barrett.newkirk@heraldbulletin.com
The Wilson Boys & Girls Club is facing tough scrutiny from a high-profile funding source while it struggles to pay mounting debts and replace failing equipment.
The United Way of Madison County has recommended that the west-side youth agency be placed on a one-year probation, because it no longer meets United Way certification standards, president Nancy Vaughan said.
“They don’t have a plan to watch their finances,” she said. “They have a lot of debt. And how did they get in that debt? They got in debt by not thinking in the ‘big picture.’”
Vaughan also said inconsistencies with the nonprofit’s roster of board members was “a big red flag.”
The United Way has asked Wilson Boys & Girls Club to provide updated budgets, programming specifics and a board list by Wednesday.
Rodney Nichols, director of the Wilson Boys & Girls Club, said he would comply with the request.
“We have everything in place,” he said. “It has just been an issue in the way we’ve been reporting.”
Nichols said the United Way was too concerned with finances and doesn’t care that the Boys & Girls Club has increased services.
“Even though our funding has gone down, our programming has gone up,” he said. And an average of more than 60 children visit the club daily, despite problems with the building’s heat until last week.
“We do have heat right now,” Nichols said. “Wells Boiler Company has made repairs to one of the existing boilers to give us temporary heat at a reduced rate.”
While programs have remained strong, Nichols said, the club has not been able to pay down debt, largely because of declining contributions.
The debt has accumulated over the past few years to more than $176,000, Nichols said. It includes a mortgage of about $65,000, about $50,000 owed to Vectren gas company and about $28,000 in utility bills to the city. Other debts are owned for insurance, accounting and maintenance.
Wilson Boys & Girls Club also wants to replace its dilapidated heating system at an estimated cost of $135,000.
While in-kind gifts of equipment and volunteer hours have been strong, Nichols said, corporate gifts, individual donations and grants – including annual gifts from the United Way – have all declined in recent years.
Nichols said the Boys & Girls Club’s annual budget is about $250,000. This year the organization received $12,000 from the United Way, down from about $20,000 the year before, he said.
But recently some surprise donations have started to come in.
Tia Keffer and Joann Verdin, two secretaries at the Anderson Meijer store, asked their corporation to donate $2,000 after learning about the problems facing the Boys & Girls Club.
“I know they need it,” Keffer said. “We just thought it was a good program to put money in since it has to do with the children.”
Other companies have also responded with donations or pledges, Nichols said, and he is awaiting the outcome of a grant proposal to the county for $40,000 for drug education programs.
Max Howard, a long-time Wilson Boys & Girls Club board member, said decreased funding has in the past impacted staffing and services, but right now demand is at a critical level.
“As the local economy has gone down, the needs for what we provide over there has gone up,” he said.
The United Way, however, believes funding dictates services.
“If you don’t have the money to do it, then you can’t do it,” Nancy Vaughan said.
Because the Boys and Girls Club of America has agreed to work with the local chapter and help it reorganize, Vaughan said the United Way made an unprecedented recommendation of the one-year probation, rather than give a 30-day warning before deciding to cease donations.
For now the Wilson Boys & Girls Club’s United Way funds remain in tact and it has time to strengthen its financial reports.
“This is a long-term issue,” Vaughan said. “It didn’t happen overnight. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.”
Home News (ADS ONLY)
Related Photos
-
Richard Sitler
-
Richard Sitler
-
Richard Sitler
-
Richard Sitler
Discussion
December 8, 2007
5:26 p.m.: Wilson club struggles with debt; United Way may place club on one-year probation
- Home News (ADS ONLY)
-
-
Photo gallery: AU vs Mount Saint Joseph Baseball
Photos from the baseball double header and senior night for Anderson University and Mount Saint Joseph on 5/7/10.
-
Comedian Harland Williams coming to Paramount
LOS ANGELES — Canadian Harland Williams was enjoying winter in Southern California. “It’s beautiful out,” said Williams, 47, familiar from roles in films like “Dumb & Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.” “A bit cold, but is 65 cold? I’ll take this cold any day, thank you.” Williams, whose Indiana performances have been exclusive to Crackers in Broad Ripple, will take the stage at the Paramount on Friday, April 2.
-
Nancy Wood back in Anderson, with ASO
ANDERSON — Nancy Wood stared into the glass vase, full of clear water, with the bare roots of a plant dangling down into it.
-
Auction deal for buyers, not for owners
ANDERSON — An auction held Saturday at a former, popular cabinet manufacturer resulted in deals for local woodwork hobbyists and businesses, but earned less than the new owners hoped for.
-
Ann Duran on the air in Madison County
DALEVILLE — As a child, radio personality Ann Duran remembers her father calling her his mini-Barbara Walters.
-
Weights, measures officials protect consumers
ANDERSON — Whether consumers are filling up their cars’ gas tanks, buying a gallon of milk or drying clothes at a laundromat, one man in Anderson makes sure they always get their money’s worth.
-
AHS rocking to 'Schoolhouse Rock Live!'
ANDERSON, Ind. — With the end of the school year quickly approaching, Anderson High School Performing Arts students are springing into a favorite pastime. With the help of their director of six years, Tiffany Jackson, the group of 12 is putting on a musical, “Schoolhouse Rock Live!”
-
Anderson native to lead county ghost tour
ANDERSON — Growing up in Madison County, Nicole Kobrowski liked to visit some of the area’s creepier places, such as Moss Island Road just west of the city.
-
Sidewalk Prophets looking for a Dove
Sidewalk Prophets know how to please a crowd when they sing Christian pop at concerts across the nation.
Now, they’d like fans to reciprocate to help the band win a Dove Award. -
At Home: Project a bonding experience
PENDLETON — When a four-year project goes on for seven years, the result is often a strained marriage.
- More Home News (ADS ONLY) Headlines
-
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
