Only it wasn't. As the New York Times reported, the merger was more like a hostile takeover engineered by one of Smile Train's cofounders, Charles Wang.
The terms of the deal are hard to believe:
- Only a third of Smile Train's assets will be assigned to the merged entity. The rest of Smile Train's assets will be part of a fund under Wang's control.
- Half the money Operation Smile Train raises over the next three years will also be placed into the Wang-controlled fund.
- Operation Smile's cofounders will have "lifetime tenure."
The only reason I know about Smile Train is that its incessant and unsolicited mailings have irritated me for years. I'd like to believe its current travails are karmic payback for being a singularly annoying outfit.
[UPDATE: I've gotten a lot less tolerant of Smile Train's begging letters. My 19 July 2011 posting explains why you shouldn't send a penny to this disreputable and unscrupulous outfit, while my 26 September 2011 posting is the first of what I imagine will be an endless set of entries documenting further unwelcome solicitations from the weasels at Smile Train.]
It is high time that people stop believing everything they read and start looking at the Truth about the Smile Train Merger. The fact is that people love to stir the pot and more importantly they love to help themselves. In the case of this merger, there were people who were not happy that their personal agendas might have to take a backseat to Smile Train’s Mission, which is very specific. There are 2 facts that need to addressed here about Smile Train, Charles Wang and The Legacy Fund.
ReplyDeleteFact 1 - Charles Wang and Smile Train
Mr. Wang was the founding donor of Smile Train, providing over $30 million. This money allowed the organization to make its claim that "100 percent" of donations were going to programs, as this was the start-up grant which afforded Smile Train the ability to claim it was the "most effective charity." Mr. Wang has been the Chairman of Smile Train’s Board of Directors since its inception, and an active fundraiser and recruiter for the organization, bringing others into Smile Train who have contributed more than $65 million, as well as providing introductions and support in China and other countries. These efforts have contributed greatly to the organization's growth and ability to identify and service the hundreds of thousands of children with clefts around the world.
Fact 2 – The Legacy Fund
It is a standard feature of non-profit mergers to create a temporarily restricted fund within the new organization. Its purpose is to segregate certain assets to ensure the preservation and transition of historic programs post-merger. That is what the Smile Train Legacy Fund was designed to do.
The proposed Legacy Fund structure was to have five members of the merged company’s Board lead its oversight. Four of the proposed members were to have been previously associated with Smile Train, including Mark Atkinson who requested to be on the Fund’s oversight committee and subsequently voted against the merger. These directors were the most familiar with Smile Train’s programs and understood the importance of preserving their legacy. Mr. Wang was not going to have oversight or control over the Legacy Fund, nor was he going to serve as an officer or director of the merged organization, nor would he have had any voting rights on the Board of the merged entity or on the Smile Train Legacy Fund Committee.
I wish you had made clear that most of your comment is quoted from the page to which you linked.
ReplyDeleteThe facts alleged by the Times article are, as I said, "hard to believe," and it's possible the reporter didn't adequately source his piece.
The "Truth about the Smile Train Merger" page appears to cast Brian Mullaney in Wang's place as the villain of this drama. Between the Times article and that page, what I see is a "he said, he said" dispute that I'm glad I don't have to sort out.
let's be clear.
ReplyDeletecharles wong has hijacked one of america's most respected and successful charities.
the blog that you are referring too was posted by professional crisis PR folks that wang hired.
the post by "Jack" is filled with lies.
the "five members of the board are wang employees and do whatever he says.
this was the great train robbery and thank God decent people stood up to this evil man and stopped him.
you should have seen the look on his face when he lost! he was in shock!
why Wang he hijacked smile train and why he tried to steal all this money is anyone's guess but it could be because he needs the money.
he loses $20 million a year on his islander hockey team
he loses $17 million a year on his settop box company Neulion
he lost his shirt trying to build the lighthouse
he was shut down with his plainview project
and he was sued by his previous employer computer associates for $500 million for fraud.
wang is everything you have heard. just google him and you will see why he is one of the most despised men on long island.
just google wang and you will find out everything you need to know about this man.
he has no decency.
My bank just cut off payments to smile train for fraud.
DeleteFor what it's worth, I can't find a news item corresponding to this comment. And if this were actually news, it would have merited mention on a far more widely-read site on the Web, wouldn't it?
DeleteST is still a cruddy outfit for the reasons I've mentioned.
I meant to follow up on this most recent comment back when it was made, but circumstances prevented me.
ReplyDeleteI can only say that I don't give a shit about who any of you thinks is the villain with regard to Smile Train. Its despicable solicitation practices speak for themselves, and whether you think ST is doing good work or not, those practices render it a bad operator. Period.
And, not that it necessarily relates to the foregoing, I'm convinced the majority of hits for my ST posts are coming from Russian blog spammers. Thanks much, you fucking lowlifes.