In the early 1980's I was Director of Development for a four-year liberal arts college in Ohio. Like many small colleges at the time it was mired in financial problems. The President of the college was very flamboyant and was willing to involve himself in "off the wall "activities that he thought would help solve the college's financial problems. His middle initials were EP and behind his back he was referred to as Evil Prince.
The Arabian Horse Scam
In the 1980's one of the biggest tax loop holes was the donation of horses to equestrian centres, equestrian programs like riding for the handicap and college equestrian programs. The college had a highly regarded equestrian program to which people often donated horses in exchange for a letter of receipt for tax purposes.
These horses were usually well past their prime and usually ended up being sold to "glue factories". One day this gentleman approached the President with a proposal to accept the donation of a Polish Arabian horse with long blood lines and a purported market value of $1,000,000. We had several experienced equestrian owners on our Board of Trustees. The President was ready to accept the gift until I insisted that one of these trustees examine the horse. The President agreed and that was the end of this deal as we were never allowed to examine the horse.
The Real Estate Scam The gentleman next proposed to sell a building to the college that was in the hands of a group he headed up. The building was in an area that was targeted to become an entertainment area.
The group had purportedly acquired the building by paying off back taxes of $50,000.They were willing to sell it to the college for $50,000 and it was speculated that within 2 years the building would be worth $500,000.
The President, against my objections, authorized the issuance of several cheques to several individuals totalling $50,000. In the end the college never received the building or a deed for the building and the money disappeared and was never repaid.
The lesson for all of us to remember is if it looks too good to be true it is too good to be true.
Jim Allen was awarded the AFP Barbara Marion Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2017. Allen, currently philanthropy officer for The Living City Foundation, has been in fundraising since 1970 and has been a member of AFP since 1980, serving in a variety of leadership positions and remaining a staunch champion for continuing education, certification and research. Allen has been involved in the formation of two AFP chapters, serving as a founding board member of both the Greater Cleveland Chapter in 1980 (where he served as president from 1982-1984) and then the Greater Toronto Chapter in 1994 (where he served as secretary), now the largest AFP chapter in the world with over 1,200 members. He served on the board of AFP (then known as the National Society of Fund Raising Executives) from 1980 – 1984, as well as in 2011. Allen was one of the first fundraisers in the world to receive the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential as part of the inaugural class in 1981. He earned his Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive (ACFRE) credential in 2004, just the fourth Canadian and one of 100 fundraisers around the world to possess that credential.
