Pressure builds for City to make nonprofits more accountable
The more people look closely at the cozy relationship between local nonprofits and the city government entities that fund them, the more concerned people get. Local neighborhood coalition and planning group Families & Homes SJ extends the argument by wondering how it's okay that the city's Housing Director can sit on the board of a local housing nonprofit, and asks the Mayor and Council for greater transparency.
Nonprofit advocacy organizations seeking to influence City policy or receiving funding from the City of San José should play by the same rules as all other lobbyists. There are dozens of special interest organizations that lobby the city to change San José housing, public safety and even democratic voting policies in ways that may negatively impact existing residents and single-family homeowners. While these advocacy groups are “not-for-profit,” they are very well-funded by many of Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies, like Facebook and Google, and are run by highly paid professional staff.
Numerous City contracts are awarded to nonprofits. Several commissioners on critical City boards are employed by nonprofits. We have even identified City employees who are board members of nonprofits that receive City funding. In fact, Jacky Morales-Ferrand, Director of the Housing Department for the City of San José (who has announced her retirement) serves on the Board of Directors for Destination: Home. The San José Spotlight article states: “Destination: Home has numerous contracts with the City totaling more than $13 million to provide services for homeless youth and families.” These contracts include areas overseen by Morales-Ferrand in her position at the City.
While nonprofits with paid employees can provide valued services, if they are receiving contracts from the City, county or federal government and influencing City decisions, then they should be treated as lobbyists just as any other special interest.
We need more transparency in City government. And we need to eliminate the conflict of interest in policy setting and the awarding of contracts. We need to assure that residents of our City are heard more clearly than organizations located outside our City or organizations that benefit financially from City contracts.
This article originally appeared in Families & Homes San Jose. Read the whole thing here.
This article is part of an exclusive Opp Now series on hazy, shady, and all-out criminal relationships between local nonprofits/gov't:
Jonathan Fleming, founder and director of SVPAF, speaks to what's going on with SJ's nonprofit community.
Joel Kotin at Philanthropy Daily analyzes the worrisome dynamic of local left-wing nonprofits advocating for extremist policies while at the same time benefiting from taxpayer and ultra-rich funder largesse.
Nonprofit attorney Scott Hartley of Hartley Law clarifies the parameters that apply to nonprofits when it comes to political activity.
SFStandard.com reports on how nonprofits in San Francisco can leverage huge sums of taxpayer dollars for political activity while neglecting their core mission.
Planning Commissioner chair Pierluigi Oliverio offers a compromise in the ongoing dispute over whether local progressive nonprofits break regulations with their aggressive lobbying of City staff /politicians: treat all advocacy activity the same.
Josh Koehn explains in the SF Standard that many residents are urging for transparency in how NP partners address objectives and use taxpayer funds. However, local nonprofit lobbyists strongly request no additional stipulations be enforced—lest the paperwork adds up.
The HJTA's Susan Shelley untangles LA's recently-passed Measure ULA. Residents making high-value real estate transactions must fork over some big coin, but none of it will go to emergency shelters or transitional housing—just unaccountable nonprofits peddling the discredited Housing First mantra.
David Eisbach points out the consequences of COPA's underlying idea: that unhoused people must rely on larger entities to advance in life. Putting nonprofit orgs in a tremendous position of power over lower-income SJ residents/officials will compound conflict-of-interest problems.
Gov't misconduct expert Josh Koehn reports on a new lawsuit against SF nonprofit org the United Council of Human Services, which alleges that CEO Gwendolyn Westbrook has inappropriately used funds for personal benefit.
Local nonprofits act just like lobbyists (but retain their tax exempt status) and brazenly invite conflict of interest concerns. Joel Kotkin provides the backstory in Philanthropy Daily.
Local neighborhood coalition Families & Homes SJ wonders how it's okay that the city's Housing Director can sit on the board of a local housing nonprofit.
SF org Clean City Coalition is alleged to have engaged in highly illegal, dangerous money laundering behaviors.
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