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Monday, August 27, 2001
Light of Life Ministries could have done itself a favor by using an independent, neutral firm to review its operations. Instead, the mission to the poor, which has been accused of questionable management and fiscal practices, relied on the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
Light of Life and ECFA, based in Winchester, Va., are hardly new acquaintances. The North Side-based ministry has been a member of ECFA, like other Christian nonprofit social service organizations, for the last 12 years. And ECFA's first executive director, Olan Hendrix, is a paid management consultant to Light of Life. With such close ties, how could the mission get a hard, unbiased look at how it runs its service?
The Christian group said that "though there was some evidence of poor decision-making and weaknesses in management, ECFA's review found absolutely no basis in fact to support implications of fraud and illegal activity." That was enough cover for Light of Life board chairman Tunch Ilkin to declare, "We thought these charges were wrong but we wanted to make sure."
We're glad he's sure, but maybe the mission's contributors are not.
The joint investigative report by the Post-Gazette and KDKA-TV said the mission had sloppy financial management, inadequate fiscal controls, a loosely run thrift store, inflated claims about meals served and a costly fund-raising contract. The information came from two former upper-level managers -- Jerry Wrzosek, the former development director, and Bobby Burke, the former controller -- with support from other employees.
ECFA's five-page public statement summarizing its "compliance review" of Light of Life is an exercise in damage control. After making perfunctory acknowledgment of the mission's problems, the statement ultimately spins away from sharp criticism of its member.
It agreed with the PG/KD report that the mission will show a deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30. But it said "it would appear that some of the charges of poor management at the ministry extend to some of the senior staff that have left the organization."
It concurred with the news reports that the thrift store, run by the brother of executive director Duane Gartland, was "lacking adequate organization, with inadequate space and staffing to handle the level of donated used goods arriving." But it added that there was still "no evidence of significant potential for violation of exempt purposes."
It claimed that the Russ Reid Co., which handles much Light of Life fund-raising, kept 23 percent of the money it raised in fiscal 2000. But it did not say what the company kept in fiscal 2001; the former employees said 46 percent.
It said meal counts did fall within the mission's claims of 17,000 to 25,000 per month. But it failed to reckon that with the former development director's contention that it would be physically impossible to serve more than 12,000 a month.
Finally, it made no mention of nepotism's role in the organization, where six of Mr. Gartland's relatives work.
Some charitable givers will put their money where their heart is, even when performance verification is lacking. That's their right; it's their money. But most donors want to see accountability -- and the chummy report by ECFA on its member, Light of Life Ministries, doesn't provide it.