Won't need to go to Oklahoma City to check out Feed the Children (FTC).
This is just a sample of the sort of thing you find on the internet if you Google <"Feed the Children">:
American Institute of Philanthrophy | Summer 1999 Watchdog Report
Steve Highfill, who was recently replaced as director of the Nashville center, one of FTC's two U.S. distribution centers, told WTVF: "If they're taking stuff home and giving their little brother a pair of shoes or some food, I don't have much to say about that. If that's wrong, fine. I don't think so and I don't think people are going to think so." Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed the Children, responded later at a press conference by saying: "Donated items are not perks for employees. The executive director was not acting with my authority or approval with the decisions that he made regarding the employees taking donated items, and he was not acting in conformance with company policy."
"No one has to tell you when it's right" apparently doesn't fit Mr. Highfill in its turned-around form.
Or Monty Rainwater either. After forging an Arthur Andersen name on three audit reports, at least two of which were accepted by FTC's board of directors, Rainwater (a previous CFO for FTC in the 1990s) was fined $30,000 by the Oklahoma Accountancy Board. He also lost his CPA Cerfificate -- gee, what a surprise.
Then there's the matter of the small percentage of the cash taken in that reaches those in need. FTC is not very good about divulging financial information, but the best I've been able to find for reaching the target audience is less than 15%. The rest goes to fundraising activities (tv advertising, direct mail, etc.) and running the organization -- payroll, etc.
The words "disreputable charity" and "Feed the Children" seem to go hand-in-hand. Note: That's not to say that its founder, Larry Jones, is getting rich. Absent reliable or even visible financial information, that's hard to say. Still, part of his empire is a for-profit trucking business run in conjunction with FTC. The reason given for that: Someone at FTC thought it would be a good idea to be able to load trucks on return trips after delivering FTC's largesse. Not necessarily dishonest, but setting up a for-profit business under your charity umbrella is not the sort of thing that enhances your reputation for altruism.
If I ever find myself in Oklahoma City with time on my hands, I might go to the Oklahoma County courthouse and see if I can track down any property in Mr. Jones's or his wife's or daughter's name. A Nichol Hills home address would be a sure sign they're living very well. I wouldn't even need to do a drive-by. . . .
I just went downstairs to check on Mandy and tell her what I've been looking into and what I found out. She thinks a second Jones daughter and her husband worked for us when we were losing our investment in a bar and grill. Supposedly, Jones wanted her to be part of his organization, but it didn't work out. They didn't pan out for us either. (For your information, I always took anything anyone told me at the bar with a barrel of salt.)
OK, back to work.
Regards,
"Irwin"
This entry was posted
on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 12/03/2007 01:13:00 PM.
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