http://www.gailperry.com/2009/08/boards-gone-wild/ fundraising & consulting Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:35:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.gailperry.com/2009/08/boards-gone-wild/comment-page-1/#comment-1535 Rose Anderson Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:19:08 +0000 http://www.gailperry.com/?p=830#comment-1535 I have been on the board of the Thomas Merton Center (for peace and nonviolence) only to discover with dismay that four members of the antiwar committee have seized power--the presidency, the database, the financials, their newspaper and the project committee--only to cripple and harm their largest project, Book'Em, which for ten years has sent educational books to thousands of prisoners. Following efforts to pressure the group to shut down totally for two months despite 500 prisoner's writing every month for books, cutting back access to the project by 80%, removing their public notices for volunteers, shutting off their answering machine and failing to pass on messages and removing the project's cordless phone and its base, discouraging people from donating books, stealing the desk chair--etc.--board members staffing the center (with no exec. director) began taking Book'Em's mail, opening the donation envelopes and destroying envelopes and letters; they deposited at least some of the checks in the projects account, however, and one board member stated that they intended to go on opening projects mail if it seemed as if it contained donations. When Book'Em's primary volunteer found evidence of the theft of mail and let them know, she/I was kicked off the board and banned from the building which made it impossible for her to work on her project or to train summer interns. When the secondary volunteer at the project heard this, he became even more upset--devastated, according to a witness--and fell from a 9th story window and is in intensive care. Then another core volunteer quit the project due to the Merton Center hassles and negativity, leaving me with a huge load on my shoulders of having to find a church or some place to relocate Book'Em to with our several thousand books plus desk and tables--while also trying to raise funds for postage. Book'Em is one of the most wonderful charities in the world, but is fighting now for its very survival--because of power-hungry mean-spirited board members and a president who told one of them, "Now we've got to get BRUTAL with Book'Em." With two key volunteers gone and another key volunteer lying at death's door, I guess they succeeded. Maybe now they can get back to their peace mission, the mission they keep meaning to re-decide. I have been on the board of the Thomas Merton Center (for peace and nonviolence) only to discover with dismay that four members of the antiwar committee have seized power–the presidency, the database, the financials, their newspaper and the project committee–only to cripple and harm their largest project, Book’Em, which for ten years has sent educational books to thousands of prisoners. Following efforts to pressure the group to shut down totally for two months despite 500 prisoner’s writing every month for books, cutting back access to the project by 80%, removing their public notices for volunteers, shutting off their answering machine and failing to pass on messages and removing the project’s cordless phone and its base, discouraging people from donating books, stealing the desk chair–etc.–board members staffing the center (with no exec. director) began taking Book’Em’s mail, opening the donation envelopes and destroying envelopes and letters; they deposited at least some of the checks in the projects account, however, and one board member stated that they intended to go on opening projects mail if it seemed as if it contained donations. When Book’Em’s primary volunteer found evidence of the theft of mail and let them know, she/I was kicked off the board and banned from the building which made it impossible for her to work on her project or to train summer interns. When the secondary volunteer at the project heard this, he became even more upset–devastated, according to a witness–and fell from a 9th story window and is in intensive care. Then another core volunteer quit the project due to the Merton Center hassles and negativity, leaving me with a huge load on my shoulders of having to find a church or some place to relocate Book’Em to with our several thousand books plus desk and tables–while also trying to raise funds for postage. Book’Em is one of the most wonderful charities in the world, but is fighting now for its very survival–because of power-hungry mean-spirited board members and a president who told one of them, “Now we’ve got to get BRUTAL with Book’Em.” With two key volunteers gone and another key volunteer lying at death’s door, I guess they succeeded. Maybe now they can get back to their peace mission, the mission they keep meaning to re-decide.

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