burden, and you like spending time on mission rather than accounting. The reason can be found in Flossmor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Yesterday, Eric Herman of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Beverly Houston had been arrested and charged with stealing over...

GIVER BEWARE: THE WASHINGTON POST’S EXPOSE ON VETERANS GROUPS RAISES LEGITIMATE CONCERNS, BUT COULD RESULT IN POLICYMAKER OVERREACH

DATELINE: December 14, 2007, Chicago

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post had an interesting article in yesterday's paper covering veterans charities and their generally poor performance in terms of serving veterans. Study Faults Charities for Veterans: Some Nonprofits Shortchange Troops, Watchdog Group Says, Dec. 13, 2007. At the outset, we should point out that not all veterans charities are or should be suspect, but for purposes of this post, we focus on the troublesome ones when we refer to veterans charities.

The numbers will be shocking to the public, but will come as...

INSIDE THE CRIMINAL MIND: THE EQUIVALENT OF A LIFE SENTENCE FOR THE FORMER HEAD OF PHILADELPHIA’S SOUTH SEAPORT MUSEUM

DATELINE: November 27, 2007, Chicago

We reported earlier this year on the shenanigans at Philadelphia’s South Seaport Museum.  In a nutshell, its former president, John S. Carter, stole at least $1.5 million in museum money to finance his lifestyle.  Unlike many other judges who excuse thefts from nonprofits by insiders, U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick threw the book at Carter, sentencing the 57-year old to ...

TULSA WORLD IS SILENT TODAY, BUT SENATOR GRASSLEY ISN'T: WHAT DO NONPROFIT HOSPITALS AND MINISTERS HAVE IN COMMON?

"Send us your money and we will make sure it is in heaven when you get there"

Attributed to Firesign Theatre--please advise if you know of a better attribution

DATELINE: November 6, 2007

As far as we can tell, Tulsa World is uncharacteristically silent today on the ongoing controversy surrounding Oral Roberts University and Richard Roberts. That's OK, everybody is entitled to a day off unless that everybody is Senator Grassley and his staff. They never rest. The Wall Street Journal's Suzanne Sataline is reporting today that Senator Grassley has sent...

BETTER PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED ALLEGED THEFT AT QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER

DATELINE: October 23, 2007, Chicago

Jim Dooley of the Honolulu Advertiser reported last week on an interesting fraud allegedly perpetrated by an employee against The Queen's Medical Center. Fraud at Hawaii Hospital Alleged, Oct. 17, 2007. As is all too typical, we aren't talking about nickels and dimes here unless you think...

ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY: THE FIRST OF WHAT ARE LIKELY TO BE MANY POSTS

DATELINE: October 18, 2007, Chicago

• Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
• Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:10-12, as posted by an apparent Roberts supporter on a Tulsa World comment list.

Now the preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him,
Then I whispered, "Not even you can hide."

Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again from Blonde on Blonde.

We aren’t yet sure what to make of the reports coming out of Oklahoma pertaining a lawsuit filed by three employees against Oral Roberts University (ORU) and President Richard Roberts, Provost Mark Lewandowski, Dean Wendy Shirk, and Associate Provost Jeff Ogle.  It seems Fall brings scandal to college campuses.  Remember all the commotion two years ago at American University? 

An internal report apparently/allegedly prepared by Stephanie Cantese, the sister of Roberts' wife, Lindsay Roberts, contains descriptions of lavish and what would seem to be inappropriate expenditures on personal items, together with what might be characterized as inuendo...

THAT RECENT UNPLEASANTNESS: MYTHS PERPETUATED BY THE LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH

DATELINE: October 9, 2007, Chicago

We saw an article several weeks ago reporting that the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health was the victim of a $350,000 employee theft. We wondered whether there was a major internal control failure, and then we moved on. Then we read a fuller account by Andrew Valencia in the Stanford Daily. Worker Steals Funds from Kids Charity, Oct. 2, 2007. Valencia reports that the foundation...

DRUDGE REPORT IS NAÏVE WHEN IT COMES TO CHARITY THEFT

DATELINE: August 10, 2007, Chicago

The venerable Drudge Report is used to dealing with the major headlines of the day. In recent days, regular readers of Drudge have been treated to stories about a priest accused of jogging naked, 9 who were charged in a sex slavery case in Los Angeles, and the possibility that a kangaroo is on the loose in Mississippi. Drudge is a must read for those who are interested in following the escapades of Britney, Lindsay, Paris, Prince Harry, O.J, and the many other celebrities that inspire us to greatness each day.

For about twelve hours yesterday and today, Drudge's first story under his banner headline was a report that hundreds of thousands of dollars may have been stolen from the Suffolk Independent Living Organization, a charity that benefits disabled individuals. The allegedly missing amount represented proceeds from Bingo fundraisers. Accusations were flying, but the police still have not pinpointed who is responsible for the alleged theft or how it was perpetrated. According to an account on the WCBSTV.com Web site, the local DA confirmed an investigation, but there was uncertainty whether there was skimming or just poor accounting.

What is interesting about this story is the fact that Drudge apparently thinks that a theft from a charity is noteworthy and that $500,000 is a particularly large amount when it comes to such thefts. If only it were so. As regular readers of this column and other media covering the nonprofit sector know, theft from charities and poor accounting practices are a relatively routine fact of life.