Who’s to Blame
Having read last month’s article (“A Trail of Deception”) and editorial commentary (“A Cover Up and Its Consequences”) I felt compelled as a former board member of the Patagonia Regional Community Foundation (PRCF) to respond with some facts.
In 2006, the Board of PRCF began discussions about how we could make a bigger impact with our grants. We started thinking about making strategic grants, ones that would be larger, more long term and make a significant difference. These would be grants that the board decided on, not the traditional competitive grants that nonprofits request from us. We realized that we were taking a bit of a risk but we felt the long term affect would be worth it.
We first looked at what we felt were the biggest needs. One of those needs was youth services. There just wasn’t enough for the youth to do out of school. One organization in the community that was focused on youth was the Community Coalition for Eastern Santa Cruz County (the Coalition). The PRCF board decided to give this nonprofit organization $10,000 in seed money to get started on a youth center. And as an affiliate of the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), the PRCF board reviewed our plans with ACF and received their complete support.
Over the years the Coalition went through some board membership changes. PRCF was patient with them in their efforts to address youth issues including the proposed youth center because it was so desperately needed. We believed that with this grant from PRCF the Coalition would have a meaningful impact on youth services.
It appears now that perhaps the PRCF Board was too patient. We really did want the money spent. But we were unaware of the internal issues going on within the coalition board. When we finally gave up on their promises to spend the money and requested it be returned to PRCF, it was gone.
If anyone is at fault in managing this money, it is the board of the coalition. This was not PRCF’s money, it was not ACF’s money, it was the coalition’s money. And one of the very basic premises of boards of directors for nonprofit organizations is the responsibility to manage their finances. Not only must boards periodically review their financial statements, they have a responsibility to their donors to properly manage the donations they receive. It was this board’s responsibility to ensure that moneys they received were properly managed. They failed.
And if there is a victim in all of this, it is the children and grandchildren of our community. That money was intended for them. It is very disappointing to me to know that after all this time, we have nothing for them.
— Susan Scott
Compassion for Jeffery Cooper
After reading the articles in PRT about Jeffrey Cooper, I am reminded that I must see Jeffrey as a fellow human being, who, like me, has lied, cheated, deceived and stolen. The difference being the actions were of such a degree that he got caught. He has erred and is suffering. I, too, suffer from my wrongdoings; whether I’m caught or not, this fact infects my life. When I realize my suffering and its cause, I must forgive myself in order to move on toward recovery— recovering myself. It is clear to me that the last thing I would need if I had separated myself by my actions is to be judged, condemned and punished by my community. If I wanted to make good my errors, to repair the damage to myself and others, I would need support in order to do so. By supporting Jeffrey, what would our community gain? Bringing forth the basic human qualities such as compassion and forgiveness, which are fundamental to our nature, we regain our human qualities. How could we as community support not only the good in this man but the good in this community?
— David Krest
