BC- Cracking the foundation…could have some turtle friendly “donors “….heading out to sea?….
Excerpt…
‘LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA – For two decades, a charity headquartered on the Intracoastal Waterway has made boat owners an unusual offer: Give us your yachts, and we’ll sell them to help endangered sea turtles.
The National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation enticed donors with hefty tax deductions and, sometimes, a wad of cash up front. So many mariners heeded the call that during an 11-year period, the charity reported gifts of at least 150 boats.
No bathtub flotilla, the vessels were worth a combined $48 million, the charity reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Among the donations: two 82-foot San Lorenzos, a 90-foot Striker, six Bertrams, 17 Hatterases and a 63-foot Viking — along with the occasional WaveRunner.
Some whose profession or passion is safeguarding the sea reptiles now wonder, where did the money go?
“It certainly didn’t come to us,” said Carmelo Duesler, a services specialist at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, a turtle nesting site in Dania Beach that collects data for scientists worldwide.
Moreover, the foundation’s links to a local boat brokerage have led some to question its primary purpose: to assist turtles, or to engage in the acquisition and resale of luxury watercraft?
“They’re not advocates. They’ve never been advocates,” said David Godfrey, executive director of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, a Gainesville nonprofit organization with extensive turtle research and protection programs.
The National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation’s accountant and attorney say the organization has funded many worthwhile projects, including beach and waterway cleanups and education programs for schools and scouts.
They note that the IRS subjected the tax-exempt foundation to an exhaustive audit in recent years and determined that it was engaged in charitable work and its pursuits did not violate federal rules.
“They’ve done a lot of good things through this foundation,” said the accountant, Carl F. Fisher III.
Boats sailed in
Frank Wojcik, 72, a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea boat broker, created the foundation and serves as its executive director. The charity and his company, Four Points Yacht and Ship Brokers, share office space. A Four Points salesman is “in charge of solicitation activities” for the foundation, state records show.
In 1987, the year the foundation began operations, Wojcik wrote to the IRS seeking tax-exempt status, saying members wanted to donate boats “for beach patrol and sea rescue of injured turtles.” The IRS approved the request, and the boats sailed in.
The IRS declined the Sun Sentinel’s request for an interview about its review of the foundation finances. But independent specialists said IRS regulations in place at the time allowed plenty of latitude for charitable organizations.’
full text link below….
