This should be the best time of year for the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation. A pack of NFL stars are on their way to Baltimore to be honored by the foundation tomorrow and to spend time with abused children. Thousands of eyes will turn to Ed Block and its cause.
But the foundation is under fire from former board members and sponsors who say it gives little money to the 17 children's shelters it's affiliated with. In December, the foundation asked one dissatisfied board member to step down, and three others with ties to him resigned shortly after. Several significant sponsors have also pulled support, and one, the Ravens Roost 50 fan club, says funds earmarked for the 17 "courage houses" never made it to them.
Foundation officials say they're more focused on raising awareness of child abuse and on building relationships between shelters and NFL teams than on fundraising and donations. Their heavy focus on the annual March banquet is rewarded, they say, by the attention it receives.
The last available financial information - from a required 990 tax form filed last year - shows between June 2006 and May 2007, the foundation raised $346,771 in revenue but dispensed only $43,125 in grants. Of the 17 "courage houses" affiliated with Ed Block, only St. Vincent's Center in Timonium received any money ($15,000). That's a substantial change from the 2002 tax year, when Ed Block raised $305,174 in revenue but gave away $121,195 in grants. Eleven courage houses received at least $5,000, and St. Vincent's received $55,000.
Those numbers have ex-supporters and charity experts questioning the foundation.
"The event raises a lot of money, and it's a great thing," former board member John Valentini said. "But if we don't raise a lot of money for the kids, why are we having it?"
The American Institute of Philanthropy says a good charity should spend at least 60 percent of its revenue on programs. Between salary and grants, Ed Block spent about 29 percent of its 2006-2007 revenue on programs.
"It leaves you wondering why this is being done?" Daniel Borochoff of AIP said. "Why are they spending so much on management in general? They say it's all for abused children, but it looks like a lot of it is about putting on the event."
He wondered why NFL players couldn't pay for their own travel costs to attend the banquet. "In these economic times, people have to be concerned about a charity paying for star treatment," he said.
