Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / May 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 4
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Nonprofits Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina Children in poverty Nearly 20 percent of North Carolina children under the age of 5 hve in poverty. May 1994 Sound investment Book’s proceeds help finance museum By David E. Brown Morehead City M any people in the fishing villages strung along U.S. 70 east of Beaufort can look at a duck decoy and tell you who carved it. It’s not so easy, how ever, to trace the histoiy of carvers who no longer are alive. The rich history of the Down East region — the boat builders and fish ermen and hunting guides and oth ers whose business it was to know the shallow waters and shifting sands of North Carolina’s coastal sounds and rivers — is dying with the people who made it. Jack Dudley Look for DUCK, page 5 Keeping a lookout Vigilance key to avoiding misuse of funds Incidents at two Charlotte nonprof its may prompt other organiza tions to review their accounting procedures. Experts say boards shouid be engaged and involved as stewards of their assets. By Bea Quirk Charlohe yi s the staff, board and vol- /\ unteers at the Charlotte- / I based Metrolina AIDS Project discovered, if somebody wants to embezzle funds from your nonprofit organization, there’s no way you can stop it. But they also discovered that a system of controls will enable you inevitably to catch up with the embezzler. “If you have a clever embezzler, any system of controls can be defeat ed,” says John Quillen, director of allocations for United Way of Central Carolinas. “That’s why even big businesses get embezzled.” Ward Simmons, a certified public accountant and past president and former treasurer of MAP, says that “if someone is hell bent on stealing, they will. “What you need is a system to bring it to your attention — and promptly. Our system brou^t it to our attention, but it wasn’t prompt ly.” Stephen O’Shields, MAP’s volun teer treasurer, has been charged with embezzling $118,000 from the non profit over a 13-month period begin ning in September 1992. He is also accused of embezzling funds from Hackberry Homeowners Association, of vdiich he also was treasurer. The existence of the missing money at MAP came to light in No vember because MAP followed one of the basic rules of every nonprofit: Have an independent audit conduct ed every year. “That outside audit is a real important control,” Simmons says. “The auditor started asking the trea ACCOUNTABILITY surer questions, and when the answers weren’t forthcoming over time, it was appar ent there was a problem.” MAP also had in place a system of financial controls that was annually reviewed by an outside auditor who identified areas of concern. “The best thing you can do is have a good intemEd accounting sys tem,” says Quillen. “If you don’t have one, you must have one. An auditor can help you set one up, and many will do it for nonprofits at a reduced rate.” And MAP followed the basic rule for financial controls with a dual-slg- natoe check system and segregation of duties. Two signatures — any combination of the executive direc tor’s, treasurer’s and president’s — were required for any checks written over $2,000. Monthly statements from the bank were sent to the trea surer for review as an oversight for the staff. “The person who signs checks shouldn’t reconcile the checkbook,” Quillen says. “Every financial trans fer that touches upon the organiza tion’s assets should include two peo ple, and the appropriate dociunenta- tion should be attached before the cheek is signed. “To give the staff flexibility in its day-to-day operations, most groups follow this procedure only for checks over a certain amount of money.” Quillen says, for example, that the threshold is $5,000 at the United Way, but that smaller groups may limit it at $500. “'This enables the staff to function without having to run down a volun teer every time a check has to be written.” At MAP, says Simmons, the sec ond signature allegedly was forged on the checks that were being used to embezzle funds, and those checks were deleted from the monthly bank statements to the bookkeepers. The bookkeepers were told that the miss- Look for EMBEZZLE, page 5 Southern hospitality Durham church volunteers shelter homeless families A group of Durham churches are the first in North Carolina to join a nationai Interfaith Hospitaiity Network that pro vides heip to homeless families. Since January, nine congrega tions in the Bull City have been offering shelter to needy fami lies. By Barbara Solow Durham yy decade ago, a chance meeting in Grand Central / 1 Station in New York City turned Karen Olson’s life around. She had passed a homeless woman every day on her commuting route. Then one day, a conversation with the woman dissolved the stereo types that Olson had kept in her mind. “I ran across the street to give her a sandwich and she took my hand,” Olson says. “We ended up talking for 20 minutes and I realized that this person that I had wanted to walk by so quickly was a human being who was hurting.” In 1988, Olson founded the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a national organization of 32 church networks m nine states that provide shelter to homeless families. In January, Durham became the first city in North Carolina to join the nation^ network, with nine congre gations acting as hosts to the home less. Similar networks are in the plan ning stages in Raleigh and Eayetteville. For one week at a time, host con gregations provide overni^t lodging, meals and transportation to home less families that are referred by police, hospitals, emergency shelters and social service agencies. During the day, children go to school, parents go to their jobs and those without employment are housed at day centers such as those at YMCAs. Participating families can stay in the network for a maximum of 45 days, after which time they will be referred to other agencies. People with communicable diseases or untreated substance-abuse problems are not eligible for the church pro gram. In Durham, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was the first to open its doors to homeless families. Other network members are: St. Phillip’s Episcopal, McMannen United Metho dist, Duke Memorial United Metho dist, Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Resurrection United Methodist, Epworth United Methodist, Trinity United Methodist and Glendale Heights United Methodist. Eleven other congregations are acting as support organizations, including Judea Reform synagogue and Holy Cross Catholic church. Jens Hemmingsen, a volunteer coordinator of the hospitality pro gram at St. Paul’s, says the network does a lot more than offer people shelter. “It also brings community aware ness of the homeless problem. Families stay in congregational buildings and interact with about 50 different volunteers each week. That brings a lot of exposure of the prob lem to the community and a better understandiug of what homelessness is like.” Alice Mooney, a church member who has been an overnight host for families staying at St. Paul’s, says barriers come down easily. “It wasn’t hard to break the ice. We started talking right away. The only thing that’s hard is knowing when to leave them alone and when Look for HOMELESS, page 19 Bill Rollins, left, and Jens Hemmingsen unload supplies tor the homeless. Photo by John Fletcher Jr. Hospice opens children's program Hospice of Woke Couniy has launched a nev^ program, "Reflections: A Caring Program for Children" that will provide specialized care for seriously ill children and their families. Children will meet in two groups: one for 8-to 10-year-olds and one tor 11 - to 13-year-olds. For details, call (919) 782-3959. Sierra Club reports on Tar Heel grov^h A report by the Sierra Club's North Carolina chapter says that urban sprawl is threat ening the state's natural resources. The 47-page report uses Raleigh as an example of how urban areas have spread, using up land, water and wildlife habitats. For a copy, coll (919) 286- 2141. United Way launches television talk show United Way of Wake County is launching a halt-hour talk show on Raleigh Cable Vision's Community Access Channel 10, beginning Wednesday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. The show, "Along the Way," will feature local experts discussing issues and proposing solutions to com munity problems. Arts council recertified The Arts Council of Winston- Salem and Forsyth County was recently recertified as a Grassroots Arts Program Local Distributing Agency through 1997 by the N.C. Carolina Arts Council. The council was also commend ed for the high percentage of people of color on its board. Teen health project launched Wake Teen Medical Services is launching the At Risk Ado lescent Health Care Project with a $91,000 grant from the state's Division of Mater nal and Child Health. Through the project, the organization will provide physical and mental health services to 600 teens who don't get regular health care. Correction In April, the Philanthropy Journal incorrectly identified Marc Rotterman, president of the John Locke Foundation, as a political consultant. Rotterman, a former political consultant, is a partner in Rotterman and Associates, a public relations consulting firm. The firm handles politi cal consulting, but he is not involved in that work.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 1, 1994, edition 1
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