BlueSKy

You are here

How should concerned citizen deal with nonresponsive nonprofit?

Your Legal Questions Answered

How should concerned citizen deal with nonresponsive nonprofit?

I am a concerned citizen attempting to obtain information about a 501(c)(3) humane society. The president is sitting on a very large bank account and paying herself a salary, yet doing nothing to reopen a facility after a hurricane destroyed the original location in 2018. She has filed an extension on the 2023 tax filings, so no info is current since 2022. She keeps claiming she is working to demo and rebuild but will not respond to my inquiries. The board and the president are all the same group of friends and provide no access to minutes or meetings to be reviewed by the public.  I want to file a complaint with the IRS, with the state Attorney General and the state Department of Agriculture, followed by exposing this publicly through civic organizations. Is this my only recourse and the best process to force accountability?  

As a “concerned citizen,” without the status of a voting member or an employee of the society, you are on the lowest level of the totem pole of people to whom the organization owes an obligation to provide services or information.  Even assuming that the society is not providing any services of any sort because it has not rebuilt its damaged facility, you have no standing to complain.  They are not required to provide services or give you much information.

You do have a right to see their Form 990 or 990-EZ tax return when it is filed and they have to give you a copy upon request before it shows up on the public websites.  You don’t have authority for a legal complaint about what it says, however.

You can complain to the IRS, but I wouldn’t expect them to do anything.  They have bigger problems than you do these days.

You can complain to the Attorney General, but unless you have clear evidence that they have fraudulently misused a lot of money, the AG is not likely to do anything.  Even if the society has a charitable solicitation registration requirement, you will probably need something a lot stronger than your disappointment to start an investigation.

The Department of Agriculture may have jurisdiction over their care of animals when they are providing care to animals, but probably can’t say much when they aren’t providing any care.

If the society is affiliated with a larger organization and you can argue that their lack of responsiveness is undermining the reputation of the larger organization, you might have some impact, but again you have no right to any action.

Normally, I would urge you to raise questions in the local media, if you still have local media in your community.  But with billions of dollars in federal programs being “paused” with essentially no notice in the new Trump administration, hurting many — and even killing some — of the beneficiaries of those programs, and with thousands of federal employees being terminated unceremoniously without having done anything wrong and without regard to the importance of their jobs, whatever local media remains is likely to be telling the stories of real harm to real people in real time in the community.  A delay in restoring the services of a humane society would not seem quite as important.

The animal rights community is a close one and seriously contentious.  You should probably continue to ask questions of the board and staff of the society, build up evidence and your arguments, and raise questions within your community as you can.  I would wait for a more propitious time to try to make a cause celebre out of it, however.

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Comments

If I'm reading this right, the shelter was destroyed in 2018, 6-7 years ago. The shelter does not have a program but continues to operate, paying a salary to the ED. If they're not in an active capital campaign, and they have no credible plans to rebuild, then it is a grift.
The news cycle may not be propitious because national stories suck up all the oxygen, but there is a nationwide sentiment to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Press on and you will find the right investigative reporter to look into this for you.

I don't read this for your unsupported political opinions, which add nothing to the answer the concerned citizen is seeking. Its probably advisable to stay within the topic you know very well and what readers come here to learn about.

Thanks.

Dear “Reader”,

In developing an appropriate course of action, external factors and/or obstacles should always be considered when determining which path will yield the desired outcome the fastest.

I was referring to this highly charged paragraph, which added nothing to the otherwise great response:

Normally, I would urge you to raise questions in the local media, if you still have local media in your community. But with billions of dollars in federal programs being “paused” with essentially no notice in the new Trump administration, hurting many — and even killing some — of the beneficiaries of those programs, and with thousands of federal employees being terminated unceremoniously without having done anything wrong and without regard to the importance of their jobs, whatever local media remains is likely to be telling the stories of real harm to real people in real time in the community. A delay in restoring the services of a humane society would not seem quite as important.

Reader

Add new comment

Sign-up for our weekly Q&A; get a free report on electioneering