Ok, who's got answers?

[JNelson6563]

Puzzle for you DUers:

A not-so-hypothetical case:

Suppose a certain non-profit foundation granted $200,000 to a certain public
relations firm to develop a public education program which was really an
industry marketing scheme in disguise. Suppose this non-profit
organization's tax return showed that it received $400,000 in donations from
unnamed sources. How would you find out who (most likely tied to a certain
industry) funneled the money through the non-profit foundation?

The same not-so-hypothetical puzzle, approached from a different angle:

Suppose a certain large company donated a total of $200,000 to a certain
non-profit foundation which then gave $200,000 to a public relations firm to
promote an industry marketing scheme disguised as a public education
program. How would you determine the identity of the company who funneled
the money through the non-profit foundation?

I got this challenge via e-mail and wondered what you all might think.

Julie

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Radio Shack.... but for this, I doubt it. nt.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

2. Sue 'em all and engage in discovery

Use the IRS records to establish parties and witnesses. Then follow the money.

Next question?

[Orangepeel]

3. tax records?

tax records for both the non-profit and the large company (assuming it is public) ought to be available, right?

[sandnsea]

4. Well,

The corporation is going to have the $200,000 donation listed somewhere in its taxes. The PR firm would probably have press releases or client list for the non-profit work. So you'd have to connect between the two that way. And then somehow make the case that the education program is actually propaganda for the PR firm. Is that kind of what you mean? To start anyway.

[phoebe]

5. are you talking about No Child Left Behind?

if so, look to the Bush brothers..

[OneBlueSky]

6. IRS Form 990 . . .

which every non-profit is required to file annually . . .

How to Read the IRS Form 990 & Find Out What it Means
http://www.npccny.org/Form_990/990.htm

[BeHereNow]

7. Oh THANK YOU OBS for that link!

What a fabulous link!!!
Point of reference for my glee:
My child attended a public school with an afternoon
arts program that was partially "funded" by a private foundation
which continually petitioned parents for donations
because the supposedly, the school was always
on the verge of going under.
I began to look into the situation further-
The parents could never see the financial reports
for the foundation and school board members
had family members on the foundation board.
What's wrong with that picture???
Long story short- I eventually found tax returns
online for the mysterious foundation.
In a fiscal year, they took in $1.4 million dollars-
the "support" for the arts programs as recorded in the
public school budget from that money?
Approximately $280, 000.00.
Have not yet found out what happened to
the rest of the money.
Interestingly enough, when we, the parents,
confronted the foundation about it- they stopped
publishing their returns on the non-profit guide
web site I found them at.

BHN

[JNelson6563]

8. Many thanks to those who replied

I do not know the answer or even what the questioner is referring to in particular. That's why I brought it here.

:toast:

Any other thoughts are also much appreciated.

Julie

[JNelson6563]

9. Need more help

Ok, I passed on the advice given here and here is the reply I got. Any suggestions?

Yes, I've seen a copy of this Non-profit Foundation's IRS Form 990.
Page 1,
line 1 shows $400,000 in gifts/contributions received from unnamed
sources.
Page 2, line 44 (under Expenses) shows $800,000 in program service
allocations/grants, and an attached schedule shows the identity of the
recipents who received the Foundation's grants that year. I know
$200,000
was given by the Foundation to a bogus public education program that's
really an industry marketing scheme, but I DON'T know the identity of
the
source whose money is included in "gifts received" on line 1. How can
I
find out the identiy of the unnamed source? What if I suspect a certain
very
big, very bad company, is there anyway I can prove it? Any ideas or
suggestions would be appreciated.



Sounds like this guy might be onto something. Any assistance you all could give would be appreciated.


Julie

[JNelson6563]

10. kicking this in hopes of getting help

:kick:

[Straight Shooter]

12. You need to contact ProfessorGAC and ask him.

He is quite astute about financial matters. As to income tax records, I don't know the level of his expertise, but I bet he can point you (and the sender of the inquiry) in the right direction.

[BeHereNow]

11. Hey Julie- I wish your friend all the luck in the world.

If you read my post to OBS above, thanking him for the
link, you will see that I have had my own dealings with
a shady non-profit. I found that all roads of inquiry kept
leading me back to the same brick wall.
I heard a report on NPR some months ago
about non-profits being investigated as
possibly the largest laundering, embezzling scams
going today.
I have no doubts about that being true in regards to the one
I was investigating.
I had documents, both public and private, that
I tried to get the local media to simply LOOK at.
All to no avail.
When I told a lawyer friend about it all he laughed
at me and said, "What do you expect? They are all
in on it and the media is owned by the very people
you are trying to expose."
Great, huh?
Business as usual.
BHN

[Steve A Play]

13. Sounds like the Election Center to me

Try searching the following sites. :)

http://www.opensecrets.org
http://www.muckraker.org
http://www.sourcewatch.org
http://www.lobbywatch.org
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar
http://www.sedar.com/search/search_en.htm (For Canadian Companies)
http://www.fecinfo.com/

Steven P. :kick: