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Tax filings show CAPSLO does not report sales of donated goods

May 6, 2013
Dee Torres

Dee Torres

By DANIEL BLACKBURN, KAREN VELIE and JOSH FRIEDMAN

They’re small items: razors, socks, sometimes tampons. Community Action Partners of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) sells those goods, donated by local and national businesses, to the homeless people it serves, current and former employees say. But CAPSLO hasn’t accounted for those sales, either internally, or on its federal tax returns.

CAPSLO and a fund raising affiliate, Friends of the Prado Day Center, report on tax returns that the nonprofits do not sell donated items. And while nonprofits are required to collect sales tax on sold items, sources say and documents show that CAPSLO’s homeless services does not make the collections.

It is the latest question to be raised about reporting requirements for CAPSLO and its supporting nonprofits under California law.

Friends of Prado seeks to raise money to help pay for CAPSLO’s homeless services employees, according to its 2010 tax return. That return was obtained following numerous requests by CalCoastNews to view the document and the nonprofit’s mission statement. Friends of Prado refused to provide the nonprofit’s mission statement for more than a month even though federal tax rules require that the statement be available for review by anyone.

Friends of Prado attorney Ty Green, with Adamski Moroski Madden Cumberland & Green, sent an email saying other than the tax forms the nonprofit is required by law to provide to the public, Friends of Prado would not be opening its books to the public.

The charitable trust doctrine requires that a gift to a charitable organization must only be used for the expressly declared charitable purposes. The restriction applies regardless of whether the donor expressly imposed the restriction or the organizations transfers those assets or dissolves.

But Friends of Prado does not list on its tax return expenses for items purchased for children through the Dambly Children’s Fund, a fundraising arm of the nonprofit operated by local philanthropist Burke Dambly and CAPSLO Homeless Services Director Dee Torres that claims to have one purpose, to buy clothing and school supplies for homeless children. It works under Friends of Prado’s nonprofit tax exemption.

Friends of Prado Board members have not responded to questions about accounting for donated gift cards and money to the Dambly Children’s Fund and instead asked that all questions be forwarded to their attorney — who said no questions would be answered.

Shortly before publication of this report, Dambly agreed to provide an accounting of the Children’s Fund to CalCoastNews. He also said he plans to shift the fund into a foundation “sometime this year.”

In 2008, CAPSLO commissioned a “written assessment” of homeless services conducted by an independent consulting firm. The finished document, according to the 2009 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury, “described serious deficiencies in each of three homeless services programs: case management; the Prado Day Center; and the Maxine Lewis Shelter” — for all practical purposes, the entire homeless program under Torres.

“The assessment was not distributed externally, not to CAPSLO’s governing board, nor to county or city government officials who provide substantial grants to the nonprofit for homeless services,” the Grand Jury reported.

In the minutes of the Oct. 28, 2010, CAPSLO Board of Directors meeting, former board member Jim Patterson asked why in-kind services were not reported in the audit. CAPSLO’s Finance Director Joan Limov said she had spoken to the Friends of Prado Board who agreed to begin recording in-kind donations as required by law. However, both Friends of Prado and CAPSLO do not account for donated items on their tax returns.

A CalCoastNews series has examined questionable case management practices, a lack of fiscal accountability, and other administrative practices of Community Action Partners of San Luis Obispo and its homeless assistance program.

Now, prominent local attorney and longtime homeless services advocate James Duenow is stepping up his call for in-depth performance and forensic audits of CAPSLO.

A probe “absolutely needs to be done by an independent auditor, a specialist,” Duenow said.

As part of its homeless program, CAPSLO operates two facilities providing aid to needy individuals – the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter and the Prado Day Center, the latter being the city’s only day service center.

CAPSLO regularly highlights its alleged success stories; tales that several former employees say are often constructed and accompanied with staged photos. Several homeless sources say they have agreed to be photographed in exchange for gift cards.

In a 2008 email from Lillian Judd, CAPSLO’s director of planning and development, to CAPSLO’s David Lichti, Judd asks Lichti to take some pictures to accompany photos of a man with his children for a homeless services’ success story.

“Perhaps you will find a place that has trash, toilet paper and such strewn around to more accurately display the stark reality of living outdoors,” Judd says in the email. “Or, if necessary, stage it for the photo and then clean it up. The other photo could be a hand pushing open a door that gives a look into a comfy apartment. You are setting the stage to deliver the message that no one has to live like this, and now he is not.”

The wealthy nonprofit has resisted an in-depth, outside audit of its spending and accounting practices despite testimony of numerous former and current employees, clients, donors and others who have alleged financial improprieties. Some of those assertions center around Torres, who reportedly fails to routinely properly account for certain kinds of cash, in-kind and product donations, and has been accused by former employees and ex-boyfriends of appropriating homeless resources for her personal use.

CAPSLO’s public response to the allegations to date has been to hire a prominent international law firm to threaten CalCoastNews sources and to launch a marketing campaign complete with newspaper inserts and promotion videos.

CAPSLO’s moves were not well thought out, Duenow said.

“The biggest mistake they made was to hire that lawyer, and the dumbest thing he did was to serve that letter on people. But what really bothers me,” Duenow said, “is that when this lawyer was hired, he had to have been given instruction from them. They are using taxpayers’ money to hire these guys, and this is a big law firm with offices all over the world. They don’t work cheap.”

In January, newly elected San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold took a seat on CAPSLO’s Board of Directors and in February asked the board to approve an extensive outside audit. Her fellow board members rebuffed her request and elected instead to send letters to officials of the city and county of San Luis Obispo, asking both agencies to audit CAPSLO’s financials.

Both entities rejected CAPSLO’s request.

The problem with the audit request was that it would have been based on documentation provided by CAPSLO, Duenow said.

“It doesn’t do much good to just look at their books, because they produce the books. It has to be done by an independent person or group,” Duenow said. “It needs to be a good performance audit.”

Performance audits focus on complete examinations of operations, management systems and procedures of a nonprofit entity.

CAPSLO Chief Operating Officer Jim Famalette did not respond to questions on why the organization has not conducted a performance audit.

“It is important that these groups be transparent,” said attorney Duenow, who has devoted four decades to volunteer community homeless service.

Duenow is concerned about the future of a proposed county homeless center that CAPSLO wants to build, he said.

“There is something here that doesn’t smell right,” he said. “And the new homeless center is just dead in the water until CAPSLO settles this.”

Duenow has discussed CAPSLO with a number of large donors, he said.

“I talk to them all the time, they say they’re not going to give CAPSLO a penny more until there is transparency,” he said. “I hope this all gets straightened out. We need CAPSLO, we really do. Who else is going to do it?”

 


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Thanks for the URL, TAB.


This was their 2010 mission statement for this form, in response to a form entry, “Briefly describe the organization’s mission or most significant activities:


‘In a commitment to eliminate the causes of poverty, the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc aims to empower individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency and lf-determination through a comprehensive array of community-based programs.‘ ”


This “mission statement” is complete bulls&it. While that may have been a goal at one time, in practice, under the management of homeless outreach services director Dee Torres (and thanks to the ball-less oversight of the BOD), the reality is the CAPSLO program actually does its best to keep their homeless clients homeless.


Under Torres’ leadership, she has instituted nit-picky rules with draconian consequences. She has also greatly limited the hours of the day by which CAPSLO’s homeless clients can actually access CAPSLO’s offices. For these nit-picky rules, including being in the offices one minute past the one 30-minutes a day time period that all the clients are allowed to seek help, the homeless clients’ access to CAPSLO’s services and premises is suspended for 30 days!


Clearly, this translates to more homeless clients on the streets.


Meanwhile, CAPSLO charges their clients a large portion of their SS income, and fail to deliver needed services to their homeless clients.


Apparently, CAPSLO is under investigation my multiple authorities, and is wasting CAPSLO’s funds on aggressively attempting to apply pressure to the witnesses whose testimony is important for the investigation.


CAPSLO’s actual performance is pretty much 180-degrees from their mission statement. Obviously, the mission statement is a giant CAPSLO joke on its donors. I wonder how much longer their donors will be willing to be played the fool by Torres, Biz Steinberg, the BOD, and their toadies on the SLOCo Board of Supervisors.


0

OMgosh, That is their Mission?? How in the world did they get SO off base of the goal? Their mission statement is actually laughable considering what it really going on! I wonder if Dee even knows what it is. So Sad, I would like to see these “programs” to help the homeless be self sufficient.


CAPSLO – How about putting the $$ where your Mission is, instead of banning people with intimidation tactics? How about focusing on Fixing the problems instead of covering them? How about replacing misguided staff instead of protecting their misappropriations? How about being transparent instead of acting as though you are a “private company”? How about gaining TRUST in the community instead of threatening anyone who questions your actions?


0

It’s interesting that the word homeless / homelessness DOES NOT appear anywhere in the mission statement. No doubt this was done by design considering the stigma attached, especially here in this county.

Rather, the mission statement focuses on what’s needed to acquired “approved funding” for their so called NON-PROFIT status.

I believe there is probably enough evidence for the Grand Jury to look into the operations of this publicly funded agency…without question.


0

My guess is that Mission Statement is for CAPSLO and all the agencies that are under the CAPSLO Organization. I’m sure each program has a mission statement that applies specifically to individual programs, if not, they should!


0

You’re so right, MaryM,


Since Torres left Prado and Shawn Isom took the helm, staff at Prado began closing the Day Center early to hold meetings, barring further use of the facility in the afternoon.


This imperils people’s plans to do their laundry, use the telephone to make appointments or contact employers, take showers, meet with their case managers, etc.


To my knowledge they still do. Prior to this time the Day Center was always open until closing time. This is a poor example of empowering the homeless.


It’s so sad for the homeless who come here and get entangled unknowingly in this mess. Someone has to come forward and unleash them from their high hopes here and help them move on. Case Managed people need to get their money back and go to just about any other town. At least separate People’s Kitchen so every single person can eat.


This place is such a scam with CAPSLO at the helm.


0

freshair: Don’t think for one moment that Shawn Ison is not involved in all this fiasco. She is Dee Torres’s right hand man. They are both so deep in this sh&t it ain’t funny anymore!!! Without each other “scratching each other’s back” the homeless situation wouldn’t be so dire. They both have used homeless clients to do their dirty working in and out of the day center and night shelter!!! I cannot disclose at this time, as you know, this is a waiting game!! It is a cat and mouse show for now. The truth will be totally disclosed, not only does Dee, Shawn, Mr. Hill and CAPSLO lawyered up, but the calvary is here!!!!! Remember, things done in darkness ALWAYS comes to the LIGHT!!!!! Dee knows about this, don’t you!!!!!


0

Closing the Prado Day Center before 4:30 is an outraged. Put yourself in a homeless client’s position. They have no car, are told by “other agencies” to go to Prado and the client finally gets there, pffft, day center is closed. Now imagine this homeless client with just one small baby, let alone with multiple children, and now she is out at Prado at let’s say 4:00 and center is closed. What is she supposed to do, Prado is closed, the women can’t work to get herself a bus token, can’t shower, can’t get a dried up old stay bread to eat, can’t use the phone to call anyone to pick her and her child up from the closed facility. Now she has to walk from Prado to South Street to Broad Street all the way to Laurel Lane and she finally arrives at Maxine Lewis Night Shelter with child(ren) in tow and guess what? they have no more room for her at the overflow???? Sorry, lady you are out of luck, no motel voucher is given this women, no bus tokens, and no food or shower for her or her child(ren). Listen folks, this happens on a regular basis!!!!! Let the truth be known!!!! Not even a blanket or sleeping bag is given out, because it is not MLM’s problem???? What is wrong with this picture????


0

The tax mans taken all our dough,

And left us with this homeless show

Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

And we can’t sail our yacht,

Hes taken everything CAPSLO’s got,

All we’ve gots this sunny afternoon.


Save us, save us, save us from this squeeze.

We’ve got the homeless want’n stuff for free

And we love to live so pleasantly,

Live this life of luxury,

Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

In the summertime

In the summertime

In the summertime


Donated stuff we don’t report

Hope we don’t wind up in court

Telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.

Now we’re sitting here,

Sipping at our ice cold beer,

Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

In the summertime

In the summertime

In the summertime


0

Bad poetry won’t make your politically motivated attacks on CAPSLO any more credible.


0

Actually, those are the lyrics (in part) from a million seller song by the Kinks. So take your credibility issue elsewhere, while you desperately try and deal with with reality..


0

It’s time to take a serious look at the Dan DeVaul property as the county’s only hope of providing homeless services. CAPSLO will be history when a full report from investigators is released.


0

I’m not sure if I missed anyone else pointing this out in the thread going here, but apparently CAPSLO is not following the rules and law put forth by the Board of Equalization of the State of California; I have a “resale” permit which allows me to purchase certain goods at wholesale pricing and I do not pay sales tax on those wholesale purchases, but I am required to collect, keep track of, report and pay to the State of California the sales tax I collect in the name of the State. The goods that CAPSLO is selling are “taxable goods”, therefore sales tax should be collected on the sales of those goods. It doesn’t matter if the items are donated or purchased with the intention to resale, the fact that they are being sold means that sales tax by law should be collected.

There appears to be two solutions here: CAPSLO needs to obtain a resale permit that allows them to collect sales tax for all taxable goods that they sell, which would require keeping track of each and every sale, that amount that was paid in goods, the amount that was collected in sales tax, reporting those figures to the BOE and paying to the State the amount that is collected – OR, the goods that are donated to CAPSLO to be given to the homeless should be just that, “given”, as in, for free, no charge, here you go, you’re very welcome, etc., etc., . If CAPSLO does not stop charging for these donated goods, they need to be reported to the Board of Equalization and be held accountable for their actions. They are currently breaking the law, if the reporting of donated items being sold to the homeless is correct.


0

I totally see what you’re saying, and I agree. However, one of my concerns when I heard they were “charging” nominal fees for the items was that it was done in order to avoid people stocking up and creating a black market economy with them. Things need to have value to people, or else they are taken for granted and wasted or abused. I understand this is not the legal tax code, but sometimes there needs to be measures in place for this. It can even be regulated, i.e. nothing more than 5- or 10-cents, say. It’s not a terribly large “slush fund” and even having a slush fund is risky, but I do not know if I want goods such as razors and soap, etc. to be given freely completely. It’s a hard line. I understand “it was donated, earmarked, etc. so pass it through” but I also know that dealing with homeless is never easy, and requires finesse.


0

I was told by an employee of Walmart that it is AGAINST Walmart policy for any group receiving donations to sell those items for any amount! Items donated are to be given to the people the programs receiving them serve! They could lose all future donations from Walmart if Walmart were to find out this is happening! I was also told Walmart donates large amounts of items to the homeless, socks, underwear, tshirts, toiletries, and various items. I don’t think the money they get for these items are worth the risk of no longer receiving donations. Come on CAPSLO, open your eyes, Torres is doing nothing that makes your program look good to the public! Kick her to the curb and start fresh! This program is needed but she is running it into the ground!!


0

Well! If an employee from Walmart said it, it has to be Gospel! That is a pretty reputable source for this site. Right up there with a wronged homeless man, a disgruntled former employee, and a male cop forced to see females breasts (gasp!) in his hot tub!


0

Slomike, your name is certainly fitting! You would have to be an idiot to not believe an employee who works in claims has no knowledge of the donation policies! Sorry if I didn’t put it in terms simple enough for your brain to comprehend? ( guess I should write understand) call the store and ask for yourself! It’s easy information to get! As for the wronged homeless man, why wouldn’t he be a reliable source? He’s the one that suffered at the hands of Torres and family ties, the disgruntled employees, as you call them, I guess you know them personally to know that’s the reason, and finally, the cop seeing female breasts, sounds like your jelouse! That story is over and done with, yet you need to bring it up?


0

r0y, There is no need to charge anything for donated items. The solution is to ration the items according to reasonable needs. One bar of soap per person per week etc. All it takes is a check list.


It was mentioned in a previous story that it is actually CAPSLO that is doing the stock piling and when the storage shed is full, Dee orders it cleaned out by throwing away excess donated items rather than giving them away. This is absolutely unacceptable careless behavior on the part of CAPSLO management.


0

So roy you would be upset if there was a black market for diapers, plastic ware and razors among the homeless. Roy they are homeless did you get that email ? So you are upset that free soap is being given to homeless folks who might stockpile it and sell it. Instead you are OK with the CAPSLO folks pocketing the money from items donated to the homeless. The items are donated so they can be used, free of charge, by the people in need. What part of that don’t you get. Our officials are stealing money from the homeless and sending the cops after those that refuse to join CAPSLO. John Ashbaugh and the others want them in CAPSLO so they can steal their money and justify the existance of CAPSLO and the huge salaries they get from the 60 million in taxpayer dollars they receive. Roy you have not grasped the big picture here. I know its hard to believe that Biz and Hill and Gibson and Ashbaugh and Torres are really the filthy scum they would be if all this were true, but it appears to be true…..


Please try to think past the homeless that might black market diapers


0

CAPSLO can’t win for losing with you folks. First you say they’re ripping off then homeless. Then you say they should make the homeless pay sales tax! This whole attack on CAPSLO is a joke.


0

I, for one, am not, did not suggest that CAPSLO charge the homeless sales tax; what I pointed out is that in the state of California, if you engage in the selling of taxable merchandise on a regular basis, you need to have a “sellers permit” issued by the Board of Equalization. It does NOT appear that CAPSLO has that required permit, so they are violating the law, period. The items they are selling are items that have been donated with the intention that they be GIVEN to the homeless, the people in need, those who nothing or very little.

What I am pointing out is that in addition to going against the wishes of those who are donating goods to CAPSLO to help the homeless, CAPSLO is also in violation of the law; not “skirting it”, not simply “ignoring” it – THEY ARE WILLFULLY BREAKING THE LETTER AND THE INTENTION OF THE LAW, period.

Should CAPSLO charge the homeless sales tax? Of course not, but they shouldn’t be charging the homeless for items that are donated to them either.

“CAPSLO can’t win for losing with you folks.” Yes, they can; hire an outside auditor, ferret out anything anywhere done by any and every employee or staff member or manager and if what is being done is illegal, fire that person, NOW. If an audit finds that there are rules, guidelines and/or laws being broken, have the person responsible held accountable. At this time, all the public is being told is that “everything is fine, nothing to see here, no laws being broken here, business as usual”- and we want answers, not vapid, placating assurances that everything is “fine”. Those of you who want to believe that CCN is somehow “making stuff up” with regards to the series concerning CAPSLO need to get your head out of your neither regions and wake up; something doesn’t “smell right” about all of the allegations. Either prove that the CCN stories are false or get out of the way of the truth; those of us with our eyes open do not want anyone trying to pull the wool over us now that we have seen these reports here on CCN; we want the entire story out in the public realm and anyone who is violating the law to be held accountable for their actions.


0

I have a feeling that some of the big wigs at CAPSLO will be wearing Diapers when it all goes down, it will all be exposed, just a matter of time


0

If the only way you can make a point is by twisting the truth beyond recognition, creating a strawman argument, then your point is fallacious from the very start.


0

I am not Adam Hill. I am also surprised such offensive comments are not only allowed on this site, but so many CCN readers approve.


0

So you find it offensive that you were referred to as Adam Hill? Oh that must be bad!


0

CAPSLO Monopolizes the Hungry


CAPSLO uses the Prado Day Center to lure homeless hungry homeless people to be a daily number for them, meaning $$.


The group of the most charitable souls of our community known as People’s Kitchen should relocate itself away from serving at the Prado facility so that everyone can have an opportunity to eat a hearty lunch every day.


Assinine suspensions served to clients bar them from having a hearty lunch as well, from a group whose motto is to feed ALL who are hungry: “To provide A Hot Meal Everyday To Whoever

Wants it And Offer it With Justice and Love.”


0

Amen


0

How much more can the public take of this governmental crap and how much more of this type of arrogant behavior will the public tolerate? Maybe the Board of Sups should take some decisive action to make this public arrogance & lack of public compassion go away, and SOON!


0

I doubt Adam Hill can get behind that. Nor Gibson, as he seems to be following the Hill spiral.


Who needs to get out in front of this issue is Debbie Arnold. She’s new, and not beholden to the machine. She’s on the CAPSLO board. She doesn’t shy away from a fight. She seems like she’s looking for something to make her mark with.


0

What you really mean is: “The BOS or The Tribune or The New Times or the DA better do something soon or this whole story will simply look like a CCN witchhunt.”


I mean, come on Tribune. Where are the headlines like “CAPSLO doesn’t charge homeless folks sales tax on toiletries?? I’m outraged!!!


0

Maybe this will penetrate your understanding: when you go to a restaurant, and the restrooms are filthy, do you not suspect that the kitchen and food storage areas may also be unhealthy? I mean, if the mindset is there for the little things, what is it for the medium and larger things? All anyone has asked is that someone look into it, especially when they lawyer up and threaten the people saying something doesn’t smell right.


0

Stolen? Typical outrageous charge without proof. And what’s wrong with these folks getting used to paying for things? You know, actually buying stuff instead of begging or intimidating people for money. I believe purchasing items helps restore a little sense of pride that can help some homeless folks get back on track.


0

And where is the pride for someone needing a tampon and not having the money to purchase them! You really think having someone bleed all over themselves because they can’t buy enough tampons to last the day or the week is going to feel a sense of pride? Get real you want to instill a sense of pride, help them get a job or a place to live! Without income, where do you think that money comes from? Begging on the streets, what another great way to feel pride! Take that silver spoon out if your mouth so you don’t choke!


0

Galaxy – You keep ignoring the fact that the majority of homeless already DO pay! CAPSLO Demands their SSI checks! So they are already being paid for their services. Turning around and then charging them again for stupid items is outrages when they have Already been paid for providing services. PLUS where is the accountability of the money collected?

IF CAPSLO/Family Ties would “properly” handle the SSI $, then these people would have NO need to Beg for money!


0

Roy Ogden is the lawyer for Keller and Williams.. Tribunes biggest ad is Keller and Williams.. Roy Ogden is the most unethical lawyer who is dirty and is under water from what I have been told and may want to see the likes of his kind gone.There are many good families that are well known such as the mankins who want to see this group gone… Chamber of Commerce protects thier crooks.. They are band together and protect non disclosures made to seniors and to most who do not have millions and lawyers at thier becking call. This area is known for scams and defrauding seniors. My mother was one of them.. Builders even paid Cassandra Sasso to keep Ocean oaks non disclosure from agents Kate Carson and Tamara Burns.This is 5 years and Arroyo Grande Police showed up in the board of realtors.helping Roy Ogden use an illness so they refused to sell her condo.my mother was so defrauded by this county we had to send all complaints to DA in Santa Barbara Jennifer Glimp to make sure they got to DA Shea as this San Luis Department would not reply..One big can of worms will open up so as this DA Shea needs to get out of this county along with Hill.. and even Luis Capps.. Helped cover up.. I have seen Dee Torries hand over thousands to Jeromy Bonds es priest and who knows where that came from.This county needs a over haul.. Badly or a huge case will befall on this corrupt Police departments we have. Grover beach is so bad.. it stinks..All in bed with each other..


0

Do you have a better word to use instead of witchhunt! We heard you the first hundred times! Im outraged!


0

toobleak,


I don’t blame you for being outraged about the term “witch hunt” since it ties together with the Christians burning witches at the Salem witch trials!


But, they were just being good Christians and following the bible like they should.


“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” (Leviticus 20:27)


“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22:18)


0

Fraudulent handling of taxable income is what brought down Al Capone. It can happen to CAPSLO and Family Ties, as well.


0

CCN claims that “Friends of Prado refused to provide the nonprofit’s mission statement for more than a month even though federal tax rules require that the statement be available for review by anyone.”


Doesn’t anyone at CCN know about the internet and Google??? The Friends of Prado’s mission statement is prominently posted on both the homepage of their Website and their Facebook info page. This meets the IRS’s requirement that it be variable to the public. Anyone who knows how to use a computer can read it at either http://www.pradodaycenter.org or at https://www.facebook.com/PradoDayCenter/info.


Did CCN really want the mission statement, or did they just want to harass this total volunteer organization?


0

Drat on Spellcheck!


That’s “This meets the IRS’s requirement that it be AVAILABLE to the public.”


0

If one feels a need to rely on spellcheck one would be well advised to revisit “English 101” and

learn how to check one’s own spelling.


0

“Not a memo, a mission statement.” Jerry Maguire


0

I realize your confusion, just because a webpage or facebook says “our mission” is not the same as the IRS’ submitted nonprofit mission statement. Web pages can be changed on a whim, the other can not be changed.


Homer knows that too, but won’t let facts get in his way because he is on a mission to cast aspersions.


0

Just because someone says something with authority does necessarily mean that they know what they are talking about.


IRS Form 1023, the application for tax exempt status, does not include the term “mission statement” even once. Read the form. IRS Pub 557, which discusses the rules and procedures for seeking tax exempt status, also totally fails to include the term “mission statement.” You should read this publication, as well.


If the IRS does not ask for an organization’s Mission Statement before they grant tax exempt status, why do you claim that it cannot be changed?


IRS Form 990 does ask tax exempt organizations to “Briefly describe the organization’s mission.” It also asks if there ave been significant changes in their program services. Does this sound like changes in the mission statement are verboten?


0

The 1023 is required to provide the nonprofits activities and operational information, which means the group’s goals and mission. The 1023 says it is to provide services to the homeless people of San Luis Obispo County.


On its tax return, Friends of Prado say its Mission is to pay salaries for homeless services employees. The tax return says the 1023 is available for viewing, as required by law, at the nonprofit’s accountant’s office. The accountant said she did not have the document as stated.


0

So are you saying Face Book isn’t the gospel?


0

Also for a nonprofit to supply the required mission statement in response to a request, it requires the very hard copy machine and pressing a button. Oh so hard those legal and ethical requirements.


Unless someone is operating outside of the mission for some reason and need to hide it.


0

CAPSLO is HARDLY “total volunteer”. Who does “unlisted” think it’s kidding?


0

But Friends of Prado is! Their name is in the first line of my post.


I’m obviously trying to fool folks with the reading comprehension of a 3rd grader.


Talk about irony, man.


0

pffft


0

I just LOVED this part of the article (paragraphs 18 and 19, which starts with: In a 2008 email from Lillian Judd, CAPSLO’s director of planning and development, to CAPSLO’s David Lichti…


Judd actually tells Lichti how to stage the photo! And she wants it to be staged so that it inaccurately reflects the reality of what it is like to be a homeless client of CAPSLO.


Paragraph 19: “Perhaps you will find a place that has trash, toilet paper and such strew around to more accurately display the stark reality of living outdoors,” Judd says in the email. “Or, if necessary, stage it for the photo and then clean it up. The other photo could be a hand pushing open a door that gives a look into a comfy apartment. You are setting the stage to deliver the message that no one has to live like this, and now he is not.”


Considering how Torres’ draconian punishments for a client violating one of their “mother-may-I” nit-picking rules, there must actually be MORE homeless people on the streets because CAPSLO makes it unreasonably difficult for CAPSLO’s “clients” to actually be placed in a residence.


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Let’s try again. Perhaps since MM brought up the Lillian Judd angle, I won’t get deleted this time. Here’s my previous post. I read the story several times, but still don’t get what the email from Judd has to do with this story, other than to somehow make CAPSLO look bad. I wonder what Lillian Judd has to say. Here’s some additional information about Lillian Judd, courtesy of Cuesta College naming her a Woman of Distinction in 2009:

“Community and Public Service Award, Professional: Lillian Judd has worked in the local nonprofit community for almost two decades. She spent five years working as the United Way of San Luis Obispo’s operations officer and 13 years with the Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC) of San Luis Obispo. For more than a decade, Judd has served in her “dream job” as the director of planning and program development for the EOC. She also volunteers her time to serve on a variety of local boards, including the Emergency Food and Shelter Board, ACTION for Healthy Communities, and the San Luis Obispo Supportive Housing Consortium.”


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Really?

““Or, if necessary, stage it for the photo and then clean it up.”

“You are setting the stage to deliver the message”


When real homeless camps exist, they manufacture one to help garner support and grants.


But homer how come you are not on the other web sites reporting on the capslo issue, calling them out for their lack of facts? The incorrect statements? Not reporting on statements?


Why? Because it is about you and capslo, not ethics and journalism. So who do you know who works at capslo? Your wife or husband? You?


Homer doth protests too much, hiding behind the mask of a fool.


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I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times: These allegations may all be true. I have no idea. But please explain to me how an email sent 5 years ago that apparently suggests Lillian Judd had some P.R. training has anything to do w/ a 2013 story headlined, “Tax filings show CAPSLO does not report sales of donated goods”?


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It is part of the big picture.


Easy to miss if one focuses on the tiny bits.


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I think to nitpick the HEADLINE on a story is pretty small. I mean, sure, there’s nothing relating the e-mail or staging of a photo to the HEADLINE. So, if I were a typical low-information person that cannot get past a headline, I might agree.


Unfortunately for you, most of the people here actually read the WHOLE STORY. I’ve had issues with CCN’s headline selection in the past, but it’s just a headline; misleading, poorly worded or chosen, etc. it is still just the headline. Delve into the meat of the story and then ask what the e-mail/staged photo has to do with it… everything. It begins to establish a precedence of behavior. Add a few more findings, and a pattern will emerge. Once you have a pattern, the trend becomes clear even to those who doubt and question the whole premise and initial allegations.


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Homer, Kelly Gearhart was Atown’s Citizen of the Year and look how proud the City is of him now! The Woman of Distinction award she received, while well intended, does not reflect true character, now does it?

You probably won’t “get it” still.


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It’s like bragging about a PhD. in education… fat lot of good that’s done us, as a society.


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So Homer thinks that because Lillian was “Woman of Distinction in 2009” she could is w/out question. Remember, so was Dee Torres and look at her record. Cuesta needs to do a better job selecting their outstanding women!


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I think I’ll write a letter to Cuesta College asking them which of their classes taught students how to pimp homeless people to get an inaccurate photo that will sell to contributors.


If this is the kind of behavior Cuesta believes is suitable for being named Woman of Distinction 2009, then Cuesta should re-think even having such an award. Are all the women of distinction as profoundly and heartlessly devoid of morals and ethics as Lillian Judd? Victimizing the homeless who are struggling to survive, and who are made victims by CAPSLO and Torres’ petty rules?


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Thanks to CCN for continuing to investigate this story. It’s troubling that they’re the only ones, though. Why won’t the Fibune look into this? Where’s New Times or KSBY? Could it be because Dee Torres is engaged to their darling Adam Hill? The bias is obvious.


This shouldn’t be a matter of Right or Left; it’s taxpayer dollars getting squandered on attorney’s fees and donated goods and gift cards getting SOLD with no accounting of the profits. If someone from the Right were involved–say Debbie Arnold, Frank Mecham, etc–then would the Fibune care?


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Investigate this story? When someone spends time searching through tax returns to find wrongdoing, they are “searching” for a story, not reporting one.


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Yes it’s called investigative journalism. That’s what we expect when it comes to bureaucrats who aren’t transparent in the matter of taxpayer’s money.


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Great user name you sound like space cadet with not much logic, if there is nothing to hide why are they spending tax paying $$$ to hire hit man attorneys, and threaten people? Lets see an OUTSIDE investigation of the operations and income and spending, where there’s smoke there’s fire?


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I agree not to mention that the story about the sale of donated items ran a month ago. The tax return search was to prove that the income wasn’t being reported, it wasn’t done the other way around. Galaxy probably wasn’t on the planet at the time that the original story behind this story was reported by CCN.


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That’s actually possible. I get around.


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“Galaxy probably wasn’t on the planet at the time..”


Love it, Cindy! How evident. People have a lot of catching up to do before making any remarks.


I’m so thankful to CCN for this long awaited exposure of CAPSLO’s strong grip of the homeless.


The homeless finally have a voice, although online. They also can voice their frustrations by phone from 6-7 each weekday on the Dave Congleton Radio Show on KVEC AM 920.


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Sometimes I wonder if you are a plant from CCN to drum up and increase the comment section. I probably trust CCN too much at this point to believe this, but if I was a stranger looking in, it would be a great business tactic to “keep the debate hot” by hiring a troll. Or you can simply be a really bad troll… which is a good troll, I suppose. Either way, congratulations!


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Bottom line, there should be no concern if someone searches records, the concern comes when they find the records aren’t aren’t accurate!


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