Nonprofit
Questions remain about Wisconsin’s proposed high-speed train
An investigation by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students found gaps in one of the state’s biggest proposed stimulus projects: a half-a-billion-dollar high-speed passenger rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. They found that in some cases, the trains wouldn’t match current commuting and travel routes. And officials are calling…
Read MoreFirst 5 funding funneled to top programs linked to top advisors
San Diego’s First 5, a social service program focused on early childhood development, is under scrutiny for the disproportionate allocation of grant money to organizations linked to its advisers. “The county’s First 5 Commission has awarded at least $67 million in the past three years to nonprofits and other groups that employ people who serve…
Read MoreCounty cancels contracts with troubled nonprofit
A running investigation by The Fresno (Calif.) Bee found that Fresno County had millions of dollars worth of contracts with Genesis Family Center, a nonprofit social-service agency headed by two sisters who had been convicted of embezzling the agency’s money. Even after the convictions, the agency continued to engage in questionable spending practices, such as…
Read MoreInspiration Network draws scrutiny
The Charlotte Observer published a two-part investigation into the Inspiration Network, which has become one of the world’s fastest growing religious broadcasters largely by repeating this on-air pitch: God brings financial favor to those who donate to the network. Those contributions have turned the network’s CEO into one of the nation’s best-paid non-profit leaders, with…
Read MoreInvestigation reveals charities’ inflated finances
The Arizona Republic has spent a year investigating a network of 22 charities with ties to a Phoenix televangelism ministry. Nearly all the charities are part of the Combined Federal Campaign, which is the largest workplace charity drive in the world. The series reveals how much donors may not know about the charities they give…
Read MoreBankTracker crunches numbers from FDIC reports
An analysis of bank financial statements by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University and msnbc.com, sheds new light on just how dangerous conditions have become in many banks across the nation. Information is available on the BankTracker site and a related msnbc.com story by Bill Dedman.
Read MoreArmy charity holding onto millions of dollars
The biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows. Between 2003 and 2007, Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own…
Read MoreDonations increasingly go to telemarketers in California
If you give to a charity over the phone, there’s a growing likelihood that most of your donation will go to the telemarketer instead, according to an investigation by The Sacramento Bee. More than a third of California charity telemarketing campaigns sent less than 20 cents on the dollar to the charities during 2007, the…
Read MoreMany NBA players’ charities mismanaged
A Salt Lake Tribune analysis of NBA player-run charities found they face a wide range of problems, from meager funding and high administrative costs to a lack of professional staffing and oversight. Tax records indicate these 89 charities together raised at least $31 million between 2005 and 2007, but only about $14 million of that…
Read MoreMaryland hospitals sue over unpaid bills while collecting surplus funds
An eight-month investigation by Fred Schulte and James Drew of The Baltimore Sun found that over the past five years some of Maryland’s 46 nonprofit hospitals have received millions of surplus dollars from the government even as they sued tens of thousands of patients over unpaid bills. Many of these suits have been filed against patients in…
Read More