AP: Eric Trump Foundation flouts charity standards

[webfact]

AP: Eric Trump Foundation flouts charity standards

By JEFF DONN

 

A charity operated by one of Donald Trump's sons flouts philanthropic standards by financially benefiting charities connected to the Trump family and members of the charity's board, an Associated Press investigation shows.

 

The AP found that Eric Trump has exaggerated the size of his foundation and the donations it receives. At the same time, the charity's payments for services or donations to other groups repeatedly went to one of Donald Trump's private golf clubs and to charities linked to the Trumps by corporate, family or philanthropic relationships.

 

The Eric Trump Foundation has raised $7.3 million mostly for children ill with cancer, according to IRS filings since 2007. The charity has long raised money from donors willing to make large contributions to hobnob with the Trumps. For example, golf at the foundation's chief 2015 fundraiser cost up to $50,000 per foursome. Donald Trump often attends these events, which include a gala dinner, and mixes with the guests and has his photo taken.

 

On Wednesday, the younger Trump said he'll cease soliciting donations for his nonprofit to avoid accusations that contributions could be perceived as a means to buy access to the Trump White House.

 

The announcement to stop raising money for the foundation followed cancellation of an online auction for "Coffee with Ivanka," Eric's sister. The auction was to be sponsored by the Eric Trump Foundation, whose proceeds generally benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

Concerns about the mingling of politics, business and charity have escalated since Donald Trump's election. Eric Trump, 32, serves as an executive vice president of his father's corporate umbrella, The Trump Organization. He was active in his father's campaign for president, serving as a campaign surrogate, spokesman and senior aide. Following the election, he acted as an executive committee member of the Donald Trump presidential transition team. The president-elect has tapped Eric and his brother Donald Jr., to run the family business empire during the Trump presidency.

 

In addition to the hubbub about the auction for face time with Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. drew attention with their involvement in an offer of a hunting trip with either of them in exchange for a donation of up to $1 million to a new charity that Eric Trump was on record supporting. That offering also has been scuttled over concerns about pay-for-access.

 

Under IRS rules, a public charity collects money to serve a public mission. Any money passed along to other charities also needs to serve such a mission, without favor to those connected to the original charity's founder, board members, or relatives of its board. Charity boards are supposed to act as independent watchdogs. While the IRS generally gives charities leeway in the hope of encouraging public missions, a pattern of such behavior — even if the receiving charities do good work — could leave the impression that board members are trying to further personal agendas rather than public good.

 

Among other AP findings:

 

—The Eric Trump Foundation failed to report multiple conflicts of interest by supposedly independent board members who work for The Trump Organization or Eric Trump's winery, as required by the IRS.

 

—Based on its revenue and giving, the Eric Trump Foundation is a small-to-medium-sized charity. Eric Trump has repeatedly overstated its size. In 2015, for example, he said his group was "one of the largest foundations anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world." Told of the claim, Associate Dean Patrick Rooney at Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy said, "That's just silly."

 

—Though public charity boards are supposed to represent the public, Eric Trump has loaded his board with friends, relatives and Trump employees. They include two Trump company executives who served as senior presidential campaign aides: former Westchester golf club manager Dan Scavino and special Trump counsel Michael D. Cohen. The charity's executive director, Paige Scardigli, was a close college friend of Eric Trump at Georgetown University.

 

In 2014, at least 12 of 16 board members had personal or financial ties to the Trumps outside of the charity, records show. The foundation's board has also included Lawrence Glick, executive vice president of Strategic Development for The Trump Organization; Kerry Woolard, general manager of Eric's Trump Winery; Steven Levine, a public relations operative who helped cast Donald Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice"; and Eric Trump's college buddies Andrew R. Graves and Andrew Joblon.

 

—In an extraordinary provision, the foundation's bylaws make Eric Trump chairman as long as he remains on the board. It reserves board seats for any children he might eventually have. "What right does he have to put his child on the board? It's not his private business," said Daniel Borochoff, president of CharityWatch.

 

—Eric Trump has falsely claimed his charity raises more money because its golf fundraisers don't have to pay for use of the family golf courses. In a 2013 promotional video, he said that "we were able to come up with this concept of raising a lot of money with really no expense," by using Trump golf clubs. Eric Trump had previously said in an AP interview that his charity has reimbursed costs of fundraisers at Trump National Golf Club Westchester. IRS documents show $881,829 paid from 2007 to 2014.

 

—The foundation failed to report to the IRS, as required, that it paid $100,000 to a Trump golf club in 2013, a potential conflict of interest. When asked by AP, Scardigli called the omission an "oversight."

 

The golf club transactions violate a pledge made when Eric Trump sought tax-free status from the IRS. The charity said it wouldn't do business with a company if any of its corporate officers also were on the charity's board; Eric Trump is executive vice president of The Trump Organization, which operates and controls the collection of Trump golf courses. Eric Trump oversees the Trump Organization's golf operations worldwide.

 

The Eric Trump Foundation has often claimed its fundraising benefits from significant donations of goods and services but its IRS filings show no such donations. When asked, Scardigli said the amount of donated good "considered reportable" was insignificant.

 

After Eric Trump's wife Lara joined her husband's charity board, her favorite groups also began receiving gifts. From 2012-2014, the foundation gave a total of $181,250 to five animal welfare groups where she had visited or volunteered. An animal welfare advocate and enthusiastic rider, she was pictured horseback riding at one of the locations, the Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, in a 2014 Facebook posting by that group.

 

Similarly, the Eric Trump Foundation's largesse has landed at multiple Jewish organizations tied to Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. In 2014, the foundation donated $10,000 to Chai Lifeline, a Jewish group for sick children and their families. That charity's co-chairman, Larry Spiewak, is a friend of Ivanka and her husband and attended their wedding. A Jewish community leader, he became an early and vocal supporter of Trump's run for president.

 

Also, there have been links between board members of the Eric Trump Foundation and Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

 

His father's campaign paid $14.2 million to the company of foundation board member Christl Mahfouz, Ace Specialties, L.L.C., for campaign paraphernalia. Other campaign payments went to foundation board members Scavino, Glick and Woolard.

 

Foundation executive board member Jerry Kaufman was paid $2,000 in rent. He is a car racer and real estate entrepreneur who served as master of ceremonies at a Trump campaign rally in July.

___

The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at [email protected]

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-12-23

[ilostmypassword]

A chip off the old block.  

[Credo]

And they had the audacity to consider the Clinton Foundation as being corrupt.   

 

This family re-defines corruption.   

[optad]

Shane Warne is feeling a whole lot better hearing this. Good company.

[spidermike007]

This is to be expected from the son of Trump. He is one of the least charitable billionaires in the US. Always has been. There is no doubt he is one of the greediest, stingiest, and most small hearted men to ever win the presidency. It is no surprise his son would be a shadow of the father. 

 

Back in April, Fahrenthold and Rosalind S. Helderman reported that they couldn’t find a single cash donation to charity that Trump personally had made over the previous five years. The Trump campaign had provided the newspaper with a list of donations made by the candidate, but many turned out to be gifts-in-kind from Trump’s businesses, such as free rounds of golf at Trump courses donated to charity auctions, and land-conservation agreements to forgo development rights on Trump-owned properties. The only cash donations were from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, the family charity that Trump established in 1988. But the Post also pointed out that Trump hadn’t given any of his own money to the Trump Foundation since 2008—almost all of its funding came from other people, including some of his business associates. As the real-estate market recovered, so did Trump’s net worth. In 1999, Forbes magazine estimated that he was worth $1.6 billion. “With all that dough, you’d think the presidential aspirant might use some green to benefit society (because those garish skyscrapers and Atlantic City clip joints ain’t the grandest legacy),” a Smoking Gun article from November of that year said. “Alas, the Donald J. Trump Foundation has donated a paltry total of $475,624 over the past five years . . . Compared to other business barons like Bill Gates and David Geffen, The Donald looks like a lousy penny-pincher.”

 

On an annual basis, the Trump Foundation’s charitable outlays came to about $95,000.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/trump-and-the-truth-his-charitable-giving

[Silurian]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

—In an extraordinary provision, the foundation's bylaws make Eric Trump chairman as long as he remains on the board. It reserves board seats for any children he might eventually have. "What right does he have to put his child on the board? It's not his private business," said Daniel Borochoff, president of CharityWatch

 

Lets keep it in the family. Got to love the way they make up their own provisions to stay in charge. Maybe they can get a provision in the constitution to keep the POTUS position in the family line as well.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

—Eric Trump has falsely claimed his charity raises more money because its golf fundraisers don't have to pay for use of the family golf courses. In a 2013 promotional video, he said that "we were able to come up with this concept of raising a lot of money with really no expense," by using Trump golf clubs. Eric Trump had previously said in an AP interview that his charity has reimbursed costs of fundraisers at Trump National Golf Club Westchester. IRS documents show $881,829 paid from 2007 to 2014.

 

Ah, lying like dear old dad. Say one thing but the facts prove otherwise. Must be a genetic trait.

 

[Opl]

What will President Trump's legacy be ?

" mingling of politics, business and charity "  = Trump brand's Baseline =  US image .

Attain performance optimization & cost reduction through best practices benchmarking  from The Trump Organization , a leading transparency policies consulting firm

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

This is to be expected from the son of Trump. He is one of the least charitable billionaires in the US. Always has been. There is no doubt he is one of the greediest, stingiest, and most small hearted men to ever win the presidency. It is no surprise his son would be a shadow of the father. 

 

Back in April, Fahrenthold and Rosalind S. Helderman reported that they couldn’t find a single cash donation to charity that Trump personally had made over the previous five years. The Trump campaign had provided the newspaper with a list of donations made by the candidate, but many turned out to be gifts-in-kind from Trump’s businesses, such as free rounds of golf at Trump courses donated to charity auctions, and land-conservation agreements to forgo development rights on Trump-owned properties. The only cash donations were from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, the family charity that Trump established in 1988. But the Post also pointed out that Trump hadn’t given any of his own money to the Trump Foundation since 2008—almost all of its funding came from other people, including some of his business associates. As the real-estate market recovered, so did Trump’s net worth. In 1999, Forbes magazine estimated that he was worth $1.6 billion. “With all that dough, you’d think the presidential aspirant might use some green to benefit society (because those garish skyscrapers and Atlantic City clip joints ain’t the grandest legacy),” a Smoking Gun article from November of that year said. “Alas, the Donald J. Trump Foundation has donated a paltry total of $475,624 over the past five years . . . Compared to other business barons like Bill Gates and David Geffen, The Donald looks like a lousy penny-pincher.”

 

On an annual basis, the Trump Foundation’s charitable outlays came to about $95,000.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/trump-and-the-truth-his-charitable-giving

 

There has been a very positive movement in the US, called the Divine Pledge. Big men, with big hearts like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Ted Turner, and others are part of this. They have pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortunes, in their lifetimes. Trump reminds me of alot of Thai billionaires. The concept of helping mankind has not entered many of their brains or hearts. Here is an example of what people with huge hearts do:

 

Judy Faulkner is the CEO and founder of Epic (EPOR), a company that sells electronic health records. Her net worth is about $2.6 billion, according to Forbes, and she pledged to give 99% of it away in her pledge letter. --

Venture capitalist and Groupon (GRPN) co-founder Brad Keywell and his wife, Kim. Keywell is also the founder of the Chicago Ideas Week and the Future Founders, which seeks to spur inner-city entrepreneurship. 

Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, who launched his yogurt company in 2007 and has since amassed an estimated $1.4 billion fortune. 

Sir Ian Wood, who was born and raised in Scotland and made his money in the North Sea oil industry, has an estimated $1.7 billion. In his pledge letter, Wood wrote that he founded the Wood Foundation to develop agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Particularly, the letter said, the tea industry. 

Gordon Gund manages an investment firm in New Jersey. He was the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1983-2005 and owned three NHL teams. He signed with his wife, Llura, who is the president of the New Jersey chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Gordon, who is blind, co-founded the foundation in 1971. 

Six of the new signees -- Keywell, Faulkner, Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman, Ruth and Bill Scott, and Sunny and Sherly Varkey -- were not previously listed on the pledge's website.

And that is what Trump does not do. Give to mankind or provide the kind of assistance to people that his fortune would enable him to do, if his stingy, cold, callous, dark heart allowed him to behave in a humane fashion:

 

[Opl]

18 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

There has been a very positive movement in the US, called the Divine Pledge. Big men, with big hearts like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Ted Turner, and others are part of this. They have pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortunes, in their lifetimes. Trump reminds me of alot of Thai billionaires. The concept of helping mankind has not entered many of their brains or hearts. Here is an example of what people with huge hearts do:

 

Judy Faulkner is the CEO and founder of Epic (EPOR), a company that sells electronic health records. Her net worth is about $2.6 billion, according to Forbes, and she pledged to give 99% of it away in her pledge letter. --

Venture capitalist and Groupon (GRPN) co-founder Brad Keywell and his wife, Kim. Keywell is also the founder of the Chicago Ideas Week and the Future Founders, which seeks to spur inner-city entrepreneurship. 

Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, who launched his yogurt company in 2007 and has since amassed an estimated $1.4 billion fortune. 

Sir Ian Wood, who was born and raised in Scotland and made his money in the North Sea oil industry, has an estimated $1.7 billion. In his pledge letter, Wood wrote that he founded the Wood Foundation to develop agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Particularly, the letter said, the tea industry. 

Gordon Gund manages an investment firm in New Jersey. He was the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1983-2005 and owned three NHL teams. He signed with his wife, Llura, who is the president of the New Jersey chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Gordon, who is blind, co-founded the foundation in 1971. 

Six of the new signees -- Keywell, Faulkner, Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman, Ruth and Bill Scott, and Sunny and Sherly Varkey -- were not previously listed on the pledge's website.

And that is what Trump does not do. Give to mankind or provide the kind of assistance to people that his fortune would enable him to do, if his stingy, cold, callous, dark heart allowed him to behave in a humane fashion:

 

 

Charity begins with oneself

"Trump had sought credit for charity he had not given — or had claimed other people’s giving as his own." and so does his son Eric - it's a family trick - They'd say it's smart.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-boasts-of-his-philanthropy-but-his-giving-falls-short-of-his-words/2016/10/29/b3c03106-9ac7-11e6-a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html?utm_term=.600522238b54

 

 

[craigt3365]

Where are all the Trump supporters?

[Usernames]

15 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Where are all the Trump supporters?

 

Probably celebrating Christmas, instead of posting angry messages that seek to discount the results of the presidential election by means both fair and foul. As I, too, now depart to celebrate Christmas and the coming New Year, we leave the field entirely to the embittered, angry, and desolute, exempting yourself, of course.

[Chicog]

Now he's shut his crooked foundation down, and of course the "transition team" are all saying how sad it is and blaming everyone else.

 

 

[optad]

38 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Where are all the Trump supporters?

Just perfect!

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

in exchange for a donation of up to $1 million to a new charity that Eric Trump was on record supporting.

hmm like father like son. I still says these so called charities have trap doors.

[Tawan Dok Krating Daeng]

3 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Where are all the Trump supporters?

 

They are all posting on the Jet Blue thread defending Ivanka while their balls turn blue over their lust for her. Just like her fathers.

[ilostmypassword]

4 hours ago, Usernames said:

 

Probably celebrating Christmas, instead of posting angry messages that seek to discount the results of the presidential election by means both fair and foul. As I, too, now depart to celebrate Christmas and the coming New Year, we leave the field entirely to the embittered, angry, and desolute, exempting yourself, of course.

A cursory check of the other threads shows your surmise to be false.  But to you, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Steve Bannon, and Donald Trump,  Happy Holidays!