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Thursday, August 9, 2007
Education Foundations: How Is Your Donation Being Spent?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Recent stories about Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis and his self-named educational foundation have really captured my interest.
Thanks to AJC reporter Cameron McWhirter’s recent articles, Willis is now being investigated by local, state and possibly federal authorities — the IRS won’t confirm or deny.
Officials are looking into a variety of issues, including whether Willis improperly used his office to promote the foundation and if he solicited donations under the false guise of a non-profit.
As Cameron reported, some of the recipients of the H. Lamar Willis Foundation were supposed to be Atlanta Public Schools students. But it’s unclear how many actually received the annual college scholarships the foundation touted.
There have been a couple of other stories lately about education foundations and how they’re using their funds. Of course, we already talked about how the University System of Georgia uses donations to pay for lobbying expenses. But did you see the article about the high school booster clubs hiring private investigators to tail student-athletes suspected of crossing district lines?
All of this news got me thinking: When you contribute to your school’s booster club, alumni association, PTA or local education foundation, do you know how your money is being spent?
UPDATE: According to the latest story on the H. Lamar Willis Foundation, some former scholarship winners say they either never received the promised financial aid or had to waits months before seeing their reward. This story just continues to amaze me.
