Case study. Mission Viejo Foundation.
To raise community (financial) support of the expansion of the Mission Viejo Norman P Murray Community and Senior Center the city council thought we should create a non-profit foundation under professional leadership, to raise funds towards this project and others that follow. So far, so good.
Where the wheels come off the track is when we begin treating taxpayer money as if we were playing Monopoly. The city council provided DMA with $48,750 in consulting fees and $22,500 for feasibility opportunities to raise $5 million as a 501 C-3 non-profit. Where the wheels fall off is when we begin playing Monopoly by providing an additional $400,875, in two payments, as “seed” money. Source. MV Treasurer’s Department.
Background of the MV Foundation. In the summer of 2004 the city retained the services of Bob Zeur, CEO of Development Management Associates, DMA, to study and report back on creation of a non-profit to raise funds supporting city projects starting with the community center expansion.
In the Friday, March 4, 2005 Saddleback Valley News/OC Register it reads “Bob Zuer, president and CEO of DMA, said they identified about 500 prospective donors through interviews. Other key elements to the foundation’s success include establishing the foundation as entity independent from the city, seeking endowments early on to generate funds for operational costs and/or concurrently with raising capital to help the foundation self-perpetuate, he said.”
When addressing the Democratic Club at Casta del Sol two months later, DMA CEO Bob Zeur told the audience that the Foundation’s target is to collect $2 million dollars for the center. In her remarks Council Member Kelley stated that the project cost was roughly $5 million including two new soccer fields. No need to rehash that monetary statement.
In the Spring 2006 City Outlook Magazine it reported that “approximately $335,000 in gifts and pledges/in kind have been received since beginning operation on May 31, 2005 (including more than $313,000 in personal and corporate commitments from the 13 members of the Foundation Board of Directors).”
Note: I do not see any recent updates being publicized by the city manager. Furthermore you cannot take pledges to the bank.
I believe it was at the August 5th groundbreaking where Foundation Board Members held up the traditional huge check payable to the city in excess of $200,000 to be deposited into our cash box.
Sadly, along the drive to the bank, the actual check(s) received and deposited was only $112,500 and $65,000, less than half of the sum publicized by the city and considerably less then the simulated check. If you show the world a check with a specified dollar amount, and the actual check has different numbers, that is surely being deceptive. Source. Mission Viejo Treasures Department.
Fast forward to Nov 11th, 2005 where I watched the Mission Viejo City Talk program. Mayor Trish Kelley’s guest was MV Foundation President Jim Leach. He stated that the “foundation hopes to raise $one million to $1.5 million within the next 12 months to complete the funding needs of the project.” We’re still waiting.
In discussing the entire project revenue sourcing Jim stated that “we are getting $750,000 in developer fees.” Not yet. While we have already spent that “anticipated” money, it has yet to arrive. No development has commenced to create said funding source years after the money was budgeted and spent. So I guess our future in-lieu fees now fall under the category of “fuzzy” math. Obviously we took money out of our reserves because of this non-payment.
So we move on to the 2009 Tournament of Roses float where in Jan 2007 Lance MacLean suggests using the non-profit for fundraising. Has Lance been out of town, or simply out of touch?
let”s wrap up with some additional boring and dry math.
Our elected city council, guardians of our treasury, handed out over $470,000 in taxpayer money for the MV Foundation of which we have no control They turn in two checks totalling $177,500 from their fundraising activities leaving us with ($294,625) of red ink. Source. MV Financial Dept.
While I ask council and our city manager to have a Member of that Board appear and provide an update, my suggestion fell on deaf ears. They are too embarrassed to update their fundraising efforts.
Somehow people just don’t get it. In my June 30, 2006, letter in the SV News/OC Register I wrote “once a project has been completed, donations tend to fall off.”
I also stated that “although they are to be commended for their above mentioned contributions, the foundation was created too late to be effective for this project.”
Readers. This is a perfect example of how NOT to run a railroad. And it speaks volumes about electing candidates and incumbents who are clueless on money management.
Ouch, you nailed that one to the barn Larry! Well written, specific, nearly devoid of typo’s (kidding). I cant imagine the depth of your files, it is a power to behold the way you were able to cite specifics. I know you can only do that if you gather lots of documentation, very impressive!
In my view a foundation is a bad idea from the beginning if you are an open government advocate (and I think you are) and MV’s seems a poorly functioning one at that. Of course I dislike Redevelopment Areas for the same reason. Show me a Redevelopment Area that did anything for the neighborhood schools or playgrounds and I’ll show you a neighborhood next to a new hi-rise office building.
The MV Foundation reminds me of the speculators who used to prey on Ireland when they were desperate for foreign investment. They would go in with a line of b.s., come up with some seed money, stick a shovel in the ground, collect a few checks and disappear quicker that Paddy’s pig.
Larry:
Yes indeed–Mission Viejo is run by the few, and directed by the special interests. Sheep used to run on the ranch there–but now the sheep are shorn there.!!
I always roll up the windows and hold onto my wallet when I drive by the I-5 exits that say__”Mission Viejo”.
Lost any SV’s out of The Shops at Mission Viejo as of late–Larry.???
Please vote for this project to give the artisans a decent life. For details visit this project…
http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/SQVEE2
anonymous.
Thank you. If you think I have extensive files now you should have seen my collection before the fire marshall said I need to add a few additional fire extinguishers or weed out a few boxes.
About a month ago I asked the city manager to request a presentation from a Board Member of the MV Foundation. I think it has been over a year since they appeared inside our council chambers.
His response was that they probably would not show up due to a concern over scrutiny by activists such as myself.
That’s a cop out.
It’s OK to take nearly a half million dollars from MV residents but reporting back after the check clears is not their “modus operandi”