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Advocacy Blog
Friday, March 30, 2007
Nonprofit Leaders Disappointed in Poor Oversight of Federal Grants
This article out of Fairbanks Alaska concerns a lack of federal oversight of money nonprofits obtain through earmarks. "Some [who work in nonprofits] add, though, that federal program officers don't, or can't, always watch closely. In addition, if the federal agency isn't involved in selecting the grantee, as occurs with earmarked funds, fundamental problems may escape the agency's notice, they say." A nonprofit in Fairbanks, LOVE Social Services, about $450,000 of a $2.9 million that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) earmarked for the group's after-school and tutoring program for personal and church expenses. The nonprofit leaders interviewed say rules for federal grants are strict, but federal oversight of compliance with those rules is not foolproof.
Leaders of several nonprofits who run their operations at least in part on federal grants say they are amazed and appalled that the alleged misuse of the LOVE Social Services money went undetected for so long. "When a nonprofit is highlighted like that, the rest of us cringe," said Coleen Turner, executive director of the Resource Center for Parents and Children
Posted by Amanda Adams
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