FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JODY SCOTT OLSON
105 S. ELM STREET
ROYALTON, MN 56373
320.281.4778
DIRECTOR CALLS FOR UNITED WAY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE RESIGNATIONS
On August 22, 2008 Morrison County United Way’s executive committee called for my immediate resignation and silence, in exchange for over 4,000 dollars in severance pay. In the 4 months I spent working in the Morrison County United Way office I found systemic issues of conflict of interest, financial mismanagement, fraudulent reporting on state and federal documents and the circumventing of financial and procedural controls.
At the inception of my employment, the Morrison County United Way board acknowledged its need for significant systematic change to address the atrophied state of the organization. I began working to shift the office priorities away from its board-pandering past to a system that placed a premium on fortifying organizational health through sound administration while launching new and innovative services such as the Gifts In Kind program and it’s Craigslist –like sister, The Clothesline. During my brief stint at the helm of the office, Gifts in Kind successfully poured approximately 7 thousand per month, in durable goods to the neediest in our community. The program not only won the praise of area agencies, and the community but it quickly became a sought after template for other United Way offices within the state.
Within my first month of employment executive committee members backed away from their original commitment to sweeping changes and instead expressed a wish to move forward “taking baby steps”. Despite my best effort to balance the express wishes of the executive committee, ongoing issues of legal and ethical merit rendered meeting such expectations virtually impossible. Since the office was left empty for 4 months prior to my employment, I faced a back log of work and was forced to balance this insurmountable pile against an executive committee who didn’t understand such basics of governance as the significance of an approved budget or the role of an executive director in a non profit organization.
In addition, conflict of interest policies went unsigned or were turned in blank when clear conflicts existed and board members once again approved the hiring of the previous director’s friend and golf partner to conduct the organization’s independent audit.
The board expressed further displeasure when I questioned the auditor regarding the lack of oversight given to the federal emergency funds program, reported an instance of potential fraud & questioned the current system of financial reporting to the board of directors. Even though the very same material weaknesses existed in the previous year, Morrison County United Way’s auditor, during Augusts’ public board meeting admitted to having only verbally acknowledged the weakness to key committee members and deliberately withheld the written assessment from the previous years audit out of concern for the reputation of his friend. He further admitted to having “softened” the language from that of his preliminary report for this year after executive committee members made it clear that they were unhappy with his assessment. Despite his admission, the Morrison County United Way Board approved the audit report and subsequently filed it with the IRS and signed off on its submission to Minnesota Attorney General’s office.
Two days later executive committee members requested my resignation and offered severance pay in exchange for silence. Since financial transparency is paramount to public trust in the non profit sector, and in light of the seriousness of the infractions committed I have rejected this offer and now refuse to leave in charge those who are most culpable.
As I issue this press release staff from the St. Cloud office of the United Way have taken over the Morrison County office. With one failed merger attempt earlier this year, the Morrison County United Way board now appears to be making a second attempt to unload charity that was so painfully neglected. While I agree that Morrison County United Way is in a state of disrepair there was nothing that I found that would render the organization unsalvageable and there is no legitimate reason, other than the vain convenience of its board members, for the Morrison County community to forfeit its organizational identity and autonomy to St. Cloud.
In light of the long list of legal and ethical issues, I now call for the formal resignations of Morrison County United Way’s executive committee; President Teresa Schmitz, past President Curt Hansen, Secretary Steve Reger and committee members Rob Ronning and George Weber. While I appreciate how easy it is too lose all compass points during the reign of a long standing director, Morrison County United Way’s first priority is and always should have been, to the community it was founded to serve.
In addition to this, I further call for the complete and immediate withdrawal of St. Cloud United Way staff, pending the completion of a full investigation by the Minnesota Attorney General’s office and I ask for the community’s support in not only returning to me the keys to my office so the programs I established can continue and expand, but for seasoned community members with expertise in non profit administration and governance to step forward to assist in breathing new life into our Morrison County United Way office.
In one of my very last disagreements, Board President Teresa Schmitz demanded that I compile a 2 page cost benefit analysis report complete with a word document and spreadsheet, regarding the $200 per month savings that I secured by switching the organization’s long distance calling plan from AT&T’s most expensive package to a Qwest bundle. To this I now say, as long Morrison County has children who go to bed hungry, sleep on floors and share silverware at dinnertime, such vain demands should never take precedence over fundamental and basic human need.
Additional information is available at www.live-untied.com and documents will continue to be posted over the next few days including any new developments in the investigation. The public can also review the online petitions calling for resignations and the withdrawal of St. Cloud staff, from this site.
Jody Scott Olson has refused the executive committee’s request for her resignation. Board President Teresa Schmitz indicated via email that Olson was terminated but all requests by Olson for board minutes reflecting actions taken by the board regarding her employment have been denied.
Olson said that this is the second time she has hired to “clean up” a mismanaged office and that in both cases, once she was on staff that she was expected to participate rather than rectify. Olson has been in touch with the Attorney General’s Office and will be providing information to facilitate a formal investigation.
***In 2002, Olson participated in a similar investigation which lead to a legislative audit and the repayment of over $70,000 in grant dollars. http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/Fad/access/03-12.htm
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