Supporters protest firing of Feed the Children's founder
Courts: Group’s president was sacked amid wiretapping claims
From STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
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Published: November 12, 2009
About 10 people, some of them former employees of Feed The Children, protest the firing of founder Larry Jones on Wednesday in front of the organization’s offices in the 300 block of N Meridian Ave. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Several demonstrators gathered outside Oklahoma City-based charity Feed The Children on Wednesday morning to protest the firing of the charity’s founder, Larry Jones.
About 10 protesters waved at cars and held signs critical of the charity’s board of directors for about 90 minutes.
"My major concern is that the children around the world continue to be fed,” said
Joan Greenwood, a longtime supporter of the charity and one of the protesters. "There are plenty of charities to go to, but this is one that we have trusted … and Larry Jones is the face of this ministry.”
Oklahoma City police
Lt. Dale Marshall told the demonstrators that they had to leave because they did not have a city permit to protest.
The board is locked in a power struggle with Jones, who founded the Christian nonprofit relief organization 30 years ago. Friday, the board voted to fire Jones as president of the organization.
Jones on Tuesday filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and seeking a restraining order that would prevent the charity from using his name or likeness to solicit donations for the group.
A telephone message left Wednesday afternoon with an attorney for Feed The Children was not immediately returned.
A spokesman for the charity also declined to discuss any pending litigation involving the group.
"We’re continuing to feed children every day,” spokesman
Tony Sellars said. "That’s our mission, and that’s what we’re continuing to do.”
Jones came under fire in August after a private investigator found "remnants of wiretapping devices” in the offices of three top executives, according to a police report.
Mark Hammons, an attorney for Jones, said the devices were legal and that Jones wanted to ensure any conversations he had with the executives were accurately reported.
Under
Oklahoma law, recording one’s own conversation is legal, even if other parties are not aware of the recording device.
The charity raised more than $1.1 billion in donations in fiscal year 2008.
Of the revenue generated, nearly 92 percent was spent on programs, less than 2 percent on administrative expenses and about 6.2 percent on fundraising, a ratio that earned the charity four stars from watchdog group
Charity Navigator. The four-star mark is the group’s highest possible rating, said Charity Navigator spokeswoman Sandra Miniutti.
"The benchmark, if you had to draw a line in the sand, is 75 percent on programs, so they’re outperforming most other charities in that metric,” she said. "Feed The Children is one of those charities that has their financial health in order.”
As president, Jones earned $234,937 during fiscal 2008, while his wife, Frances, earned $187,052, according to Charity Navigator.
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The "watchdogs" i.e. Charity Navigator or American Institute of Philanthropy are, whether one agrees with their analysis or not, attempting to inform the donor public and not trying to "defame" anyone. Some have been tempted to "kill the messenger" and that is certainly not appropriate. In the coming months/years there are so many FTC issues i.e. legal, accounting and ethical maybe we ought to consider that human beings are suffering and dying unnecessarily around our world every day. So let's just watch and see what happens at FTC but continue to take action by helping our neighbors as best we can.
AIP is highly regarded by state attorney general offices, the FTC, Congressional committees that invite us to testify and the media:
http://www.charitywatch.org/praise.html
James,whoever you are, please get your facts straight to avoid posting false comments in the future.
Daniel Borochoff, American Institute of Philanthropy
"KB&RP: The soundness of a social investment in any nonprofit should be determined by examining a number of dimensions: an organization’s outcomes, its financial soundness, and its accountability practices. Traditionally, CN has tried to get at financial soundness through an analysis of the information available on nonprofits’ IRS 990 submissions. In the very near future, we will add a rating that reflects organizational accountability through an examination of transparency and agency practices. Within the next two years, we also intend to begin rating charities on their outcomes through an examination of the indicators they establish and their success in achieving these targets. All three variables, we believe, should be utilized in assessing not just the effectiveness of an organization, but the ongoing capacity of an organization to deliver meaningful social value."
http://www.kenscommentary.org/2009/11/debra-natenshon-on-outcomes-open-forum.html
If it turns out that several years worth of back taxes are owed then blame can be shared among both current and past staff, auditors doing a bad job by accident or plan, and trustees who provide oversight.
The 2008 minutes don't seem to highlight the need to pay taxes. Either, no taxes are owed or a lot was ignored or missed. If the taxes were missed what else was missed and for how many years?
http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/feedchildren.html