Hi, Kelly.   Thank you for your prompt response and explanation.  I can rest
easier now.

Ted Chittenden



>From: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Why Vicug's Are Important
>Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 22:32:48 -0500
>
>Ted,
>
>mark, Gregory, and me are the list owners.  the three of us were the
>founding members of the three largest vicug's in the United states.  If one
>were to re-read the manifesto we created in the 1990s when we established
>vicug-l, the intent of the list was to aid in the establishment of new
>vicugs and the further development of existing ones.  We also recognized
>the
>need to support those outside the big cities, where the vicugs were
>clustered.  In this respect, vicug-l served as an online vicug.  In recent
>years, vicug-l has mostly served as an online vicug, discussing many of the
>topics that arise during a typical vicug meeting.  this includes topics
>related to disability and technology as well as the emerging mainstream
>technologies.  discussion of issues related to community organizing,
>disability, policy, vicug structure, and the differences between vicugs and
>centers for independent living and large, nationally-based blindness
>organizations.
>
>I have considered Linn's concern.  vicug-l serves as more than a forum for
>adaptive technology news, tips,and tricks.  it fosters individual and
>community empowerment of blind persons through adaptive technology and
>promotes community-based institutions to enable individuals and communities
>to take charge of their lives and take back their community space seized by
>others.
>
>Ted, I hope this answers your questions.
>
>Kelly
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ted Chittenden" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 8:02 PM
>Subject: Re: Why Vicug's Are Important
>
>
> > Hi to all.
> >
> > This may get me thrown off of the list, but I would please like some
> > clarification.  Lynn Evans, are you now a list moderator.
> >
> > I ask this, because I know that at one time, Kelly Pierce (the subject
>of
> > the scolding below) was at one time moderating this list.  I also know
> > from
> > the response to a post I sent a couple of years back that Mark J. Senk
>is
> > also involved in moderating this list.
> >
> > I don't really have any objections if the rules of posting (or at least
> > the
> > enforcement of those rules) has been narrowed.  I am involved with
>another
> > list that has very narrow rules as to what can and cannot be posted.
> > However, on that list, it was made clear from the get-go who the
>moderator
> > was.  On this list, I have only heard secondhand, and many posts that I
> > and
> > others have posted in the past probably would be suspect under the
>ground
> > rules you quote below.  What's fair is fair.  Are you in any way
>involved
> > with moderating this list.  If so, I will keep any future posts
>(assuming
> > I
> > am not removed from the list) to the ground rules laid out below.
> >
> > Thank you in advance for your response to this inquiry (even if I am
> > pulled
> > from the list).
> >
> > Ted Chittenden
> >
> >
> >
> >>From: Lynn Evans <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Reply-To: Lynn Evans <[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: [log in to unmask]
> >>Subject: Re: Why Vicug's Are Important
> >>Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:52:14 -0400
> >>
> >>Hello Listers:
> >>
> >>Just a friendly reminder:  I would like to remind folks subscribed to
>the
> >>VISUALLY IMPAIRED COMPUTER USERS GROUP. your postings should be computer
> >>related.
> >>
> >>If you like to post about "vicus"? or NFB  please post to another list.
> >>
> >>
> >>----- Original Message -----
> >>From: "Peter Seymour" <[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 4:13 AM
> >>Subject: Re: Why Vicug's Are Important
> >>
> >>
> >>: And that Oregon funding article isn't the first about an NFB shady
>deal
> >>to
> >>: be posted to this list. Remember this one?
> >>:
> >>:
> >>: Diebold and the Disabled
> >>:
> >>: By Kim Zetter
> >>: Wired News
> >>: October 12, 2004
> >>: Story location:
> >>: http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65292,00.html
> >>:
> >>:
> >>:   In the controversy over electronic voting machines, activists
> >>: for disability groups have been at the forefront of campaigns to
> >>: convince counties and states to purchase touch-screen voting
> >>: systems. They've attested to the security and accuracy of the
> >>: machines, going so far as to sue counties and states that don't
> >>: purchase the machines.
> >>:
> >>:   And they've opposed e-voting machines that produce a paper
> >>: trail.
> >>:
> >>:   The disability groups say they're just fighting for the right
> >>: to use accessible machines, because touch-screen voting systems
> >>: are the only ones that let them cast ballots without assistance.
> >>:
> >>:   But other voting activists say disability groups have become
> >>: shills for the voting companies, pressuring counties to buy
> >>: insecure voting systems over other options.
> >>:
> >>:   "I feel they're using blind voters to pursue an agenda that's
> >>: actually not in the interest of any voters," said Maryland voting
> >>: activist Linda Schade of TrueVoteMD. " Because these machines
> >>: don't discriminate when they lose votes, they can lose or
> >>: inaccurately record the votes of blind voters as well as seeing
> >>: voters."
> >>:
> >>:   Financial connections and a partnership between one disability
> >>: group and Diebold Election Systems' parent company also raise
> >>: questions about motives and conflicts of interest.
> >>:
> >>:   In May 2000, Diebold, a maker of automated teller machines,
> >>: agreed to pay the National Federation of the Blind $1 million to
> >>: help build a new research and training institute. The money was
> >>: offered in exchange for the NFB agreeing to drop a lawsuit it
> >>: filed against Diebold for installing ATMs inaccessible to blind
> >>: customers, when technology for making the machines accessible was
> >>: available. The NFB also formed a partnership with Diebold to help
> >>: the company develop and market accessible ATM machines -- an
> >>: agreement that later extended to the company's touch-screen
> >>: voting systems.
> >>:
> >>:   The NFB, which calls itself "the voice of the nation's blind,"
> >>: then used the Americans with Disabilities Act to file lawsuits
> >>: against banks not using accessible ATMs. It later sued two states
> >>: to force them to upgrade or obtain e-voting machines -- while a
> >>: debate about the security and reliability of such systems was
> >>: growing nationwide.
> >>:
> >>:   The NFB and its state affiliates have also advised states and
> >>: the federal government on accessible voting issues and pushed for
> >>: legislation regarding such systems without disclosing the group's
> >>: relationship to Diebold. James Gashel, the NFB's lobbyist who
> >>: testified on e-voting in congressional hearings in 2001, said
> >>: most of the testimony and advising were done in 2000 and 2001,
> >>: before Diebold entered the domestic voting business in 2002.
> >>:
> >>:   "I have not said boo to the Congress about voting since March
> >>: 2001," he said. But even if he were to testify before Congress
> >>: today, he said, he would not disclose the information unless
> >>: asked because he doesn't think the issues are related.
> >>:
> >>:   "The resolution of a lawsuit involving ATMs (doesn't) have a
> >>: thing to do with voting," Gashel said. "Voting and ATMs are two
> >>: different kinds of technology." He also said the NFB's
> >>: relationship with Diebold isn't a secret -- both entities in 2000
> >>: released announcements about the grant, which are posted on their
> >>: websites.
> >>:
> >>:   But Alex Knott, political editor at the Center for Public
> >>: Integrity, said even if the information is available publicly,
> >>: the NFB should disclose it when speaking to states or federal
> >>: agencies.
> >>:
> >>:   "It's important to note that his organization shares an
> >>: affiliation with a company that has something to gain (from
> >>: endorsements he makes)," Knott said. "If you're talking about a
> >>: relevant topic and are receiving money from a company like that,
> >>: it's important for you to be transparent."
> >>:
> >>:   Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project
> >>: agrees. "This is basic information that bears on his point of
> >>: view and the value of his testimony, and the public needs to know
> >>: of any actual or potential conflicts of interest when he speaks
> >>: to Congress or to states," Ruskin said.
> >>:
> >>:   By lobbying the government on legislation that would benefit
> >>: Diebold while taking money from the company and helping to market
> >>: Diebold products, Ruskin says the NFB risks the appearance that
> >>: the NFB and its endorsement are "for sale."
> >>:
> >>:   "A million dollars is a lot of money for a nonprofit to
> >>: receive," Ruskin said. "Anyone in Washington knows that money
> >>: often comes with strings attached. He who pays the piper calls
> >>: the tune. That's what Washington lobbying and gift giving is all
> >>: about."
> >>:
> >>:   The NFB isn't the only disability group to receive money from
> >>: voting companies. The government lobbyist for the American
> >>: Association of People with Disabilities, who has traveled around
> >>: the country testifying on behalf of touch-screen voting,
> >>: acknowledged this year that his organization received at least
> >>: $26,000 from voting companies, but only after first denying it.
> >>:
> >>:   When asked in April, Jim Dickson, vice president of government
> >>: affairs for the AAPD, told Wired News his organization had never
> >>: received money from voting companies. But in June, he told The
> >>: New York Times the organization had gotten money.
> >>:
> >>:   Dickson didn't disclose the gifts at hearings in California
> >>: this year, where he tried to convince officials not to decertify
> >>: touch-screen voting machines made by Diebold and other companies.
> >>: Nor did he disclose the information in Washington in May when he
> >>: participated in hearings with the federal Election Assistance
> >>: Commission.
> >>:
> >>:   "He comes to states where he's not even registered to vote and
> >>: he gives this very heartfelt testimony about how meaningful it is
> >>: to vote independently," said Natalie Wormeli, an attorney in
> >>: California who is blind. "But in his testimony he never says he's
> >>: a professional spokesperson, he never says he's not a registered
> >>: voter in the state, and he never discloses how he's getting
> >>: paid."
> >>:
> >>:   Dickson did not respond to repeated calls for comment.
> >>:
> >>:   The NFB's willingness to align itself with Diebold seems
> >>: particularly strange in light of its own policy, expressed by
> >>: lobbyist James Gashel before the Committee on Labor and Human
> >>: Resources. Gashel told the committee that whenever the NFB tested
> >>: technologies to evaluate their accessibility, it always purchased
> >>: the equipment, rather than accept it gratis from vendors and risk
> >>: the appearance of impropriety.
> >>:
> >>:   "The challenging word is 'buy' -- not 'accept' or 'receive,'
> >>: but 'buy,'" Gashel said. "We find the money to support this
> >>: effort because we want to be completely independent from
> >>: manufacturers or marketing interests. This is essential if the
> >>: advice we give or reports we publish are to be regarded as
> >>: credible."
> >>:
> >>:   The issue of impropriety becomes especially sensitive where
> >>: lawsuits are involved.
> >>:
> >>:   In March 2001, the president of the Vermont affiliate of the
> >>: NFB initiated a lawsuit against Banknorth, Chittenden Bank,
> >>: Northfield Savings Bank and the Vermont State Employees Credit
> >>: Union. A year later Banknorth settled and agreed to install
> >>: accessible ATMs at 470 locations in six states. Other banks
> >>: settled as well. .
> >>:
> >>:   But when Chittenden announced it would spend $250,000 over
> >>: five years to modify or replace 35 of its 68 ATMs, the Vermont
> >>: Free Press reported that "the NFB said that was not enough, and
> >>: continues to push for more talking ATMs, faster."
> >>:
> >>:   Activists said the goal was to increase Diebold's revenue.
> >>:
> >>:   The company's domestic revenue did increase by about 10
> >>: percent, or $2 million, the first year after its legal settlement
> >>: with the NFB. But the revenue came mostly from services rather
> >>: than the sale of products, which actually dropped during that
> >>: period. And domestic revenue the next year dropped to less than a
> >>: million.
> >>:
> >>:   "It's a decent increase," Diebold spokesman Michael Jacobsen
> >>: said of the initial revenue boost. "But that came from a number
> >>: of things. We haven't seen anything in terms of lawsuits against
> >>: our bank customers that had an appreciable impact on our
> >>: business." If banks upgraded their products to make them
> >>: accessible (Diebold and other ATM makers have upgrading kits for
> >>: this), it would cost only $1,000 to $2,000 per machine, as
> >>: opposed to $40,000 for a new ATM.
> >>:
> >>:   ATM lawsuits aren't the only concerns, however. The NFB and
> >>: AAPD have turned their attention to voting lawsuits that promise
> >>: to benefit vendors as much as voters with disabilities.
> >>:
> >>:   The NFB, AAPD and individuals with disabilities have filed
> >>: half a dozen lawsuits in California, Washington, D.C., Florida
> >>: and Philadelphia to force counties and states to purchase
> >>: touch-screen voting machines. In Ohio, the NFB filed suit after
> >>: Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell decided to delay the
> >>: purchase of touch-screen machines over concerns that the systems
> >>: were insecure.
> >>:
> >>:   In 2002, five visually impaired voters sued Maryland to force
> >>: the state to buy accessible voting machines more quickly than it
> >>: thought wise, and the NFB joined the suit six months later.
> >>: Maryland now uses Diebold machines statewide, except in one
> >>: county. This year, the NFB switched sides to defend the Maryland
> >>: Board of Elections in a different suit filed by voting activists
> >>: who challenged the legality and integrity of the Diebold systems.
> >>:
> >>:   Although in lawsuits the NFB has never specified which brand
> >>: of touch-screen machines states and counties should purchase, the
> >>: group has made no secret of its preference.
> >>:
> >>:   In 2002, when Maryland's Board of Elections asked researchers
> >>: at the University of Maryland to conduct a usability study of the
> >>: Diebold system, the researchers reported that visually impaired
> >>: voters found the system "confusing and hard to navigate." The
> >>: board took issue with the report and defended the Diebold system
> >>: saying it "is the system preferred by the National Federation of
> >>: the Blind."
> >>:
> >>:   In September 2003, after computer scientists released reports
> >>: showing that the Diebold touch-screen system was flawed, NFB
> >>: President Marc Maurer said the NFB had "complete confidence in
> >>: the proliferation and capacity of electronic voting systems and
> >>: in Diebold Election Systems, in particular, to operate at an
> >>: optimal level of security, accuracy and accessibility that
> >>: protects the integrity of elections."
> >>:
> >>:   Doug Jones, a University of Iowa professor of computer science
> >>: and a member of that state's board of examiners for voting
> >>: systems, thought it was a strange comment to make for a group
> >>: that knows nothing about computer programming.
> >>:
> >>:   "Why in the world would an organization like the NFB, that has
> >>: no expertise in computer security or reliability, say something
> >>: like that?" Jones said.
> >>:
> >>:   An NFB member wondered the same thing when he posted to an NFB
> >>: e-mail list last September expressing concern about a conflict of
> >>: interest "if NFB seems to only single out one company, and one
> >>: that has contributed substantially to NFB coffers."
> >>:
> >>:   California attorney Wormeli is more concerned that by using
> >>: the court system to force counties and states to purchase voting
> >>: machines before they can be made more secure, they're putting the
> >>: democracy at risk.
> >>:
> >>:   "It's the wrong approach at the wrong time," Wormeli said. "By
> >>: letting them be sponsored by these corporations who only want to
> >>: sell machines, they don't necessarily look out for our interest,
> >>: which is to make sure our votes are getting counted properly."
> >>:
> >>:   As Wormeli told a hearing in California earlier this year, "We
> >>: have time to let the technology that's being perfected find its
> >>: way to California. I refuse to be an impatient passenger in the
> >>: back of the car saying, 'When are we going to get there?' I know
> >>: we're going to get there, but I want to get there safely."
> >>:
> >>: Laila Weir contributed to this report.
> >>:
> >>:
> >>: At 08:11 PM 6/20/05 -0500, Kelly Pierce wrote:
> >>: >Eighty cents of nearly every dollar raised in Oregon by the national
> >>: >Federation of the blind was shipped out of state to one of its
> >>: >nationally-based businesses.  Of the remaining funds, some obviously
> >>was
> >>: >used for administrative purposes, leaving little on the table for the
> >>blind
> >>: >of Oregon.  Money raised by Vicug's stays in the community to be used
> >>to
> >>aid
> >>: >blind people rather than line the pockets of wealthy blind business
> >>people
> >>: >or blind non-profit bureaucrats.  vicug's are transparent in their
> >>: >activities and finances and welcome the participation of community
> >>members.
> >>: >The article below from Sunday's Baltimore Sun describes what
>apparently
> >>is
> >>: >commonplace at America's largest organization of blind people.
> >>: >
> >>: >Kelly
> >>: >
> >>: >
> >>: >The Baltimore Sun
> >>: >
> >>: >June 19,  2005
> >>: >
> >>: >
> >>: >    business
> >>: >
> >>: >A warning to charitable donors and a case for tougher disclosure laws
> >>on
> >>: >nonprofits
> >>: >
> >>: >by: Jay Hancock
> >>: >
> >>:
> >>
> >>
> >----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>: >----
> >>: >
> >>: >    RIIIING. IT'S the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon,
> >>calling
> >>: >across that state. They want money "to help the blind of the area,"
> >>: >according to a fund-raising script from 2003.
> >>: >
> >>: >    "This year we are working to make more reading materials
>accessible
> >>to
> >>: >the blind and to provide more help to blind seniors and blind
> >>children,"
> >>: >says the telemarketer. "We were hoping you could help us with a
> >>donation
> >>: >of, say, $25 or so?"
> >>: >
> >>: >    Helping blind children. What a great cause. You write the check.
> >>: >("That would be wonderful!" the telemarketer is supposed to say.) Too
> >>bad
> >>: >the script left out several pertinent details, the main one being
>that
> >>: >most of your $25 would get nowhere near blind children or any other
> >>blind
> >>: >people in Oregon.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Beware, philanthropists. Despite progress in recent years,
> >>information
> >>: >on where charity donations go is still obscure and often disturbing
> >>when
> >>: >it emerges, even when the practices appear completely legal.
> >>: >
> >>: >    An examination of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the
> >>Blind
> >>: >and its affiliates offers another case for better disclosure laws
>and,
> >>in
> >>: >their absence, more openness by nonprofits.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Of a $25, phone-solicited gift to the National Federation of the
> >>Blind
> >>: >of Oregon, $15 - 60 percent - would be taken off the top by a
> >>for-profit
> >>: >fund-raising company called CMS Inc., according to a contract on file
> >>with
> >>: >Oregon's Department of Justice, one of the few state regulators to
> >>police
> >>: >nonprofits. The contract is dated 2002, but other documents furnished
> >>by
> >>: >the regulator indicate that CMS continues to work for NFB Oregon.
> >>: >
> >>: >    The president of CMS for many years has been Ramona Walhof, a
> >>longtime
> >>: >director of one nonprofit, American Action Fund for Blind Children
>and
> >>: >Adults, which shares NFB's Baltimore headquarters and has NFB
>president
> >>: >Marc Maurer as its top-paid employee, and another, the Jacobus
>tenBroek
> >>: >Memorial Fund, which owns the NFB headquarters building.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Taking that $15 cut leaves $10. Half of that would be sent to NFB
> >>: >headquarters in a big building in South Baltimore that NFB and
> >>affiliates
> >>: >recently expanded at a cost of $19.5 million.
> >>: >
> >>: >    The other $5 would arrive at NFB Oregon, which provides
> >>scholarships
> >>: >for blind students, lobbies on issues important to the blind and does
> >>: >other good work. But $5 is only a fifth of the $25 donation.
> >>: >
> >>: >    In January, NFB Oregon agreed with the state Department of
>Justice
> >>to
> >>: >correct alleged violations that included failure to tell donors that
> >>some
> >>: >funds were sent to Baltimore and misrepresenting big fund-raising
> >>: >commissions as "community outreach" expenses benefiting the blind. In
> >>: >correcting the deficiencies, NFB Oregon denied "liability of any
> >>wrongful
> >>: >acts," according to the settlement.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Back in Baltimore, legal records and NFB documents show, a house
> >>owned
> >>: >by Mary Ellen Jernigan, NFB's executive director of operations and
>the
> >>: >widow of late NFB President Kenneth Jernigan, was bought in 2003 for
> >>: >$490,000 by the Action Fund. . For 2005 the Maryland Department of
> >>: >Assessments and Taxation assessed the house, in Baltimore's Irvington
> >>: >section, at $154,040.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Despite the fact that charity business with insiders often raises
> >>: >questions about whether the nonprofit is getting the best deal with
> >>donor
> >>: >money, the house's purchase was not disclosed in IRS filings by
>either
> >>the
> >>: >Action Fund or NFB.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Nor was the fact that Walhof, a director of both the Action Fund
> >>and
> >>: >the tenBroek Fund, has been doing big business as a fund-raiser with
>an
> >>: >NFB state affiliate. NFB of Oregon paid $176,836 to CMS in 2002.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Still glad you wrote the check? NFB says you should be.
> >>: >
> >>: >    NFB of Oregon President Carla McQuillan did not return my phone
> >>call.
> >>: >
> >>: >    But in its battle with the Oregon Department of Justice, the
> >>nonprofit
> >>: >contended that the phone solicitations were "community outreach"
> >>programs
> >>: >worth the 60 percent commission because the script had the
>telemarketer
> >>: >say, "Do you know anyone who is losing vision or blind and may need
>our
> >>: >help?" NFB Oregon contended the calls helped it identify frequently
> >>: >isolated blind people.
> >>: >
> >>: >    "There are many number of people going blind who simply don't
>know
> >>: >about the National Federation of the Blind or the National Federation
> >>of
> >>: >the Blind of Oregon," said Andrew Freeman, a Baltimore attorney who
> >>: >represented NFB Oregon in its dealings with regulators. The calls did
> >>: >identify blind people, he said, although he didn't know how many.
>"From
> >>: >our point of view it is outreach, but it is also fund-raising."
> >>: >
> >>: >    Many calls, however, were directed to people who had a history of
> >>: >giving to NFB Oregon, a 2004 letter from CMS to the nonprofit shows.
> >>And
> >>: >according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,
> >>: >fund-raiser compensation hinging on percentages of contributions must
> >>be
> >>: >reported by nonprofits as a fund-raising expense, no matter what
>other
> >>: >service the fund-raiser may perform.
> >>: >
> >>: >    Of the 60 percent commissions, Freeman said that "my
>understanding
> >>is
> >>: >that it's a market rate" and that because community outreach occurred
> >>CMS
> >>: >did more than raise money. Regulators' criticism of NFB Oregon for
>not
> >>: >telling donors that funds went to Baltimore was "nitpicking," he
>said,
> >>: >because NFB national serves blind people across the country,
>including
> >>: >those of Oregon.
> >>: >
> >>: >    CMS head Walhof declined to comment. James Gashel, executive
> >>director
> >>: >for strategic initiatives for the national NFB, says that he is
> >>unfamiliar
> >>: >with the Oregon details but that as a blind person Walhof understands
> >>the
> >>: >needs of NFB affiliates, "is doing a credible job" and "is not living
>a
> >>: >lavish lifestyle." (Does the National Federation of the Blind of
> >>Maryland
> >>: >hire fund-raisers who take similar percentages? President Sharon
>Maneki
> >>: >says NFB Maryland sometimes uses a professional fund-raiser for a
>small
> >>: >part of its revenue and like other affiliates shares half of what's
> >>raised
> >>: >with national headquarters. She declined to say what percentage the
> >>: >fund-raiser is paid, saying it's proprietary, and there is no
>Maryland
> >>or
> >>: >federal law that says she has to.)
> >>: >
> >>: >    Gashel, who is an Action Fund director in addition to working for
> >>NFB,
> >>: >also defended the fund's purchase of the Jernigan house. First,
> >>$232,696
> >>: >of the $490,000 purchase price was for rare, vintage Braille books
>that
> >>: >came with the property, Gashel said. He showed me the books and
> >>supporting
> >>: >appraisal. Second, he said, the house dates to the 19th century, is
> >>much
> >>: >bigger and older than neighboring rowhouses and is surely worth
> >>$300,000
> >>: >or so - again producing an appraisal.
> >>: >
> >>: >    He's probably right. It's a dignified old mansion, with
>wide-plank
> >>: >floors, nine fireplaces and 12-foot ceilings with plaster rosettes.
> >>: >
> >>: >    And the house is historic, Gashel said, because it was lived in
>for
> >>: >years by Jernigan, a leading figure in the civil rights struggle of
>the
> >>: >blind by virtue of his longtime NFB presidency. Mrs. Jernigan has
>moved
> >>: >and the house is used by NFB for meetings, parties and quiet work by
> >>: >executives, Gashel said.
> >>: >
> >>: >    "Dr. Jernigan was in effect our Martin Luther King," added
>Gashel,
> >>who
> >>: >like all top NFB officials is blind. The Irvington home and the
> >>expensive
> >>: >NFB headquarters are held in trust for all blind people, and their
> >>upscale
> >>: >appeal "tells us that we can be first-class citizens," he added.
>"Most
> >>: >blind people don't have that."
> >>: >
> >>: >    OK, but how about a little more voluntary disclosure and less of
> >>what
> >>: >looks like somersaults to avoid disclosure requirements?
> >>: >
> >>: >    Other than perhaps the NFB Oregon issues, alleged by the state
> >>: >Department of Justice to constitute "fraudulent and dishonest
>conduct,"
> >>: >all of what is described in this column appears to be within the laws
> >>: >governing nonprofits. Because the Jernigan house was bought with
>Action
> >>: >Fund money and not NFB money, and by waiting until five years after
> >>: >Kenneth Jernigan's 1998 death to make the purchase, the NFB could
> >>sidestep
> >>: >requirements to list the purchase on IRS forms asking about insider
> >>: >transactions.
> >>: >
> >>: >    There is little legal limit on what fund-raisers can make; as
>long
> >>as
> >>: >some money trickles into a nonprofit, it's OK. Because Walhof is a
> >>: >director of NFB siblings tenBroek and Action funds and not NFB
>itself,
> >>: >there appears to be no requirement by NFB to report her work for NFB
> >>: >Oregon as an insider transaction on its IRS forms, says Daniel Kurtz,
>a
> >>: >New York lawyer specializing in nonprofit law and a former charity
> >>: >regulator.
> >>: >
> >>: >    And in a landmark case in the 1980s that involved the National
> >>: >Federation of the Blind itself, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
>free
> >>: >speech rights prohibit regulators from interfering much with
> >>nonprofits'
> >>: >solicitation pitches. Neither the Oregon Department of Justice nor
>any
> >>: >other regulator can require fund-raisers to disclose fees when
>they're
> >>: >asking for money.
> >>: >
> >>: >    But is that the best we should expect from a large, nationally
> >>: >respected charity and its affiliates?
> >>: >
> >>: >    NFB does many worthy deeds, furnishing meaning and resources to
> >>many
> >>: >of the nation's blind. But the disclosure trigger in any charitable
> >>: >transaction should be: Is this information that a potential donor and
> >>the
> >>: >public would want to know? The answer for the items mentioned here, I
> >>: >believe, is yes.
> >>: >
> >>: >    It shouldn't take a snoopy columnist or Oregon regulators,
>however,
> >>to
> >>: >find out. Congress ought to make charities disclose, say, a fraction
>of
> >>: >the information required from a mutual fund. And charities should try
> >>hard
> >>: >to avoid even appearances of conflicts of interest and always err in
> >>the
> >>: >direction of letting in too much sunshine rather than too little.
> >>: >
> >>: >    That really would be wonderful. Meanwhile, caveat donor.
> >>: >
> >>: >
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