Audeamus
Not all that glitters is gold
Filed in archive Social Enterprise by Miche on June 16, 2007
Not all that glitters is gold
Gosh I love bureaucracies. All that pretty red tape is just so inspiring.

Here's the scenario. A faith-based non-profit gets the U.S. government to donate two Coast Guard cutters to support the non-profit's endeavors. Said non-profit provides heath care to the poor of Micronesia, but they end up hitting some financial choppy waters and sell the boats so their efforts can stay afloat. Nothing wrong with that right?

Wrong

"If they were not used in Micronesia, they were definitely not used in the spirit of the way this was written," Mr. Snepp said. The text of the earmark gave the government the right to reclaim the ships, he added. While that was perhaps unlikely, he continued: "They were supposed to retain the vessels in case the Coast Guard needed them back. The charity does not have the option to sell." - Source: New York Times article.

Oops. In addition, they didn't tell the Coast Guard of the sales, or accurately keep their books to back up the claims of poor finances. The non-profit did however also sell another boat they acquired privately. At least the entire fiasco doesn't smell fishy.

Stupidity: doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result

Before the Coast Guard found out their boats were sold - from the New York Times no less - the non-profit acquired $2 million in diabetes research funding from the Defense Department. Both of these arrangements were done with earmarks by the way, little sneaky add-ons to unrelated bills.

I don't quite know who to root for, but if the government wants to have any jurisdiction over this they might consider closing loopholes once in a while. Just a thought.


Permalink: Not all that glitters is gold
Tags: DoD  nonprofit  micronesia  healthcare  social  entrepreneurs  canvasback  Coast  Guard  development  social+e 
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