Apparently there was
some confusion as to who the recipients are to be at the N.C. Rural Economic
Development Center. More than a third of the board have worked for, or are involved with,
other organizations that have benefited from Rural Center grants.
At
least seven current board members are connected to ongoing projects now waiting
on money already awarded by the center. One, Cicely C. McCulloch is
expecting $25,000 to help improve a building she owns.
At
least two current board members have had their compensation paid by the center
in the past, with more salary money budgeted this year at a nonprofit in
Elizabeth City run by center board member Lenora Jarvis-Mackey, according to
documents.
Yet
another board member, Alan Rice of Yadkinville, was paid a $15,000 “consulting”
fee out of a Rural Center grant, billing $103 an hour to a center-approved,
taxpayer-funded program he set up to help poor people improve their lives. In
April, his nonprofit was awarded a new $75,000 grant.
In
some cases, current board members benefited from Rural Center grants prior to
the time they joined the center’s board – such as two members who were part of
$250,000 and $390,000 awards that helped with buildings for companies they
started.
Last week, state lawmakers cut off any more funding to the center, a dramatic reversal from the roughly $25 million they’d sent it annually since 2009. The center’s founding president, Billy Ray Hall, has resigned and state officials stopped the Rural Center from spending any of the more than $100 million in taxpayer money still on hand.
Board chairwoman Valeria Lee has resisted calls for her resignation by Gov. Pat McCrory and others.
All of this is the result of the remarkable investigative reporting at
the News& Observer that found that at least 20 of the 47 current board members at
the Rural Center are dipping into the till.
Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Charity Navigator, Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio (NPR), Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), “Betrayal”, (a movie), NBC (on Charity Fraud…TBD), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Marie Claire, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, Charity Navigator, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, Board Room Insider, USA Today Topics, Accountants News, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times, Portfolio Magazine, The Virgin Islands Daily News, NANKAI (China) BUSINESS REVIEW, National Religious Broadcasters newsletter, The Charity Governance Blog, American Chronicle, Palm Beach Post, Detroit Free Press, Oakland Press, Nonprofit World, Socially Responsible Business Forum, PNNOnline, Ohio Nonprofit Resources, Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, Nonprofit Startup Guide, Nonprofit Blog, National Coalition of Homeless Newsletter, Finance and Administration Roundtable Newsletter, MichiganNonprofit.com, CORP! Magazine, Crain’s Michigan Nonprofit, ncrp.org, PhilanTopic, Nashville Free Press, Nonprofit Law Blog, Seniors World Chronicle, Carnegie Reporter, Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners Examiner, msnbc.com, Worchester (MA) Telegram and Gazette, Carnegie Corporation of America, EO Tax Journal, Wikipedia: Non-profit Organizations; Parent: Wise Austin, Accountants News, Veterans Today, Answers.com, Far-roundtable, #Nonprofit Report, nonprofithelpnews, nonprofit news; National Enquirer, Northwest Herald, The HelpWise Daily, The #Nonprofit Report, Wikipedia (Nonprofit Organization), Answers.com, Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)
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