Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, finds herself, and the non-profit organization she oversees, under close scrutiny by several high ranking U.S. Senators who are questioning her nearly $1 million in compensation for 2008 amid club closings and posted losses. The national charity’s board of governors received a letter from Congress this week, seeking detailed financial information.
A bill currently moving through the Senate would provide up to $425 million in federal money to the national organization over the next five years. Senator Chuck Grassley R-Iowa said, “The question is whether a very top-heavy organization might be siphoning off federal dollars that should be going to help kids.”
The Boys & Girls Club of America posted losses of $13.6 million in 2008, according to tax records. During that same time frame officials at the top of the organization spent $4.3 million on travel, $1.6 million on conferences, conventions and meetings, and $544,000 in lobbying fees.”
The senators who drafted the letter to the Atlanta-based national charity wrote: “We are especially concerned because it is our understanding that some independent clubs have closed or are on the cusp of closing because of lack of funding. We find it hard to reconcile this loss with the amount spent on executive salaries and perks.”
According to Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla., “That bill isn’t going anywhere until we get answers to our questions.”
In 2009, the Boys & Girls Club of America received a stimulus windfall of $44 million from the Justice Department. The money came from the economic recovery package enacted last year. The next largest stimulus payment of $19 million went to Goodwill Industries.
Evan McElroy, senior vice president of communications for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, said that Congress can expect a response before the March 29 deadline that was set by the senators.
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