A Chamber of Charity?

[XLFD]

Many times you will see our local news entities run with stories that read eerily similar to each other, you may also at times see those stories use the same picture.  That is usually a good indication that the story was fed to them as part of a news release, and a lot of those times the stories won't really be news, rather they will be the less edifying articles of advertising or propaganda.

In yesterday's Mason County Press, the article mirrors what turned up in the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) today, and shown below.  This is not plagiarism by the COLDNews; both articles simply follow the script of what the local chamber of commerce wanted them to print:

The second, third, and fifth paragraph in the MCP are printed verbatim in the COLDNews, and the only reason the two articles are not the same is that the COLDNews decided to relate the fourth paragraph in the caption of the picture the chamber provided identifying the non-profit organizations... and had a slightly different introductory paragraph.

But this article isn't strictly a tutorial on how to recognize a press release (like the one used in this case, which is fully copied and pasted by the COLDNews) when you see it, it's more to educate the chamber and others about what actually is a non-profit organization and how it is wrongly thrown out in this case, as is the concept of donation.  

The government is not a nonprofit organization, but rather a sovereign entity that has operating authority over all formally chartered and informal organizations in the land over which it reigns. A nonprofit organization is not a sovereign entity. Rather, this type of organization can only operate in compliance with the regulations set forth by the government in the form of local, state and federal laws and rules. A nonprofit can only operate with the permission of the government.

Brandy (Henderson) Miller happens to be the CEO and president of the chamber of commerce and happens to be a councilor for the City of Ludington (COL), which received a 'donation'.   Obviously, the COL is not a non-profit organization (NPO) and an inherent conflict of interest exists in her granting money from one entity she is the CEO of, to a government group where she is part of the decision-making authority thereof.

Neither are the Ludington police reserves an NPO.  Their authority and outfitting rests solely in the police chief and the officer(s) they work with; they have no by-laws and no organizational structure, and that has been confirmed by Chief Mark Barnett.   The chief is also a representative of the COL and sits in the elevated benches in city hall with Brandy Miller every other week.  Word is that Brandy's mother has the chief and his wife as her best friend.

The last point, is that a donation is the act by which the owner of a thing voluntarily transfers the title and possession of the same from himself to another person, without any consideration; a gift.  Presumably, the checks given to the other non-profits are gifts, but the money given to the police reserves and the COL DPW supervisor seem to be more for services rendered, albeit mostly voluntarily.

Hopefully, the chamber's next news release will be a little more precise in what they call donations and non-profit organizations and hopefully, our news outlets will be more discriminant in their translation of it.  

[Willy]

I am glad you brought this subject up. I have been much irritated by the Macker taking over the town like no other event except short events like parades. Friday night live also is irritating by consuming the entire downtown and blocking traffic. All this time I thought the money raised was going to worthy causes but it's apparent that it is not the case. All seem to be involved with some Government affiliation or at the least a pet project of a local politician. You are absolutely right about the bastardization of the non profit  label. It all sounds like a scam and all of the beneficiaries receiving money from the Macker should / could be getting funds from non governmental  projects. It's the locals who must put up with the traffic, noise and congestion these events cause with little gain. Public money is taken from locals in order for these projects to benefit the privileged do gooders who think they are God's gift to Ludington. I would like to see these projects succeed without taxpayer money and take place where normal flow of traffic is not interfered with. Of course anyone who objects to these self serving projects will be considered anti social and haters by the local elites.

[XLFD]

Let me begin by saying that it's generally a good thing for the community when the chamber dips into its coffer and gives money to worthy causes.  The lack of rationale given anywhere that the chamber used to select these "non-profits", however, would definitely be a concern for me if I was a tribute dues paying member of the local chamber.  

Consider, the appearance to those members would be that CEO Brandy just gave away $12,500 from the chamber's treasury, and chose among those two non-non-profit government entities that she just happens to be on the governing board of.  Is that why my dues are so high, Madame President?  The chamber has traditionally made a killing in the money exchange between the COL and itself, with the DDA tax and TIF revenues trickling in through Treasurer MacLean's crafty bookkeeping.

One church (Emanuel Lutheran) was chosen above any other churches in the area, this is a red flag for me.  This one church has been singled out in the past by the chamber for splitting donations, so I am presuming that the church supplies volunteers for the event, in which case the donation is more of a payback than a donation.  I helped out a little one year, but Dowland Firewood Limited never received a check, but that's beside the point.  Don't call these donations if these are just ways to trick the IRS out of taxing your profits call them expenses of running the show.