Donor envelope stuffed with feces

How bad has fundraising gotten the for National Republican Congressional Committee?

The New York Times details the steps being taken by Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole. The 58-year-old is a year into his term as chairman of the N.R.C.C.

Apparently, when he got there, things were pretty bad.

Many conservative activists have become so dissatisfied with the party’s heresies, particularly on immigration and government spending, that as Cole’s staff took over, the committee’s fund-raising pleas were being ignored and, on at least one occasion, returned in an envelope stuffed with feces.

Ewwwww. That's nasty. I've seen angry donors send back lots of "crap" in those business reply envelopes... but never actual crap!

Worse still, the National Republican Congressional Committee recently discovered, during an internal audit, accounting fraud so extensive that it had to call in the F.B.I., which is now investigating embezzlement by the committee’s former treasurer.

"Donor advised funds" used to hide anonymous donors

Back in January, the Wall Street Journal argued that:

...nonprofits are coming under increased pressure to reveal the names of some of their most generous donors. Proponents of greater disclosure by charities, including some lawmakers and consumer groups, argue that keeping givers' identities secret can mask efforts by wealthy individuals and corporations to use philanthropy as a tool of undue influence.

I've also seen this increasing pressure in the political debates over whether the Clinton's should reveal anonymous donors to their Presidential Library. But there is more evidence at colleges around the country. A state Supreme Court in Kentucky is weighing a lawsuit from a local newspaper that seeks to compel the University of Louisville Foundation to reveal the identities of 62 anonymous donors.

The truth is donors who give over $5,000 and try to claim a deduction must be listed on a group's Form 990.

Wealthy philanthropists last year made 37 gifts of $5 million or more without publicly revealing their names. That's up from 27 such gifts in 2006, and just 13 in 2004, according to an analysis by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Such publicity-shy donors say they want to give back to their communities but avoid the headaches of a high public profile, including pushy fund-raisers, jealous relatives and even risks to their personal safety.

One way around this problem is the donor advised funds, "which allow donors to give to a charity in the name of the entity that runs the fund, often a financial-services firm. What's more, donor-advised funds come with attractive tax breaks -- up to 50% compared to a maximum 30% when giving through a private foundation."

I'm going to focus on donor advised funds (DAFs) all at Don't Tell the Donor. If you have story ideas let me know.

Four weeks too late

It's hard to get a lot of respect as an anonymous blogger. I understand that. Why would you trust someone who writes a blog without the accountability of their own personal reputation? That's one of the reasons, I got myself an intern to kick around.

But, come on. That doesn't mean you can simply ignore anonymous blogs altogether and wait for the mainstream media to deliver the news you need.

The security breach at Convio is a perfect case in point. Those of you that read this blog regularly knew back on November 4th that Convio had confirmed the fact that hackers stole password information. During the days that followed, I published no less than 13 entries, I kept in contact with the folks at Convio to ask questions and get official comments, I even posted a detailed analysis on what 6 groups did to notify their members.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn. However, I am shocked by the amount of email I received today from folks who only read about the security breach yesterday in the New York Times. One email was even titled, "BREAKING NEWS" and begged me to notify readers immediately?

Seriously? If anything bad happened, the risk was four weeks ago when the breach occurred.

This isn't news. I'm not sure why the New York Times waited so long to publish their story... Stephanie Strom had to have known this was old news. So, either the timing of the publication is weird or the New York Times just proves once again how blogs have changed the speed of the information world.

If you've ever been to Erie, PA

An anonymous donor gave $100,000,000 to the Erie Community Foundation which is to be split between 46 local charities.

Each of the charities will get about $1 million to $2 million. The recipients include a food bank, a women's center, a group for the blind and three universities.

The city — and the entire county of 280,000 — could clearly use the money. There is a poverty rate of 19% in this industrial city on the shores of Lake Erie.

Secretive $5 million gift comes with strings

Remember last year when we posted a story about a donor who reportedly withdrew his $20 million pledge, resigned from the university board, and has asked that the name of the school be changed - all because he had his feelings hurt by the university president?

Well now Erin Strout at The Chronicle of Higher Education's Face Value blog points out an incredible turn in Florida International University’s fundraising saga.

The newspaper reported today that the public university’s foundation board approved a deal with an anonymous donor without seeing a contract and assumed lifetime liability on two insurance claims as a “special condition” to receive the $5-million cash gift.

The Miami Herald says, "There was no paperwork explaining the deal, just an oral summary from FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique." The paper also says that FIU has declined to release any paperwork to the public.

Hmmmmmm.

Not only does it seem the board failed to fully examine the liability the claims might bring, it also sounds like convenient timing:

Maidique told board members that he reviewed the potential risk with attorneys, but did not provide them a copy of analysis. When FIU gets the cash, the school will also qualify for a $5 million matching gift from the state.

Face Value asks readers what risks institutions assume by entering such deals. I'll take it on step further... does anyone else following this story think this Mitch guy is a shady fundraiser or is he just having a shitty (and well publicized) couple of months?

(This image shows FIU President Modesto A. Maidique (left) and FIU Board of Trustees Chairman Adolfo Henriques (right) with a ceremonial $10 million check signifying Herbert Wertheim’s support of the proposed FIU medical school - dated July 2004.)