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

[Mercian]

"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."

lolwut? my rescorces is fine how about your?

"How's that birth certificate thing going anyway?"

CNN says it is not exist:
"...he said that CNN researchers had determined that Hawaiian officials discarded paper documents in 2001. Because of that, Obama's long-form birth certificate no longer exists and the shorter certificate of live birth that has been made public is the sole official record."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5907183/Right-Wing-US-conspiracists-question-Obamas-birth-certificate.html

"Boy you people are dumb."

Yes we is dumb. You is smart

[Xerocky]

"How's that birth certificate thing going anyway?"

He still hasn't shown it.

[XCaleb]

I'm surprised at the ignorance of many of your commenters here re the house that is provided to Gates by Harvard. This is standard for colleges and universities all over the country and the world. It's obvious 90% of your readers know nothing of colleges and universities. This site is a joke and so are your readers.

[Mercian]

"I'm surprised at the ignorance of many of your commenters here re the house that is provided to Gates by Harvard. This is standard for colleges and universities all over the country and the world. It's obvious 90% of your readers know nothing of colleges and universities. This site is a joke and so are your readers."

Really? I know it's a fairly common practice but I believe it is far from typical. At my alma mater my engineering professors all were living off campus, in fact no professors were living on campus I knew of. Likewise at Tufts most live off campus. At WPI my professors were all off campus. So I'll say, since you believe it is "standard ", you know nothing of colleges and universities. You apparently are a joke

[France]

It is obvious Gates is a physical wimp when compared to Sergeant Crowley. Gates saw an opportunity to flex his mighty sword and take the Sergeant down a peg. Unfortunately his arrogance ruled. It appears to the most casual observer that Gates is a sanctimonious little man with a huge ego that must be stroked. Thankfully Crowley refused go flaccid and thereby exposed Gates for the little weasel he is.

[Jason]

I have HQ audio of the 911 call, Moderator, If you are interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4KDsE70VsM

[jeanne]

It appears to me the foundation mislabeled the payouts to make it look like they only had a 1% administrative cost:

From the ProPublica article:
"Regulators and watchdog groups expect charities to spend more on activities that serve their core missions, but it's not unusual for administrative costs to eat up more of the budget early on.

By reclassifying the payments to Kendall and Wolf, administrative expenses will constitute almost 40 percent of Inkwell's 2007 spending instead of less than one percent."
http://www.propublica.org/article/foundation-run-by-harvards-gates-is-revising-tax-return-after-questions-727
_____________________________________

I also thought this was interesting:
"Gates volunteered that the foundation's second-largest grant, for $6,000, went to HIS FIANCEE, Angela DeLeon, who was also on Inkwell's board from 2005 to 2006."

Keep reading to see how the "board members" all vote each other benefits, with the beneficiary recusing himself from voting. What a deal.

[Jeffrey Collins]

Actually Pablo, he can file for a second extension until November 15th. Now that he knows the 2007 return is being pored over, I suspect that's what's going to happen.

[Paul]

What is the deal with Gates living at 17 Ware? It's a 1.5 million dollar house, owned by Harvard, and ...'tax exempt'. Supposedly rents in the area go for 4-5k/mo. Does Gates get a free ride? Did he declare this 'gift' on his taxes? Why would a 'successful' Harvard professor have to rent a house.

Is Gates pulling a Congressman Rangle( 4 rent controlled apartments in the same building ).

I guess some tax cheats are more equal than others.

[Meshuga]

I notice that someone above actually remembers the documentary that Gates was in a while back. It involved tracing the roots of some prominent "African Americans". To his consternation, Gates found that he was more "white" than "black". And he has strong Irish roots. Ever notice his blue eyes? Why is it that people who are more white than black, always call themselves black. Obama has a white mother, yet the white in him has been stuffed in the closet. When Gates found out how white he was, he comented that he wondered if he would still be elidgable for affermative action programs. He is nothing more than a white man pretending to be black.

[KBB]

Posted by: xerocky: "...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?"

I question whether Obama was ever head of the HLR. He left no evidence of anything of the sort. He claims many things that people who should remember....don't remember. And, you certainly can't get anyone anywhere to verify anything about him. In addition to that, his handlers have gotten very good at photoshopping pictures. I think his true background is so shady that he made a fake one up out of whole cloth, like a fairy tale.