“United Way maintains the highest level of fiscal responsibility with donor dollars, and we will make a decision in the coming weeks on how to proceed after we investigate these complaints,” he said.
United Way did not award YouthPride a Community Impact Fund grant in 2011, one of the reasons cited by YouthPride Executive Director Terence McPhaul for the organization’s budget shortfall this year. McPhaul said the grant was worth $27,000.
Graves included in his statement, “United Way does not fund YouthPride through our Community Impact Fund grants, but in order to receive grant funding an organization must indeed have a full, active Board in place.”
YouthPride does not have a functioning board and the last time a full board met was in December 2010.
McPhaul said in December 2011 that if $40,000 was not raised, YouthPride would be forced to close. However, the nonprofit remains open to date.
Recently, YouthPride reached a settlement with Inman Park United Methodist Church to move out by May 31 and to pay $28,000 after YouthPride failed to pay more than $50,000 in rent and fees. YouthPride has paid $23,000 with the last $5,000 due on May 1.
McPhaul and YouthPride Board Chair Jordan Myers could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday afternoon. Myers has not responded to interview requests for weeks despite saying at a meeting in February that he was the person in charge of the organization.