23403: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Doubts taint aid to Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Oct. 11, 2004




PEMBROKE PINES


Doubts taint aid to Haiti

Pembroke Pines plans to give surplus ambulances and medical equipment to the
Haitian government. Watchdogs have questions about the nonprofit that will
deliver the items to Haiti.

BY AMY SHERMAN

asherman@herald.com


The city of Pembroke Pines will donate ambulances and medical equipment to
Haiti with the help of a nonprofit organization with connections to a
Christian broadcasting network whose financial practices have come under
fire.

The city plans to donate two old ambulances and several pieces of medical
equipment, which the city no longer uses, to The Smile of a Child Ministry.
The organization is run by a woman named Jan Crouch, who also helps run the
Trinity Broadcasting Network, a multimillion-dollar TV operation.

Now, after The Herald asked questions about the donation, the city is
checking with the Haitian government to make sure it really will be
receiving the ambulances. City Manager Charlie Dodge said he expects to
receive this confirmation any day now.

Trinity, Crouch and her husband have been criticized for the way they spend
viewers' donations. Trinity's attorney says it has a 30-year record of
financial integrity.

City officials say the donations will help Haiti, a poverty-stricken country
that was further devastated by Hurricane Jeanne. Dodge said in an e-mail
that the city is making the donation to Haiti; the ministry is picking up
the delivery tab.

Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Montopoli suggested the donation of the 1986 and
1990 vehicles after seeing Jan Crouch interview Haiti's Prime Minister
Gerard Latortue on TV about the lack of rescue equipment in Haiti. The City
Commission approved the donation in September.

The vehicles have little use to the city because the sale would generate
only a few thousand dollars and the medical equipment has no resale value.

In 1999, Jan Crouch formed The Smile of a Child, which works cooperatively
with TBN, a California-based nonprofit organization that operates the
world's largest Christian television network.

In Haiti, Smile of a Child funds an orphanage and is building a $2 million
hospital. All of the ministry's donations go to various charitable relief
efforts, said John Casoria, attorney for the ministry and TBN.

TBN has faced more scrutiny than Smile of a Child because it's a much larger
operation. A recent Los Angeles Times series stated that TBN owns 30 homes,
including a couple of mansions across the country, and a $7.2 million jet
among other luxuries. TBN has more than a half-billion in net assets,
according to its 2002 tax return.

HEALTHY SALARIES

Paul Crouch's salary as president was $403,700, and Jan Crouch's salary as
vice president was $361,000 -- both above the median $286,402 among 163
charities surveyed, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy's
compensation survey for 2003 salaries. Those salaries are among the top five
of 53 religious organizations surveyed. Jan doesn't draw a salary from Smile
of a Child.

Charity Navigator, a nonprofit that runs an online charity database, gives
TBN a ''needs improvement'' rating. Other watchdogs, Wall Watchers and the
Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, say TBN doesn't provide
enough financial information for the groups to rate it. Wall Watchers, a
Christian nonprofit that runs a website with financial profiles of large
ministries, gives TBN a ''C'' transparency grade.

It's fair for donors to look at TBN's record when evaluating other
organizations involving the Crouches, said Michael Barrick, a spokesman for
Wall Watchers.

''We have called into question the financial practices and theology of Jan
and Paul Crouch,'' he said. ``Anything they are associated with I believe
would have the same questions raised.''

The salaries, homes and luxuries are an abuse of donor money, Barrick said.

''The Crouches are living a lavish lifestyle far in excess of normal
compensation for nonprofit leadership, especially Christian ministries,'' he
said.

TRYING TO HELP

Casoria said the homes belong to TBN, not the Crouches and that the jet is
needed for business.

IRS auditors have told TBN that it's doing a good job, he said.

''Our accountability is to the government, the IRS and our partners,'' he
said. ``We don't need some third-party watchdog group controlling us with
their agendas.''

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