I very much appreciate a nonprofit board that does everything it can to achieve its mission. The Allied Veterans of the World board is one such group that is indeed pursuing a mission of raising funds for charity.
Ah, but there are wrinkles in the story. It turns out that Allied Veterans has steered wrong on at least four counts beginning with filing false (or incorrect?) tax returns that suggest that the organization has not been raising much money. Next, it's pay-out of reported income does not meet common standards (just 2% of income). And finally and most importantly, the source of its funds was illegal gambling, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, was happening on a large scale. "Over a four-year period, the gambling operation allegedly brought in about $300 million."
But wait, there's more, some members of the "board" and co-conspirators took more than $90 million themselves. Apparently no one told them the role of a board member was to act as the surrogate owner on behalf of the public interest, not their own private interest.
Sadly, except for a very effective fundraising source, this is not the kind of nonprofit, nor board, I believe we want to hold-up as something to emulate. Still, an interesting story.
Comments