PCUSA GAMC: No funds
to ACORN in ‘09, ‘10
By Edward Terry, The Layman, October 22, 2009
According to a statement from the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has received no General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) funding in 2009 and no funds are planned for 2010. The announcement comes after a story by The Layman, which was followed by other media reports, reported that more than $100,000 in PCUSA funding had gone to the embattled organization in recent years.
The statement defends PCUSA grants to ACORN and points out that the funds were awarded before the recent allegations about ACORN “surfaced in the media.” The statement also assured that all grants were carefully “reviewed and evaluated” by an elected committee before and after they were distributed. Staff followed up with grant recipients, the statement said, to ensure funds were spent appropriately.
The PCUSA GAMC acknowledged giving eight grants totaling $87,500 to various ACORN offices for five projects. The grants include: $20,000 in 2003 to ACORN in Providence, R.I.; $17,500 in 2003 and $17,500 in 2004 to ACORN in Bridgeport, Conn.; $3,750 in 2004, $7,500 in 2005 and $3,750 in 2006 to Rio Bravo ACORN in Albuquerque, N.M.; $10,000 to ACORN Institute in Washington, D.C. as an emergency grant following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and $7,500 to ACORN Institute in Patterson, N.J. in 2008.
An earlier Layman report also unveiled that the Jarvie Commonweal Service Committee, a group that is associated with the denomination’s General Assembly Mission Council, voted to approve a grant of $20,000 to New Jersey ACORN/American Institute for Social Justice, Inc., for its “Senior Citizen Anti-Predatory Lending Project.”
‘Deeply concerned’
“We are deeply concerned about recent allegations involving the behavior of a few ACORN staff members in some of the organization’s offices,” said Sara Lisherness, director of Compassion, Peace and Justice. “These actions discredit the very important work that the organization has done in the past to support and advocate for vulnerable populations. It is tragic when the actions of a few impact an entire organization.”
The “few” includes fraudulent voter registration applications in several states, advising illegal activities from various field offices and alleged misuse of the organization’s funds in Louisiana. The most highly-publicized black eye came recently as a man and woman posing as a pimp and prostitute received advice at several ACORN offices on setting up a prostitution operation and how to launder their earnings. The incidents were captured on hidden camera and generated a firestorm of criticism.
Critics of the undercover investigation claim the actions of a few have caused widespread damage to the entire organization, including those offices that are helping their communities and the various other nonprofits they support across the country. ACORN has since pledged to “clean house” and has stated that some ACORN offices turned away the undercover duo. At a news conference on Oct. 21, the undercover filmmakers refuted claims that they were turned away in Philadelphia.
After the original videos were released, the White House Press Office declared that conduct seen on the tapes was “completely unacceptable” and the U.S. Census Bureau severed tied with the organization. In September, the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 to deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN and on Sept. 17, the U.S. House voted 345-75 to cut off all federal funding. According to media reports, ACORN has received $53 million since 1994, but most of its funding comes from private and foundation donations.
In early October 2009, the organization fired its Louisiana Chapter Director, Beth Butler, citing a lack of accountability. Butler countered that the national organization wanted control of its local land trust board’s assets and funds, according to an Associated Press report. Butler is the long-time companion of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, whose brother was accused of embezzling $1 million from the organization. The ACORN board first learned about the embezzlement in May 2008, eight years after it occurred, according to a The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune article dated Oct. 2, 2008.
“National board members were furious at the disclosure, and they have asked for a full airing of how the money was stolen and why it was kept secret from (the) group for so long,” the article states. “Dale Rathke resigned in early June 2008. Wade Rathke also resigned from his position as chief organizer, but remains affiliated with the group.” The Rathke family repaid some of the funds, while a California donor made up the difference.
The New Orleans area, through ACORN, was one of the recipients of a PCUSA grant for Hurricane Katrina relief and rebuilding. That money was granted to the ACORN Institute in Washington D.C., said Rob Bullock, director of mission communications for the GAMC.
Aside from funding ACORN projects in various communities, the GAMC also has a history of lobbying with the organization. According to a Layman report, it signed onto an ACORN lobbying effort against the Federal Housing Reform Act (HR 1461) in 2005 and signed a joint statement with ACORN opposing funding for the No Child Left Behind program. In Florida, it joined ACORN in lobbying for a minimum wage bill. In 2004, it supported ACORN’s lobby for State Children’s Health Insurance money. In 1998, it joined ACORN in lobbying President Bill Clinton for a variety of social issues.
Under the microscope
The Institute on Religion & Democracy is among the critics of PCUSA’s links to ACORN.
“Many Presbyterians would be aghast to know that some of their collection plate money was underwriting ACORN,” IRD President Mark Tooley said. “As Presbyterians cut overseas missionaries from their rolls, how scandalous they still had funds for ACORN.”
An article in the current edition of World magazine said that the IRD is looking at other church bodies to determine the amount of participation with ACORN. It also cited examples of the National Council of Churches and other denominations having ties to the organization.
Not-so-sure assurances
Offering a limited accounting of the ACORN funding, the GAMC statement said the grants were used for restoring heat in winter, providing increased security at schools and helping families avoid foreclosure. The most recent grant, $7,500 to ACORN’s office in Patterson, N.J. in 2008, was used to help individuals in low-income communities with free tax preparation, benefits enrollment and foreclosure prevention, the statement said.
The ACORN grants were administered through the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Self Development of People Program, both of which fall under the GAMC’s Peace and Justice ministry.
The funding to ACORN was granted through the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Self Development of People Program, both of which fall under the GAMC’s Peace and Justice ministry.
“We are confident that the funds we provided to ACORN were used to fulfill the mandate and purpose of the grant requests,” Lisherness said. Yet the World article reports that
some funds, including a grant from the Presbyterian Hunger Program, aren’t designated in a way that ensures use as originally intended.
“One of the largest surprises for me has been that some of the grants have come from very specific agencies, but not been restricted to specific ACORN projects,” the IRD’s Jeff Walton told World. “For example, the grant from the Presbyterian Hunger Program wasn’t for a specific hunger-related project, it was for ‘general support.’”
Bullock said the Self Development of People National Committee – a committee of the General Assembly – and the Hunger Program Advisory Committee – a committee nominated by the General Assembly Nominating Committee and approved by the General Assembly – approved the grants. The committees’ membership changes with each General Assembly, he added.
The grant application processes for the Self Development of People and the Presbyterian Hunger Program are available on the PCUSA Web site.
Known as the nation’s largest grassroots community organization, ACORN has been the leading supporter of rights for low- and medium-income families, according to statements on its Web site. Among the causes it has fought for is: a higher minimum wage, affordable housing and better quality and funding for urban public schools. The organization also has been a leader in the rebuilding effort for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
ACORN has more than 400,000 member families and 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 75 cities across 40 U.S. states, its Web site states.