Random Act of Vineness

Wow. I am truly honored to join the other Newsviners who have been selected for our site's highest form of recognition and highest honor, the Random Act of Vineness award.

And thank you to those who took the time to nominate me as well as to those who took the time to write and post positive comments throughout Newsvine.

We are all honored by our recent Society of Professional Journalists award as we find ourselves in the same virtual newsroom, writing what we want as we work our individual "beats."

We are all pioneering a news media prototype.

We are all evolving a news media hybrid.

The news business has become the business of news. It is up to us to work from ground zero and provide stories without advertising influence or editorial compromise.

This is a huge responsibility and is one that we all share.

One of the questions people ask me is "How did you get into this Shriners thing?" When Vernon Hill, Shriners whistleblower, got a hold of me, I already had three years watchdog experience investigating another non profit group. From March 2003 to March 2006, I investigated the non profit claims of the International Remote Viewing Association (IRVA) and began learning more about the laws and regulations governing non profit groups than I ever wanted.

The whole story will soon be available in e-book form.

So, when Vernon Hill got a hold of me about 30 days after IRVA posted their compliance documents, I checked him out, found his claims were true and hit the deck running.

Both cases began when IRVA and the Shriners failed to answer questions and provide financial documentation. Non profit law comes down from the IRS and they have strict disclosure regulations. And in both cases, those asking the questions were retaliated against.

So if these groups are examples of non profits gone wrong, how does a compliant non profit operate?

The Nature Conservancy is a model of non profit compliance. They embrace disclosure, transparency and accountability as well as new standards of governance, but only after a Washington Post investigation and Congressional hearings.

If you go to their website and go through their site map, you'll find their:

Tax returns

Bylaws and articles of incorporation

Annual reports

Financial reports

Conflict of interest policy

Governance guidelines

Standard operating procedure

Whistleblower policy

IRS sanctioning documents.

If you go to the Shriners' website , you will find no such thing. In fact, last April, the Shriner Treasurers Meeting minutes were pulled offline. These minutes were the source documents for "Former Exec-VP Knew of Crimes, Shriners: Part 9," "Above the law? Shriner Treasurers' Minutes, Part 10" and "Treasurers Meeting Minutes Vanish, Part 15."

If a non profit group has nothing to hide, online documents should not disappear.

Twenty years ago, the Orlando Sentinel dug into allegations of theft and that the crippled and burned children were used to raise money that was misspent on parties and good times. This investigation also found incestuous relationships between local government officials and law enforcement officers who had turned their heads the other way instead of investigating complaints of circus ticket theft.

They were also Shriners.

In closing, I'd like to emphasize that this investigation is not about the Shriners who have donated decades of hard work as they support the hospitals that provide free care to sick and crippled children.

This investigation is for those who helplessly watch as what they worked so hard to build is all but stolen from them.

This investigation is about those whistleblowers who watch as millions of dollars raised in the name of the sick and crippled children either disappears or is misspent on things like partying, mortgages, and lavish ceremonies.

This investigation gives voice to those who have been silenced, sued and retaliated against.

This investigation is about non profit transparency, accountability and disclosure.

Thanks again for this distinct honor and the opportunity to celebrate it with all of you.

Back to work,

Sandy

Back To Top