SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010
KLMNO
EZ SU
The Nation Feed the Children charity is dealing with a host of problems BY DAVID B. CARUSO After a visit to Haiti in 1979,
Larry Jones, a traveling preacher from Oklahoma, was inspired to create the nonprofit Feed the Children. As it grew to become one of the world’s largest chari- ties, the organization became known for Jones’s televised pleas for donations, which invariably featured a hungry child with sad eyes. But now Jones has been fired
from the charity and is in a legal fight to get his job back. And the $1 billion organization is striving to push forward amid lawsuits, a state attorney general’s investiga- tion and watchdog groups warn- ing people not to give itmoney. The charity fired Jones in No-
vember 2009 after learning he secretly had “bugging” devices installed in executives’ offices. Its board claims he also accepted tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from charity vendors, operated the organization with littleornooversightandmisspent charity funds, including giving himand hiswife secret raises. Jones, who was paid about
$235,000 as president, has ac- knowledged placing listening de- vices in agency offices. But he contends he didn’t do anything wrong andthathewas firedout of “personal malice and spite” by a boardofdirectorseager toexpand its power. The allegations against Jones,
which emerged in court filings, prompted the state attorney gen- eral’s office to launch a massive investigation into Feed the Chil- dren, said Assistant Attorney General Julie Bays. “This is a charity that, no mat-
terwhat the personalities are, has always done good work,” said Bays. “Whether or not they did it efficiently or not, or whether there was some wrongdoing, that’s still up in the air.” For its part, the charity ismov-
ing onwithout Jones. Board Chairman Rick England
said board members removed Jones because they thought itwas
at Macy's, whereitall comes together
the best for the organization and are searching for a new leader. The nonprofit plans to continue itsmission of helping underprivi- leged children, he said. The board has hired a New
York-basedcharities expert,attor- ney Seth Perlman, to help itmove forward without its charismatic leader. Perlman said that in some re-
spects the situation is not uncom- mon in the philanthropy commu- nity.
The founders of Mothers
AgainstDrunkDriving andHabi- tat for Humanity each had tense departures fromtheagencies they founded. Perlman said, however, that the split between Jones and Feed the Children is the most acrimonious he’s seen in his 25 years of work in philanthropy litigation. “It’s not that Feed the Children
lost its way, but it became too founder-focused,” he said. “And the founder, once you’ve been
running an organization for de- cades, you begin to think you own it and can dowhat youwantwith it.”
Perlman said the charity has
since adopted reforms that re- quire the board to approve all the organization’s operations. There’s also new conflict-of-in-
terest procedures and policies and a system to protect whistle- blowerswho reportwrongdoing. But the conflict between the charity and its founder is leading
to a perception problem for Feed the Children. The Better Business Bureau has issued warnings to potential donors about problems at the charity. The American Institute of Phi-
lanthropy, a charity watchdog, this year gave Feed the Children its “Most Outrageous Charity Award.” President Daniel Boro- choff said the charity has a long way to go to ease the concerns of potential donors. “I don’t think any other charity
of their size has had this much outrageous behavior,” Borochoff said, citing the lawsuits, firings and allegations against Jones. “If there wasn’t so much money in- volved and all the resources that are being wasted, it’s a comedy. It could be a soap opera.” Feed the Children officials pre-
dict a slight decline in revenue this year, which they attribute largely to the harsh economic cli- mate.
—Associated Press
A5
Obama blasts GOP holdup of Disclose Act
BY SCOTTWILSON For the second time in a
month, President Obama on Sat- urday used his weekly address to call on Senate Republicans to stop blocking legislation that would require companies, unions and other interest groups to explicitly identify themselves in any campaign advertising they fund. As the November election
nears, Obama has increasingly used his radio and Internet ad- dress to make a political state- ment, and his remarks Saturday echoed a theme he used in a campaign fundraising speech earlier in the week. He has repeatedly cast a Janu-
ary Supreme Court ruling that, for the first time, allows corpora- tions, unions and other organiza- tions to spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of candidates as a grave threat to fair elections during a critical midterm campaign season. The address drew an angry response from Republicans, who accused Obama of caring only about his party’s hold on Congress. “What’s at stake is not just an
election,” Obama said in the address. “It’s our democracy it- self.” Obama said that, since he took
office, Democrats have “fought back against the entrenched spe- cial interests, weakening their hold on the levers of power.” “A partisan minority in Con-
gress is hoping their defense of these special interests and the status quo will be rewarded with a flood of negative ads against their opponents,” Obama said. “It’s a power grab, pure and simple.” Congressional Democrats
have proposed legislation to tighten some of the disclosure requirements that the Supreme Court’s ruling loosened. But SenateDemocrats failed in
July to muster enough votes to bring the legislation, known as the Disclose Act, to a vote, with Republicans opposing the mea- sure as a bloc. Republican leaders have said
the Democrats are pushing the legislation only to preserve their majorities in the House and Sen- ate, and they criticized Obama for bringing up the issue when most Americans are concerned about the economy.
wilsons@washpost.com
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