A Gatesgate At Henry Gates' "Bogus" Charity?

Henry Louis Gates, Jr controls a tax-exempt, non-profit charity, Inkwell Foundation, Inc, that managed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct support in one year, yet only gave out $27,500 in grants, the bulk of which went to Gates' employees and Harvard colleagues. Also, as recently as September 2008, the Boston Globe reported that Gates' charity was not in compliance with the law for failing to register the proper paperwork, despite the charity existing since 2005. The charge at the time was that it was "bogus," as you'll see below. In fact, the state Attorney General's office told the Globe the charity was likely either inactive, or dissolved. Yet, documents below show the charity is healthy, wealthy and active.

Is it possible that Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was acting strange when law enforcement showed up at his door because he didn't want the story below to come out? It may take a tax lawyer to answer that question, but based on this research, it can't be ruled out. We know the press has questioned Gates about the charity in the past and gotten no response.

Acting on a tip and with an item at Instapundit in mind (much more at this link), I was curious when Joseph Culligan of Web of Deception emailed with a tip as to the home's ownership. It seems Harvard does own the home in which Gates lives. But it's also the address for his charity, see below.

Third, Harvard sent someone from the University maintenance department over to secure Gates’ house and/or fix the broken lock on his front door. How many people have an employer who’ll send maintenance staff over to fix up or watch over their house?

Scroll all the way to the bottom at this link for the actual documents, including the real estate information. Gates uses Harvard (12 Quincy St.) as his home address on the charity paperwork, as opposed to the same one as his charity, which is where he actually lives and was at when the recent police incident took place. It would seem to be incorrect. A wiki has this Inkwell below as it's center item and reports that a Globe reporter has accused it of being a "bogus" charity. That story also below.

Corporate Filing

Business Information
Filing Number: 000908494
Name: INKWELL FOUNDATION, INC.
Name Type: LEGAL
principal corporate address: 17 WARE ST
CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-4004
Business Type: NONPROFIT CORPORATION
Reference Number: 000908494
Status: ACTIVE
Place Incorporated: MASSACHUSETTS
Date Incorporated: 10/27/2005
For Profit: YES
Additional Information: Annual Report Required: YES

Officers - As Of - 07/14/2009
Name   Standardized Address Original Address
GATES JR, HENRY LOUIS
Title: PRESIDENT
  12 QUINCY ST
CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-3804 12 QUINCY ST.
CAMBRIDGE MA

In September of 2008, the Boston Globe did an item (see second short item in story linked here - also in full below) claiming Professor Gates' charity was not in compliance with the law at that time, in essence suggesting it was phony.

In 2005, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., known to all as "Skip," set up the nonprofit Inkwell Foundation, named after a famous beach/gathering place for African-Americans on Martha's Vineyard. Skip talked about the foundation in a recent interview with Martha's Vineyard magazine and touted it when he launched his for-profit business, AfricanDNA.com, last year. "The precedent-setting site is the only company in the field of genetic genealogy that will provide African Americans with family tree research in addition to DNA testing," its initial press release declared, adding that "a percentage of all profits will be donated to the Inkwell Foundation, dedicated to reforming the teaching of science and history in inner city schools using genetic and genealogical ancestry tracing."

Public records indicate that the charity, domiciled in Gates's Cambridge home, has been dormant since its inception. Jill Butterworth, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office, says Inkwell has never filed the required, annual form PC, for public charities. "They are currently not in compliance," Butterworth said. "It's possible they are inactive or have dissolved. We are checking into it." Gates declined to comment.

According to this 20 page pdf (h/t Joseph Culligan of Web of Deception) - which seems to be the public and open for inspection 2007 tax return for Inkwell Foundation, Inc. Given the 2007 return date and 2008 Globe story date, the return seems to be from during the same time period for which the charity wasn't properly registered. 

Gates was unable to complete the form, requesting an extension. This does not mean he hasn't since filed the missing form PC paperwork cited above. But evidently it wasn't filed when the charity began - and for at least three years, thus including the year of the tax filing, it would seem.

In records, it claims to own $14,625 worth of artwork and historical objects - see page 4 of pdf linked above.

But there's still more I discovered down below. Excerpt from page 21:

7 State in detail why you need the extension ADDITIONAL TIME IS NEEDED TO GATHER THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO PREPARE A COMPLETE AND ACCURATE RETURN.

On page one line 1e, the document declares the charity received $205,400 in direct support, but declares only $27,600 in total expenditures for program services. Twenty-seven-five-hundred dollars went out in contracts to 23 individuals. See page 3 for that total. The charity claims to hold assets of $177,943 from direct contributions it seemingly hadn't spent at time of filing - see page 4. That's a shame, given its charge.

THE PURPOSE OF THE FOUNDATION IS TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND TO PROMOTE PROGRAMS THAT EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ENCOURAGE ACADEMIC INTEREST REGARDING AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE, ART, HISTORY, AND CULTURE.

Now, beginning on page 17, it provides the details of those grants. Six-thousand dollars to Angela Deleon and $10,000 to Inkwell's Treasurer, Joanne Kendall in research grants. There were 19 $500 grants (a $9,500 total) and 2 of $1,000, ($2,000) totaling $27,500, as declared.

Interesting enough, news reports indicate Angela Deleon was the woman who first called Gates to tell him about Obama mentioning his name. They did not further identify who she is. I couldn't find her at Harvard, or through Google Scholar, and I'm not sure if she is this consultant on elder crime victim issues, or not.

See here:

HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR: ...I was having dinner with a friend on the upper east side in a little private Italian restaurant and all of a sudden I thought my blackberry was going to explode. And the first call...it was from Angela...Angela DeLeon...[saying] Barack Obama just mentioned you in his news conference...

Meanwhile, according to the report below, Joanne Kendall who received $10,000 from the charity, is Gates' assistant, as well as the Treasurer of Inkwell Foundation, Inc.

See here:

Joanne Kendall, Gates' assistant, said that the professor was away from Cambridge for the summer filming a documentary and would only be making periodic returns. Gates could not be reached for comment.

Dell Hamilton would appear to be a $1,000 recipient, formerly the Events coordinator for the Dubois Institute at Harvard. I believe that means he worked for Gates.

Another $500 recipient, Nancy Brigham Cyr also worked for Gates as an administrator.

Nancy Brigham Cyr recently joined the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research as the new institute administrator.

Eric Foner, I assume the DeWitt Clinton Professor at Columbia received $500.

John Stauffer co-wrote a NY Times editorial with Gates and also received a $500 research grant.

David Blight of Yale was also a $500 recipient. Does one get a huge amount of research out of an Ivy League professor for that amount? I honestly don't know.

Evelynn Higginbotham, also of Harvard received $500.

I think John Thorton on page 18 of the tax form may actually be John Thornton, another Harvard African American studies guy. 

Linda Heywood, also with the W.E.B. DuBois Institute.

Abby Wolf, also of Harvard - $1,000

You'll find the rest on pages 18 and 19 of the tax document.

I'm not alleging any criminal, or fraudulent behavior. But if Gates' Inkwell Foundation, Inc doesn't have its paperwork up to date, it might want to start. And for a charity with over $200,000 on hand it certainly didn't seem interested in giving much of it away.

When it does give grants, it seems to stay pretty close to home, ... for the most part, Gates' employees and associates at Harvard. I didn't realize working at Harvard, or for Gates, qualifies one as a charitable cause. But perhaps it does, or he's only interested in encouraging academic interest among a rather tight-knit looking group and simply banking the rest.

THE PURPOSE OF THE FOUNDATION IS TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND TO PROMOTE PROGRAMS THAT EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ENCOURAGE ACADEMIC INTEREST REGARDING AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE, ART, HISTORY, AND CULTURE.

Comments

[Lala]

I posted this before on one of the other threads. Gates went to Trinity College in Dublin to take part in their DNA genealogical tracing. They say he and Crowley are related.

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Henry-Gates-has-50-Per-Cent-Irish-Roots--51568452.html

[mark l.]

this whole episode is going to set race relations back to somewhere between the 92 rodney king riots and the oj verdict.

got to give some props to obama's intellectual prowess in inserting himself and creating a national story.
bonus credit for gates in floating the "profiling" description, tapping into a sad reality about our culture, and using it as a shield to defend his snobbery.

a small 'shout-out' to libs who are fueling the discord in defending gates' rxn, pretending that if a white man had reacted in the same manner as gates, that things would be different.

team obama thinks a wh sitdown is going to defuse the fact that he couldn't bring himself to apologize and allow them to control a pending disaster. good luck with that.

we have sharpton, jackson, and oprah along with conservative talk radio to keep this feud running for quite some time, even if the wh were successful in walking away from this stinker.

I remember the criticism of bush-"going to war without a plan for winning peace". at least that was in another country. bambi just dropped a "social nuke" in america.

how does it play out? the conservatives drill the president over this. the libs fight back, not for the purpose of defending gates and the circumstances, but in defense of obama. the only defense they can offer is to tell america how they are all racists, moving away from the actual facts of this particular incident, and trying to create a broader narrative which will help bambi get out of his direct involvement.

wishing the libs all the luck in the world in escaping this, but I have a feeling it is going to be the start of defing obama's first term legacy. that it occurs in the same week he falls below 50% approval would suggest that there is some pretty sick karma out there.

[xerocky]

I'm glad that people feel that his (Gates) background is at least as important as Joe the Plumber's might be. The only difference is that all of the problems with Gates are already in the public eye. (should one want to look, you wouldn't have to break the law to find these things out)

"Is it possible that Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was acting strange when law enforcement showed up at his door" (?)

Only if you think that he's a blithering idiot, with which I'd have to disagree, for now at least. I've never heard of anyone getting controversy to go away by yelling at the police.

From a personal stand point I really don’t care about Gates or his background. I’m glad that his acting out has blown up in his face, and now he looks like a fool, but past that I don’t care.

What I do care about is how Obama handled this, which is piss poor. For him to foster disrespect for the law in this day and age, when the inner city murder rate is so high amongst African Americans, is simply unacceptable.

And I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Gatesgate shines a bad light on the Walpin/Johnson affair. Obama seems to be willing to stick his neck out for his friends no matter what, no matter how wrong they may be, no matter how little he truly understands the implications of his having done so. To say the least, he simply doesn’t think before he speaks or acts. Anyone would have to know that firing Walpin would arouse suspicions, and even after co sponsoring that act, he still seemed to disrespect the intent of the law. And now again, he thinks that those who represent the law acted stupidly. There is a pattern here: Obama disrespects the law. Which is odd being that he was the head of the Harvard Law Review. And to that end, he doesn’t seem to have written any scholarly papers?

What’s up with this guy?

[rootreader]

Not only that, but Gates is a racist employer.

His other venture is the electronic news magazine The Root. www.theroot.com

You cannot work at The Root if you are white.

He will hire only blacks.

[Dennis D]

The charity appears questionable. Harvard doing repairs on a home owned by the University is not strange.

[WestWright]

Keep digging on Gates, if it's ok to rummage thru SPalin & Joe the Plumber's private life then get everything on this racist pimp, Gates and his buddy, Obama ASAP!

[xerocky]

"You cannot work at The Root if you are white.

He will hire only blacks."

Imagine trying to start a website that speaks only to the white experience, has only white writers, and then has the temerity to openly flaunt that fact?

[Charity Work]

I'm no fan of Dr. Gates -- I think his version of multiculturalism promotes an unhealthy balkanization of American identity. I'll argue with him on his politics, most of his research, and his recent claim that he was profiled. But this argument of a bogus charity doesn't seem to be a big deal (at least on the information we currently have).

Where's the scandal beyond incomplete paperwork? So Professor Gates establishes a charity and administers it from his home -- a home that is probably part of his compensation package from Harvard (a compensation package determined by market forces).

Now the charity holds $200,000+ in cash/assets -- and distributes 10% of those assets in grants/payment for services. Again, no story here. I could argue the charity is being prudent, using interest generated from investment assets to pay for some or all of the grants while maintaining most (if not all) of the original donations/assets of the charity. Assuming additional donations came in over subsequent years, there will likely be more $$s available for more grants and/or higher valued grants.

Again, where's the story.

I suppose the questions of who received grants could be an issue, but the people listed here don't raise any red flags. Academics who share a common research interest as Professor Gates and people who work closely with him on work related projects. Unless there is no real production generated from the grants, there doesn't appear to be an issue.

IF there is a story, it would be if there was a link between items purchased with money from the charity that went directly to benefit Professor Gates as an individual. But even then, how much condemnation could you throw at Professor Gates given the way corporations and individuals stretch what is a "legitimate" deduction or asset under IRS code. Even if Professor Gates bought a $100,000 painting with charitable donations and hung it in his home office, if he has a legally structured non-profit that uses that office space the issue would likely be an ethical issue rather than a legal concern.

Unless I'm missing something in this post, or in the supporting documents, the "bogus charity" is much ado about nothing.

[anonymous]

I'll bet the remainder of Inkwell money is gone. Just a richness of my experience opinion. Good work, Dan.

[clarice]

I'll bet it's gone and that it went to underwrite whatever Gates wanted to do with it.

[RDex]

I hope the inpropriety that appears with African DNA LLC comes to light nationaly. I think Gates is a fraud and he and others like him...Obama, Duval Patrick, Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons are perpetuating the racal problems in this country. The Cambridge Police did their job, unfortunatly they wont get any support from their leadership who are black. Dropping the charges was a mistake by the Cambridge Police and a knee jerk reaction by their top brass. This comes at a time where Obama has placed securing Afghanistan near the top of his foreign policy agenda, but "victory" in the war-torn country isn't necessarily the United States' goal, which he said Thursday in a TV interview. The article above was a great read and I am going to forward it to as many people as I can. I suggest that those in support of Police, Military and those who place their lives on the line for our freedom do the same.

RD CPD

[Mrs. Peperium]

Dan, look even further into Inkwell. As in Inkwell Beach at Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. This is where Obama was planning on spending some of his summer holidays. He may no longer be doing so. The history of this summer community is quite rich -literally. I had a friend in college days who was a member of one of the original families of this colony. As she explained it to me, they are the descendents of the "token black" system put in place by the Ivy Leagues after the Civil War. Each class year of each Ivy had a "token black" student come up from the South (by train) and all expenses were paid for his education plus he was given an allowance that equal his peers. My friend's ancestor was, like her, at Brown. He didn't he bring a suitcase with him. Her whole family had either gone to Brown or Harvard -many on this program. I think the AME Church is part of this as well. This colony is beyond elite. These folks are highly intelligent, extremely cultured, and incredibly successful. A book chronicling their lifestyles has been written about them - they even have their own debutante system:

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Kind-People-Inside-Americas/dp/0060984384

This life is far different than the average American middle class African American (or White) family experience and in another world from the hellish experience of the inner city African American family. To think Americans like Gates and his fellow Inkwells are content to summer in Martha's Vineyard with a 68% illiteracy rate among African American 3rd graders or that 80%+ of the African American babies born in Detroit are illegitimate and born below the poverty line and living a quality of life you wouldn't want subject an animal to is monstrous. They, better than any other Americans, understand the value of a real education. Their lives are a testament to what a good education combined with freedom and free enterprise can do for an individual in America.

More on Inkwell Beach - find out if the name is a nod to their educations as I suspect it is:

http://www.mvheritagetrail.org/oakbluffs.html

Oh, and when you learn about Inkwell, you understand what a phony race pimp Gates is. Along with Cornell West.

[Andrew X]

"Unless I'm missing something in this post, or in the supporting documents, the "bogus charity" is much ado about nothing."

That may be true, but if it can be used to hurt Gates, his family, and thus Obama, then it should be pursued at full throttle, come what may.

If this thinking causes you any concern, please address any complaints to Palin, Sarah, c/o the Alaska governors office. They will be happy to forward all correspondence to her new address.

[mmg]

SSoooooo sick of people being afraid to speak against Obama, this ahole Gates or any other person of color. A jerk is a jerk...this arrogant, eogmaniacal Haaaarvaaaaard Professor (as so many college professors are) is the one who incited a 'racial' incident...instead of merely being grateful that police showed up to his house in order to protect HIS life, this jerk refuses to state his name or give proper ID and shouts out it is because he is a black man that trouble has now ensued(!)--he needed only show ID, that's it; however, he's a harvard professor, as he staated: '...you don't know who you're dealing with..." uh, no, most people DON'T KNOW YOUR EGOTISTICAL ASS; in the real world, ANYone of ANY color is begging to be arrested by behaving in that arrogant and abusive a manner. He yells out to the officer (clean record of the officer, sorry libs), 'i'll speak with yo mama outside...'--and, there's our community organizer, no-experience President of our country, running to any microphone without first thinking he has NO factual info regarding the case, and calls Cambridge police officers idiots...!!! The best part here, before this incident, libs had already been complaining that THEIR chosen President wasn't do enough for them nor was he fulfilling all of his campaign promises...SHOCKING!!!!This country is screwed.

[William Teach]

I wonder what kind of outcry there would be if someone established a charity to PROVIDE GRANTS TO OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND TO PROMOTE PROGRAMS THAT EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ENCOURAGE ACADEMIC INTEREST REGARDING White AND White-AMERICAN LITERATURE, ART, HISTORY, AND CULTURE.

Anyhow, incredible work on this, Dan.

[Tax Atty]

Charity Work does a more realistic analysis of the limited information available on the Inkwell Foundation than Riehl. The single tax return available for Inkwell (2007) was also the first tax return filed. The quibbling about the use of a home address vs. a business address, etc. is much ado about nothing. The delay in filing is not unusual for a new charity.

However, the 2007 disbursements ($27,600 in grants) to employees and associates of Gates for "research" could be a breach of the restrictions applicable to charitable organizations and charitable trusts. Others have suggested that Foundation funds were used (perhaps in 2008) to fund a European trip for Gates. The tax return for 2008 is not yet available and could still be on extension and unfiled. It may be an interesting read.

If Inkwell provided a private benefit to Gates or to his employees and associates with charitable funds without a true charitable purpose or goal, Inkwell could lose its tax-exempt charitable status. The only entities with standing on that question will be the IRS, the Massachusetts tax authorities and the Massachusetts Attorney General. So far, Inkwell Foundation would seem to be pretty small potatoes and not a likely candidate for an audit by any of those agencies. Any inquiry by one of those agencies would be confidential and would not be in the public domain.

[Joe]

Gates:

Dear racist Sergeant Crowley,
You gotta understand,
It's just my Harvard status,
That get me out of hand.
Whites cops are all punks,
Affirmative action rules the land,
Golly Moses, natcherly I'm a skunk!

Gates:
Gee. Officer Crowley, I'm very upset;
You did not give me the love that an elistist expects,
I ain't no delinquent,
I'm misunderstood,
And your mama aint no good!

Chorus:
Aint no good!

ALL:
Your mama's no good, no good,
Just like your no good,
Because ever racist cop is no good.

Crowley:
Sir, I am just investigating a robbery!

Gates: Lemme educate you about the world!

Crowley:
Just tell it to the judge!

Gates(to "Judge Obama"):
Dear kindly Judge, your Honor,
Society treats me rough,
With all the racism out there,
I cant get grants to do my stuff.
White people pay $50,000 bucks,
So I can brainwash educate their spoiled kids.
Leapin' lizards, that's why society sucks!

Obama (getting word his poll numbers are plumeting and it is time to throw another pal under the bus):
Officer Crowley, you're really a square;
This elder professor don't need a judge, he needs an
analyst's care!
It's just his neurosis that oughta be curbed.
He's psychologic'ly disturbed!

Gates:
I'm disturbed!

ALL:
He's disturbed. He's disturbed,
He's the most disturbed,
Like he's psychologic'ly disturbed.

Obama:
In the opinion of Da One, this professor is
depraved on account
he ain't had a normal nonracist society.

Gates: Hey, I'm depraved on account I'm deprived!

Obama: So take him to a headshrinker.

Gates (to "Psychiatrist"):
Society treats me like a bastard,
The cop's an S.O.B.
They think all negros are plastered,
I broke in 'cause I lost my keys,
Axelrod has a mustache,
Michelle wears a dress,
Goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess!

Psychiatrist:
Yes!
Officer Crowley, you're really a slob.
This professor don't need a doctor, just a good honest job.
Society's played him a terrible trick,
"Und" sociogic'ly he's sick!

Gates:
I am sick!

ALL:
He is sick, He is sick,
He is sick sick sick,
Like he's sociologically sick!

Psychiatrist:
In my opinion this professor don't need to have
his head shrunk at all.
Elitist delinquency is purely a social disease!

Gates: Hey, I got a social disease!

Psychiatrist:
So take him to a social worker!

Gates (to "Social Worker"):
Dear kindly social worker.
They say go earn a buck,
Like be a race documentary maker,
Which means like be a schmuck.
It's not I'm anti-social,
I'm only anti-work,
Glory Osky, that's why I'm a jerk!

Female social worker):
Eek!
Officer Crowley, you've done it again.
Gates don't need a job, he needs a year in the pen.
It ain't just a question of misunderstood;
Deep down inside him, he's no good!

Gates:
I'm no good!

ALL:
He's no good, he's no good,
He's no earthly good,
Like the best of us is no damn good!

Obama:
The trouble is he's crazy!

Psychiatrist:
The trouble is he drinks!

Social Worker:
The trouble is he's lazy!

Obama:
The trouble is he stinks!

Psychiatrist:
The trouble is he's growing!

Social Worker:
The trouble is he's grown!

ALL:
Crowley. we got troubles of our own!
Gee, Officer Crowley,
We're down on our knees,
'Cause no one wants a fella with a social disease.
Gee, Officer Crowley,
What are we to do!
Gee, Officer Crowley,
Crow you!

[rootoutracism]

It is illegal in the United States of America to hire people on the basis of their race.

Yet, that is exactly what Mr. Gates' electronic magazine www.theroot.com does.

They hire ONLY black people as journalists. They deliberately discriminate against Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, Aleutian Eskimos and other ethnic groups.

That company should be sued for racial discrimination.

[xerocky]

If there would be anything that this "charity" reminds me of, it would be St. Hope. Kevin Johnsons charity.

Do all of Obama's friends have one of these?

[B Moe]

"he launched his for-profit business, AfricanDNA.com, last year. "The precedent-setting site is the only company in the field of genetic genealogy that will provide African Americans with family tree research in addition to DNA testing," its initial press release declared, adding that "a percentage of all profits will be donated to the Inkwell Foundation, dedicated to reforming the teaching of science and history in inner city schools using genetic and genealogical ancestry tracing.""

So even if the charity had been run legitimately according to the law, its primary function would be to advertise and promote his for profit DNA service.

Nice.

[xerocky]

"Where's the scandal beyond incomplete paperwork?"

That's what they call it every time a friens of Obama has a charity and the money doesn't get to those it was intended for. "Incomplete paperwork"

This is turning into a pattern.

[Funk forty nine]

Awhile back the Boston Globe did an investigation series on the use of charitable foundations as tax avoidance vehicles. The IRS is understaffed and audits almost none of them so it's pretty risk free. You set up a foundation, make yourself pres, your wife the treasurer, each gets a car provided and you throw a few percentage of the foundation funds annually to a shelter for battered woman. (funds must disperse 5% annually which can include admin costs) I'd say Gates is abusing it a lot less than some of the others they profiled.

[AntiO]

Nice Job, Dan !!

And, to those that think a non-profit set up for charitable purposes which doesn't file timely tax returns including extensions and uses it's contributions to benefit a small group of related parties ....is NO BIG DEAL, I assure you the IRS would not feel the same !! Go to IRS.gov and find out about all the PENALTIES THAT CAN BE ASSESSED !!

I agree, lets explore the World of Harvard Professor Gates !! We just might find another Rev Wright .....who Obama will eventually have to throw under that famous bus !! Then we will find out who really acted "stupidly" !!

[jakee308]

InkWell huh. You mean lke where you can go and dip your "pen" in the "Inkwell" time and time again and it never runs "dry"?

He should have named it "Piggy Bank" or "Melting Ice Fund".

Well, Instant Karma's gonna visit some of O's friends like it visited his enemies, Huh?

[kentuckyliz]

Another theory about Gates' irrational overreaction is that he was on the down low, his lover was in the house, and when Crowley asked him if anyone else was in the house (because the dispatcher said two people were breaking in), Gates panicked out of fear of exposure--not realizing that Crowley wouldn't give a crap if his manlover were there, he didn't know him. Gates has an inflated sense of his own "fame."

[O!]

I wonder how much "Charity Work" and "Tax Atty" were paid to come onto this blog and spread their disinformation?

("Charity Work" - all the money that the "charity" has "paid out" has gone to friends, family, and employees of Gates with nothing to show for it from any of them. You may not think this quarter-million-dollar slush fund set up under fraudulent pretenses is a big deal; other people do, including the IRS.)

("Tax Atty" - the charity was formed in 2005, so your excuse that it was "newly formed" and that's why it missed the 2007 filing deadline, two years later, is ludicrous. Also, you claim that falsifying the incorporation documents with incorrect principal-home and place-of-business addresses is "much ado about nothing"; you're smart not to provide a real name when you're giving out this kind of dishonest legal advice which could get you sanctioned or disbarred and your clients in deep legal trouble.)

[PA]

"Only if you think that he's a blithering idiot, with which I'd have to disagree"

Indeed. I scream at and verbally abuse cops every single day and they all treat me with the utmost respect. Then when I heap exceptional abuse on them, most even break down and lend me $100 and offer to wash/wax my car for free, and offer me their girlfriends and wives for a night too.

[WTF Capital Investments]

Gates is just running a secular charity in a similar fashion to Rahm Emanuel running a sectarian one.

I would encourage all Americans to create their own charity as a vehicle to funnel their tax exempt donations.

The pros do it. Why shouldn't the amateurs?

[Ad rem]

Joe,

Cough up my rouyalties dude,

Leonard Bernstein

[Ad rem]

er....."royalties"......that's how they say it on the "West Side"....end of story......

[Dusty]

"Now the charity holds $200,000+ in cash/assets -- and distributes 10% of those assets in grants/payment for services. Again, no story here. I could argue the charity is being prudent, using interest generated from investment assets to pay for some or all of the grants while maintaining most (if not all) of the original donations/assets of the charity. Assuming additional donations came in over subsequent years, there will likely be more $$s available for more grants and/or higher valued grants."

[Charity Work | Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:00 AM]

You could argue "the charity is being prudent, using interest", but you'd lose the argument either on your prudent or your "using interest" 'cause the charity had $163,318 non-interest bearing cash and only $143 in interest to claim.

Reading (the return) is fundamental.

[Pagar]

From a commenter at 9:35 AM on the 25th at the Riehl world Link

"Not only that, but Gates is a racist employer.

His other venture is the electronic news magazine The Root. www.theroot.com

You cannot work at The Root if you are white."

Is that legal?

[commander0]

Although you noted the deal about the disparate addresses there might be another issue not mentioned. That would be the property tax status of a charity headquarters versus that of a residence. He seems to be listing his office, taxes paid by the university, as his residence and his residence as the charity headquarters, taxes paid by no one. Oh make this true make this true make this true, clicks heels.

[AST]

It's Bonfire of the Vanities all over! Is Crowley going to the White House? After Gates' "my unfortunate experience will only have a larger meaning if we can all use this to diminish racial profiling," I wouldn't give him or Obama the time of day.

How about inviting them both to have coffee at the Cambridge PD headquarters?

If this is going to be a race baiting session, send Al Sharpton instead.

[Scrapiron]

Evidently everyone except me has a charity (501 tax exempt) account and pay no taxes. No wonder the fed's are broke, only the $7 per hour employees pay taxes. None of President O'Dumbo's employees paid until he gave them a million dollar salary. Blue dog democrats at war with Yellow dog democrats is ironic.

[mockmook]

"a home that is probably part of his compensation package from Harvard (a compensation package determined by market forces)."

You're kidding, right?

[scott]

the angela deleon listed as recipient of $6000.00 grant has adress in davis California

Searching angela deleon plus Davis links to a posting referencing a grad student in nutrition

searching angela deleon and nutrition yields this plus photo

Angela DeLeon, Personal Trainer
"People should feel comfortable and strong in their bodies. In a safe, motivating environment, fitness can change the course of a person’s life and add quality."

Certifications: ACE Personal Trainer

Angie was a member of the Track and Cross-Country Team at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Her experience also includes ten years of extensive road racing from 5k’s to marathons. Her whole life has been a commitment to personal fitness, and she wants to share her knowledge with others.

She served as a counselor for developmentally disabled adults in Santa Barbara and as a counselor for children in Amsterdam for ten years. Three years of crisis hotline experience has developed in her an unusual ability to put people at ease.

Realizing that the benefits of fitness extend far beyond the physical realm, Angie encourages a better sense of self. A person who has a strong sense of who they are on the inside as well as the outside is more successful at setting goals and attaining them. This confidence carries over into everything else in the person’s life.

[scott]

Query... if the Grants are for research, did any of the recipients produce/ publish..

if so, did they do this under their name, or did the research performed support any of Dr.
Gates' for profit projects. If so, that could possibly be misuse of ax exempt funds, i would think

[Mike2Cents]

Hmm..and what's under this rock?
I also heard he doesn't make a good burger. I mean, wtf?
And those clothes....please.
And doesn't he pal around with terrorists, too?
And, it seems, a lousy tipper.
I don't like the way he moves his chin when he speaks.

[scott]

From a bit more research, it appears that many of the Reseach recipients are listed in the credits for two of Dr. Gates PBS documentaries, African american lives, and African American lives 2.

is there a link between non-profit research grant and this (presumably for profit) venture??

[englishroots]

Gates and the cop come from the same Irish guy. At this point, let's drop the talk and let cousins Gates and Crowley work out their family problems. Perhaps Gates will learn to tone down his racism, even get rid of it. The man can't even trace his ancestry to Africa; that search led him to Ireland. So Gates is whiter than he thinks. I don't think he wants to be a self-hating white black guy.

[anonononymouse]

rootoutracism: I believe the EEO restrictions don't kick in until the 26th employee. that's why the chinese restaurant can be full of chinese only (and maybe a few mexicans). It's a burden on large businesses to meet
the unwritten quotas, not the small family shops.

[Tim]

In most states the landlord has to fix the lock if it's broken. At least they do in Maryland and California, where I own rental property.

[Lifeofthemind]

The abuse of PBS as a shill for projects used to raise many for favored members of the Nomenklatura sounds like a good story.
Gates produces, and is I would think compensated for, two shows. These are promoted by PBS and local affiliates. Other PBS shows, think Charlie Rose, run segments that add to the visibility and prestige of the project. Everyone connected with these programs is paid using charitable or taxpayer dollars. The publicity generated is used as a form of unpaid advertising to support Mr Gates' for profit business.

Jobs for the boys. It's the Chicago Way.

[Jeffrey Collins]

I'm not sure what you're point is here.

According to this 20 page pdf (h/t Joseph Culligan of Web of Deception) - which seems to be the public and open for inspection 2007 tax return for Inkwell Foundation, Inc. Given the 2007 return date and 2008 Globe story date, the return seems to be from during the same time period for which the charity wasn't properly registered.

Gates was unable to complete the form, requesting an extension. This does not mean he hasn't since filed the missing form PC paperwork cited above. But evidently it wasn't filed when the charity began - and for at least three years, thus including the year of the tax filing, it would seem.

In records, it claims to own $14,625 worth of artwork and historical objects - see page 4 of pdf linked above.

But there's still more I discovered down below. Excerpt from page 21:

7 State in detail why you need the extension ADDITIONAL TIME IS NEEDED TO GATHER THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO PREPARE A COMPLETE AND ACCURATE RETURN.

I'm not saying there's nothing fishy here. For one, the organization has been around since 2005 and, based on my research, hasn't filed a return except for 2007. (It's possible it wasn't required to. Charities with less than $25,000 in receipts weren't required to file a return. Jumping from under $25k to over $200k seems a big jump if they were founded in 2005.)

However, the passage I copied above seems to be making big hay about the fact that they filed an extension for their 2007 return. My experience is that virtually all non-profits, even small ones that aren't very complicated, file extensions. The language you cited from the extension about needing additional time to file a complete and accurate return is just boiler plate accounting language. Virtually every accounting firm in the US puts a statement just like that on every extension they file that requires an explanation. I'd have to check, but my firm might actually use the exact same language.

I didn't read all of the other documentation you cited, but I just don't see any "there" there based on the return itself. If you look at the balance sheet virtually all the money they raised is still sitting in the bank. They only reported $100 for management expenses for supplies so it's not like they're wasting the money away. It seems likely they just haven't found anyone who meets their criteria.

If you're really interested, their 2008 return should be interesting reading when filed. The 2008 forms require significantly more in the way of disclosures regarding how the non-profit is run.

[Boy you people are DUMB]

I suggest you tea-bagging tea-baggers use your time and rescorces to study up on the Boston tea party from a "real history book", so that your signs actually make sense at you next tea party, instead of inventing a new conspiracy.

How's that birth certificate thing going anyway?

Boy you people are dumb.

[Pablo]

"Gates was unable to complete the form, requesting an extension. This does not mean he hasn't since filed the missing form PC paperwork cited above."

He hasn't. If he had, you'd be able to see it at Guidestar.org. Only the 990 from 2007 is there. However, that was filed in August '08, so you'd expect the 2008 version to be filed next month.

[Andrew T. Halmay]

I have a letter sent to me in 1954 by Thurgood Marshall when he was head of the NAACP. He wrote to me to commend me for my efforts to stamp out racism.
I get a sense that another six months of the Gateses and Obamas, I'll be looking to sign up with the Ku Klux Klan. I get a sense that there is a grass roots tsunami getting underway to wash away the changes Mr. Obama has in mind for America. I voted for him. It wasn't the first mistake I've made but possibly the biggest.

[Ike]

While Professor Gates is undoubtedly a racist, it may be that his reaction to Sergeant Crowley's appearance on his porch arose because he believes his own lectures. He teaches and, I suspect, attempts to indoctrinate his students with the Gospel of the White Devil. That is to say that every white man with or without official authority is only just waiting to injure - physically, emotionally or economically - each and every black person in America. It would appear that he has been saying that nonsense so long that he believes it himself. That's why he wasn't actually resting his sore throat, but was shouting and screaching: his own racist prejudiced view of the white part of America caused fear for his safety to strike deep into his bigoted heart and he panicked. I feel sorry for him, if this indeed was the case. Poor man; hoist by his own petard.

[Mercian]

"Is it possible that Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was acting strange when law enforcement showed up at his door because he didn't want the story below to come out? "

Not very likely since prima donna Gates was making a big story out of it