Senators Try To Block Funding To Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Written by k4ryn4 on 13.16Roxannes Spillett Criticizing the chief executive's $1 million pay package and the charity's lobbying practices, a group of Republican Senators moved Friday to block millions of dollars from going into the hands of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Roxannes Spillett Salary Since federal funds make up nearly 40% of the Atlanta-based charity's revenue, Senators Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), Tom Coburn (R. Okla.), Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R., Texas) said they were concerned the money was going to fund the CEO's nearly $1 million compensation package, $4.3 million in travel expenses and more than half a million in lobbying fees, instead of going to serve the 5 million children that attend 4,000 local clubs.
The Senators sent a letter to the charity Thursday seeking detailed information about its activities, how it awards funds to local chapters, and compensation, travel, and lobbying expenses.
"It appears that such funds are not reaching the intended beneficiaries, in this case, the youth of this country," the letter said, citing the charity's 2008 tax forms.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America didn't immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment.
The investigation could block a bill currently moving through the Senate to award up to $425 million to the umbrella organization over five years and threaten the national charity's reputation.
In 2008, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America posted more than a $13 million loss, leading to closures for dozens of local chapters in Washington, Florida and Georgia, among others.
The umbrella organization went to Congress to seek money to stop the closings of local chapters, the charity's Board of Governors said in a statement.
In January the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee voted to give the organization an additional $85 million a year from 2011 to 2014, raising flags for Grassley, a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, who conducts oversight over nonprofits.
That's because in 1996, Congress authorized $20 million per year as so-called seed money to establish 1,000 new Boys & Girls clubs from 1997 to 2001. The $100 million given to the umbrella organization in 1996 was contingent on the ability of the newly-created clubs to operate without additional, direct financial federal assistance.
The new Senate bill "changes Congress' original intent--providing initial seed money???to providing a perpetual source of funds to sustain the Boys and Girls Clubs," Grassley said in a statement.
