The Intersection Between Politics and Charities: Conflict of Interest

by Gary Snyder

A not infrequent story:

A Eugene nonprofit saw its funding from the state of Oregon soar eight-fold the year it put First Lady Cylvia Hayes on the payroll. Hayes only lasted in the job a few months, and right after she left, Gov. John Kitzhaber's administration cut state payments to the group to almost nothing. State records show that the nonprofit, Rural Development Initiatives, saw its state funding grow from $25,000 in 2010 to more than $214,000 in 2011, the year Hayes went to work there. RDI saw its state funding fall to just $2,500 the year after Hayes left. (source)

That’s not all:

Hayes in 2013 leveraged her position as first lady and policy adviser to Kitzhaber into private consulting contracts worth at least $85,000. EO Media reported Hayes was paid $118,000 for unspecified work by a now-defunct Washington, D.C., non-profit.

WWEEK has also reported that Hayes used state employees to help run her consulting business, and conducted private business while traveling at state expense. 

Hayes and Kitzhaber now face an Oregon Government Ethics Commission probe and an FBI criminal investigation.

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)