SF News [Update] GoFundMe Creates Placeholder Pages for 1.4 Million Nonprofits, Many Without Their Knowledge Friends of the San Bruno Public Library discovered that GoFundMe created a donation page for it to “claim” without notifying its office. The site made 1.4 million such placeholder pages, which need to be manually unpublished if nonprofits wish to opt out.
SF News Fired SFPD Nonprofit Leader, Under Investigation for Embezzling $100K, Sues for Her Final Paychecks A new Hall of Fame entry in the annals of chutzpah, as the former director of an SFPD-affiliated nonprofit who’s under indictment for embezzling $100 grand has sued the nonprofit for $26,000 in back pay she claims they still owe her.
SF News City Contractor Urban Alchemy Acknowledges Some Overspending as SF Supervisors Mull Contract Extension The local nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which took on favored-contractor status at San Francisco's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing in recent years, is increasingly coming under the microscope of city leaders amid signs of contract violations.
SF Politics City Audit Further Details $4.6M In Misspent Dollars By Former SF Human Rights Commission Chief The San Francisco public already knew about the not-all-above-board spending practices of disgraced former Human Rights Commission chief and Dream Keeper program head Sheryl Davis, but a new city audit puts an eye-popping pricetag on it: $4.6 million.
SF News Oakland-Based Platform Accused of Stiffing Nonprofits Thousands of Dollars, Has F Rating Numerous nonprofits are saying Oakland-based donation processing platform, Flipcause, mishandled their funds, costing them thousands of dollars. The company currently has 81 unresolved Better Business Bureau complaints.
SF News Ella Hill Hutch Community Center Facing Closure, as City Cuts Off Funding After Nonprofit Spending Scandal The more than 30-year-old Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in the Western Addition may close permanently, as City Attorney David Chiu is vowing to cut off its parent nonprofit from receiving any more city grants after an alleged bribery scandal.
SF News Former SF Parks Alliance CEO Faces the Music Over Misused Millions at Angry City Hall Committee Hearing This very uncomfortable-looking man is SF Parks Alliance CEO Drew Becher, who had to squirm Thursday as angry SF supervisors' committee grilled him over how $4 million was misspent, and he claimed he just didn’t know it was happening.
SF News Port of SF Trying to Figure Out How to Complete Crane Cove Park Improvements Without Parks Alliance Funds Following the implosion of the SF Parks Alliance last month, the Port of San Francisco is now on the hook for $1.9 million in construction costs at Dogpatch's Crane Cove Park that were supposed to be covered by money in the nonprofit's coffers.
SF News How California Volunteers Are Supporting Immigrants and Responding to ICE Across California, advocates are supporting immigrants at risk of detention by attending court, monitoring ICE activity, helping with legal paperwork, and assisting families with online hearing requests.
SF News SF Zoo Leader Resigns Amid Mounting Pressure and Financial Questions From the City San Francisco's season of nonprofit upheavals continues as the longtime head of the San Francisco Zoo announces her plan to retire next month. The announcement comes a month after a report of dysfunction on the zoo's board, and an attempted coup by board members.
SF Politics Nonprofits Rally Against Lurie’s Budget Cuts to Homeless Programs, One Director Even Goes on Hunger Strike A group of nonprofits are rallying at City Hall Wednesday because Mayor Lurie’s budget slashes programs addressing homelessness, and they say that under Lurie’s budget, the problem in San Francisco will just get worse.
SF Politics SF’s 10 Wildest Nonprofit Spending Scandals of the Last Five Years, Ranked This week’s blow-up of the SF Parks Alliance only underscores the staggering number of SF nonprofits with improper spending scandals, and other riches-to-rags financial improprieties that have happened here over the last five years.
SF News SF Parks Alliance Shutting Down, As Millions of Dollars In Other Groups’ Money They Were Holding Has Disappeared The show’s over for that nonprofit that organized free movie screenings in SF parks, as the SF Parks Alliance has reportedly decided to dissolve amidst a criminal investigation and the allegation that they’d mismanaged millions of dollars.
SF Politics More Nonprofit Drama: SF Zoo Board Members Resign, City Hall Decries 'Dysfunction' There is ongoing turmoil and now some amped-up drama at the nonprofit that runs the San Francisco Zoo, as several board members attempted to oust the longtime executive director and CEO, but failed.
SF News SF Parks Alliance Scandal Explodes, District Attorney’s Office Opens Criminal Investigation There may be nefarious or even criminal reasons why the Sunset Cinema outdoor movies in the park are not happening this summer, as the SF Parks Alliance that runs those movie nights is now facing a criminal probe over millions of disappearing dollars.
Arts & Entertainment Bay Area Arts Groups, Nonprofits Hit Hard by Sudden NEA and AmeriCorps Cuts Many Bay Area arts and nonprofit organizations are facing sudden federal funding cuts from the NEA and AmeriCorps, forcing urgent budget changes and putting key creative and community programs at risk.
SF News Saturday Links: Driver Tosses Grenade Out Car Window While Fleeing CHP In North Berkeley The founding guitarist from Bay Area death metal band Possessed was killed by police during a standoff over a tree debris dispute; the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Walnut Creek on Saturday; and a driver fleeing CHP threw a grenade out of a car window.
SF Politics Amid Layoffs and Leadership Change, SF Parks Alliance Appears Under Financial Strain A local nonprofit that has had its hands in many prominent projects around San Francisco, and that was linked to the Mohammed Nuru corruption scandal, appears to be under a significant financial burden after some of its funding disappeared.
SF Politics SF City Hall Cancels Contracts With Nonprofit That Had Improper Spending Scandal After the director of a city commission was found to be directing taxpayer-funded contracts to a man she lived with, City Hall officials have found what appears to be more self-dealing, and canceled their contracts with a controversial nonprofit.
SF Politics Update: Yet Another Improper Spending Scandal Rocks SF City Hall, Commission Director Hastily Resigns The curious matter of a $10,000 Martha’s Vineyard house rental paid for with your tax dollars had led to the resignation of an SF City Hall commission director, and she appears to have also approved more than a million dollars in contracts to a man that lives with her.
SF News More Details Emerge on CEO’s Lavish Spending That’s Imperiled Aquarium by the Bay, Feds Now Investigating Former employees are spilling the beans on the extravagant spending and head-scratching decision-making by now-fired Bay.org CEO George Jacob. He’s hired former SF supervisor Angela Alioto as his attorney, but that may be little help as the feds are reportedly sniffing around.
SF News Bay Institute and Aquarium of the Bay Scandal Explodes, CEO Resigns Amidst Reports of Extravagant Spending What started as a bookish academic kerfuffle has blown up into a larger scandal of financial mismanagement, and the CEO of the SF Aquarium by the Bay and Bay Institute has stepped down as reports surface that he blew huge money on lavish travel and concerts in Dubai.
SF News Scandal-Plagued SFPD Partner Nonprofit SF SAFE Now Accused of Stiffing Local Florist Out of $17k The SFPD-affiliated nonprofit SF SAFE was already awash in allegations of forged checks and millions in funds missing. Add to their troubles that they allegedly ran up a $17,000 bill at a Mission District floral shop that the nonprofit never paid.
SF News SF SAFE Scandal Gets Way Bigger, With Allegations of Check Forgery, and Millions of Dollars Missing An SFPD-funded “crime prevention” nonprofit is now itself under investigation for crime, with an untold amount of money missing, a criminal investigation for check forgery, and a suddenly fired executive director.
SF News Nonprofit ‘SF Safe’ Improperly Spent Tens of Thousands of SFPD Money on Limo Rides, Tahoe Trips A new report from the City Controller says that a long-standing “public safety services” nonprofit has been improperly billing the police department nearly $10,000 a month on limo rides, Vegas and Tahoe trips, and curiously pricey gift boxes.
