by Michael Barba :sfstandard – excerpt
The allegations of financial mismanagement piling up against a San Francisco nonprofit that enjoys millions in taxpayer funding are nothing new for the charity’s freshly ousted executive director. Her tenure began on the heels of controversy.
Before getting hired to lead San Francisco SAFE six years ago, Kyra Worthy was the executive director of For Richmond, a now-defunct East Bay nonprofit that contracted with the West Contra Costa Unified School District to run educational programs for Black students.
What happened next raises questions about how effectively public entities monitor the nonprofits they fund and whether they have a responsibility to vet their leaders…
For Richmond failed to complete many services and, in some instances, did not perform them at all, despite receiving payment for such services from the district,” an associate superintendent for the district wrote in the letter to Worthy, which was obtained by The Standard.
It was only months later that Worthy landed her job in January 2018 as the executive director of SF SAFE, a longtime nonprofit partner of the San Francisco Police Department, which played a role in her hiring process, according to the president of the nonprofit’s board…
But all that power was suddenly stripped away in a matter of days this week, when allegations of financial mismanagement at SF SAFE burst into public view and ultimately toppled Worthy.
First, a report by the Controller’s Office concluded that SF SAFE had improperly billed SFPD for luxury gift boxes, valet parking at an exclusive club and limo rides on a trip to Lake Tahoe. Then, vendors who did business with the nonprofit came forward with allegations that SF SAFE stiffed them on at least $1.2 million worth of bills. Finally, an internal investigation inside the nonprofit discovered depleted bank accounts—and indications of possible check forgery...(more)
This leads one to question what the HT department is doing for the 9 months it takes them to fulfill a new hire. We know what they do not do. They do not appear to take much time looking at the past positions of the applicants. And they don’t look at the staff of the non-profits they contract with.