Part 8:

How much do we give them? Kevin checked the records. 200,000 a year. That seems like a lot. How many kids does it serve? I don’t know. 50 100. Daniel did the math. That’s $2 to $4,000 per kid for after school programs. Kevin shrugged. I just processed the checks, man. Daniel kept digging. The Riverside Youth Center was run by a nonprofit with four employees, all making six figure salaries.

Their office was in a building downtown with rent that probably cost more than the actual programs. He found similar patterns everywhere. The foundation funded a homeless shelter that spent 60% of its budget on administrative costs. A job training program that had placed exactly 12 people in jobs over 3 years despite receiving half a million in funding.

a community garden project that somehow needed $80,000 for tools and supplies. None of it added up. By lunchtime, Daniel had a headache and a growing sense that Isabella had been right. The foundation wasn’t helping people. It was shuffling money around to make everyone feel good about themselves while actual problems went unsolved. His phone rang.

Isabella, “How’s your first day?” she asked. “Educational? That bad? Worse? We need to talk. come up to my office. Daniel took the elevator to the 48th floor, past the receptionist who looked at him like he didn’t belong, through the maze of glass offices where everyone was too busy to notice him. Isabella’s door was open.

She was on a call, but she waved him in. I don’t care what the projections say, Mark. If we can’t deliver by Q3, the whole deal falls apart. She listened for a moment. Then make it happen. That’s what I pay you for. She hung up and rubbed her temples. Sorry. Prices of the day.

You get a lot of those? More than you’d think. What did you find? Daniel sat down and pulled out the notes he’d made. Your foundation is basically a moneyaundering operation. Isabella’s eyebrows shot up. Excuse me? Not literally, but functionally. Yeah. Most of the organizations you fund are spending the majority of their grants on salaries and overhead.

The actual community impact is minimal. Give me an example. Daniel walked her through the Riverside Youth Center, the inflated salaries, the expensive office, the lack of measurable outcomes. Isabella’s expression got darker with every detail. How long has this been going on? Based on what I can see, years. Maybe the whole time Richard’s been in charge.

Why didn’t anyone tell me? I don’t think anyone looked. Kevin seems like a good guy, but he’s just doing what he’s told. And Richard, Daniel hesitated. Richard doesn’t care. This is a retirement gig for him. He shows up, signs checks, collects his paycheck. Isabella stood up, and walked to the window.

For a long moment, she just stared out at the city. “My father started this foundation,” she said quietly. “When I was a kid, he used to take me to the projects we funded, food banks, schools, community centers. He’d talk to people, listen to what they needed. He actually cared.” What happened? He died.

and I was too busy trying to keep the company from falling apart to pay attention to the foundation. I just assumed Richard was handling it. He’d worked with my father for 20 years. I trusted him. Trust is expensive. Isabella turned back to Daniel. So, what do we do? We I’m a consultant. This is your foundation and I’m asking for your advice.

Daniel thought about it about the kids who could have been helped with that 200,000. about the homeless people sleeping on streets while shelter directors collected fat paychecks, about all the good that money could have done if anyone had bothered to care. You fire Richard, he said, today and you audit every organization you fund.

If they can’t show real impact, you cut them off. That’ll make a lot of people angry. Good. Let them be angry. At least you’ll know the money is going where it’s supposed to. Isabella smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. It was the smile of someone who just decided to burn something down. I like the way you think.

She called Richard up to her office. Daniel offered to leave, but Isabella told him to stay. Richard arrived 10 minutes later, looking annoyed at being summoned. Isabella, I’m very busy today. Can this wait? No. Sit down, Richard. Something in her tone made him sit. Daniel’s been reviewing the foundation’s grants. Isabella said he’s found some concerning patterns.

Richard’s face went carefully blank. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. The foundation operates under very strict guidelines. The Riverside Youth Center. How many children does it serve? I’d have to check the exact guess. I don’t have those numbers in front of me. That’s because you’ve never asked for them. In 3 years, you’ve approved $600,000 in funding without ever verifying what they’re actually doing with it.

Richard’s jaw tightened. The organization is well established. They have a solid reputation. They have four employees making a combined $500,000 a year to run after school programs for maybe a hundred kids. Does that sound efficient to you? Every organization has overhead. 60% overhead is not acceptable. And it’s not just Riverside.

👉 [Tap here for Next Part] 👈