Doug PollardIs ALSO really For All Of Us, or just the few who run it?
The ALSO Foundation says it's for all of us: but according to my next guest, it's just for a few. What follows is an interview with Geoff Richards, a past ALSOCare committee member, and the email I received that prompted me to ask him on the show. The ALSO AGM is due to take place Tuesday Nov 30
DOUG: I got a rather concerning email a little while ago (see text below), from my next guest. About the ALSO Foundation; now, I have to say in the past I have been a bit of a critic of the ALSO Foundation and my basic criticism of it is I don’t know what it’s for and I don’t know what it does. Despite numerous attempts to get answers to those questions the answers have never really quite satisfied me. But my next guest has a number of things to say about ALSO which I find quite concerning. We will be talking with the president of the ALSO Foundation later on in the programme so you’re going to get the other side of the story as well – but please, welcome now Geoff Richards. Good morning, Geoff.
GEOFF: Good morning, Doug. Thanks for the opportunity and hi-to-all the Joy listeners. I am an occasional listener particularly in the vehicle.
DOUG: You used to be on the ALSO Care [& Benevolent Society Inc.] committee, didn’t you?
GEOFF: My word, yes. The very first one in September 1987 was when the first meeting was there, to establish the ALSO Care & Benevolent Society and it’s a pity it didn’t continue to do those good works.
DOUG: (and) You’ve been involved with ALSO since, on-and-off – haven’t you?
GEOFF: Yes. I was disgusted at one stage and pulled out for a year-or-so and walked away. But I’ve retained membership.
DOUG: Okay – now, you’ve sent this message to everybody. Part of it was printed in the gay press last week and there’re a couple of letters, too. Again, this week. On the subject. In which you make some claims about the solvency of the ALSO Foundation. Can you explain what that’s all about?
GEOFF: It’s very easy for the ALSO Foundation to be solvent, Doug.
DOUG: M’mm.
GEOFF: It doesn’t even need smoke-and-mirrors because there is an ALSO Care & Benevolent Society. There are two organisations - - -
DOUG: Right.
GEOFF: - - - and the ALSO Care & Benevolent Society was the one where bequests came into and where charitable gifts come to. Because of income tax requirements – those two and they have to have a fund for the gifts, but the bequests go into the general income of the ALSO Care & Benevolent Society. I’ll use just: ALSO Care. For short, in future.
DOUG: Yeah.
GEOFF: Now from those, then the bequest testator can say what they like and what it should be given for.
DOUG: Now, ALSO Care & Benevolent Society. What was that originally, founded for?
GEOFF: There were a number of objectives for that. (and) Perhaps the first one is for an overarching one: developing health education, well being of people especially gay men and women – and you’d have to say “especially” because you can’t discriminate, Doug.
DOUG: Yes, of course.
GEOFF: (and) Particularly, including the provision in supporting the elderly and / or infirm. Now that was the main one, the very first one. There. It went on to talk about AIDS and it went on to talk about [indistinct] domiciliary care and finished with the provision of hostels, special accommodation and nursing homes.
DOUG: Yeah. That’s the bit I always knew about - - -
GEOFF: M’mm.
DOUG: - - - the late-Addam Stobbs once said to me: I bought a brick in their care home, I still haven’t seen it.
GEOFF: Dead right.
DOUG: [laughs]
GEOFF: I’m sorry, Addam. If you’re listening up there.
[laughs]
DOUG: So the money was presumably, left by people, who wanted to further this particular set of objectives, particularly the care of the elderly and infirm GLBTIQ community.
GEOFF: Over AU$1m was subsequently given by a number of estates running up to the year 2002 or 2003. Some of those – the bulk – did say: general purposes for ALSO. About $300,000 – half-a-million, perhaps – because I don’t know them all, Doug -
DOUG: M’mm, m’mm. M’mm, m’mm.
GEOFF: - specified for domiciliary accommodation or assistance, for the older aged-person. That’s been plundered, too and I use that word because that’s a descriptive word of what’s been taken from there. By past people, to use to fund ALSO Foundation. Hence your first question – you can make ALSO Foundation have a profit or a loss any way you want; all you have to do is charge ALSO Care with exorbitant management fees, rent – and m’mm, management charges.
DOUG: But we ought to stress there’s nothing illegal about any of this.
GEOFF: Not at all.
DOUG: This is all perfectly above-board. It’s all perfectly legal, it’s down there in the accounts. You can see what’s been done. Do we know how much money is currently left in the ALSO Care & Benevolent Fund?
GEOFF: Of course you’ve got the annual reports which show roughly about a million dollars of assets. What’s in each fund? The answer’s: no. Despite the fact they’re supposed to report each year on that, there’s a gift fund. There’s a requirement in the articles for that and there’s a requirement by the taxation people. I will be asking them to provide that report, this time. In accordance with their articles.
DOUG: What is the difference therefore, between the ALSO Foundation and the ALSO Care & Benevolent Fund; the ALSO Foundation is just an off-shoot of the Fund, isn’t it?
GEOFF: No. It was set-up the other way ‘round - - -
DOUG: Right.
GEOFF: - - - think you’re testing my memory now, Doug. ALSO Foundation was in existence and I think, the ’87 – in fact, I’m sure the ALSO Foundation was a couple of years earlier. Then Care was established when those 12-or-so, far-reaching individuals set up the ALSO Care and they could look ahead. They could see the older gay men and women – and at that time mostly, it was men. But of course now, it’s men and women; they could see what was coming.
DOUG: M’mm.
GEOFF: (and) My goodness, it’s arrived for me, Doug. I’m now searching with my colleague to find accommodations – special accommodation – or residential accommodation, for him. We had to search by ourselves. Not one dot-of-care, assistance, referral came from ALSO – the very thing these 12 people had set out to establish.
DOUG: What’s the ALSO Foundation done with the money, then?
GEOFF: M’mm, I’d like to say: spent on paper clips. But that’s being a bit broad with the issue, Doug. But not far from the truth. Salaries and paper clips, keeping alive probably is a better description.
DOUG: All that this money has done according to you, is sat there. It’s earned interest and it’s paid to keep the organisation going. But the organisation itself has not done what it was set-up to do – is that what you’re saying?
GEOFF: That’s correct. In that field, it certainly hasn’t helped in – m’mm, activities for the older, gay person. Flavour-of-the-month stuff seems to be common with the ALSO Foundation. I’m perhaps being a bit harsh there, because of course you’re also chasing whatever funding’s available from different authorities.
DOUG: Sure and I mean, no-one I think would begrudge money that had been spent for example, on AIDS-related issues.
GEOFF: No but initially, that’s why we backed-off. From the initial establishment AIDS was – m’mm, part of its peak then and so looking after the aged male we backed-off – and said, okay, let’s deal with the AIDS-thing first - - -
DOUG: Okay. Because it was an emergency at that point.
GEOFF: - - - yes.
DOUG: (and) Nobody was doing anything much, were they?
GEOFF: No but very shortly other issues came up and it was quite clear, you had separate bodies dealing with that. (and) They could’ve returned to the original concept. Where it got off the track was they thought the bequest had to actually build a home and therefore, that would only satisfy four-or-five people.
DOUG: M’mm.
GEOFF: In the home. That’s ridiculous and you don’t have to get-up very early in the morning to figure out that all you needed was to arrange for various places to be accepting of the gay community. (and) That’s what Val’s Café is talking about now – yet to see the bottom line, there. But that’s finally on-track.
DOUG: Yeah and also I seem to remember the previous CEO of the ALSO Foundation, Lyn Morgain. I seem to remember talking to her about – m’mm, training materials for people working in aged care. To make them aware of the needs of GLBTIQ residents, did anything happen there?
GEOFF: I believe that’s the case. But if you go to the ALSO website you can see a referral to some took-kit documents from Toronto - - -
DOUG: M’mm, m’mm.
GEOFF: - - - and that’s all that I know of but I haven’t been invited. I don’t know that the general public has or I’ve misunderstood. I haven’t been invited to anything at that Val’s Café – I think, it’s heading in the right direction - - -
DOUG: M’mm, m’mm.
GEOFF: But the bottom line for me, in looking with my partner for accommodation. After all these years - - -
DOUG: You weren’t getting any help from - - -
GEOFF: - - - [laughs]
DOUG: Which was supposed to be set-up to do that?
GEOFF: The very thing. Sure. They’ve done three bits of research on – m’mm, gay issues. (and) Gay men. Very good, validated research and yet this year we had another one for ALSO Foundation. We’ll probably hear the results of that, Jason will tell you there and I’m sure he’ll tell you that it’s been properly validated, it would stand-up to the criteria of a doctorate. As the earlier pieces of research were. I would doubt that. But I hope they’re not basing that strategic direction for the next 5-years on this bit of research that’s just been done.
DOUG: It’s been an awfully long time since ALSO’s been set-up – according to you, it went off-track and never got back on again. Because of your experiences in trying to find accommodation for yourself and your partner now this has galvanised you to try and do something about this?
GEOFF: Yes. It made me extremely bitter.
DOUG: So what are you doing about it? You’re standing for election to the ALSO Board.
GEOFF: Not just me. There are 3-of-us, a small group of four have been together – to give due credit to Jason and his group, they’ve met with us. A couple of times. But I get the impression Doug, if [Sir Johannes] “Joh” Bjelke-Petersen was live that’s how we’d be treated, the chooks in the farmyard. That’s about as much attention as we’ve got. Patronised, I suppose is the word for it.
DOUG: You’re feeling patronised.
GEOFF: (and) Nothing actually has changed. Transparency is the thing, you’re wanting to know where that ALSO Care & Benevolent Fund Inc. money went? You ask and no response to that. There’s an absolute lack of transparency. I illustrate with the Opportunity Shop – I defy you, to figure-out whether that’s running at a loss-or-profit according to the results that are shown. I’m an accountant, a CPA and I still can’t figure that out Doug. That’s what’s lacking in the organisation. You ask them about this latest AU$900,000 budget they’re talking about floating for the coming year. That’s about twice what they’ve talked about before – the first thing is they’d better all hope the Labor Party’s going to get back on the weekend. So all you people out there that are going to vote, think about this - - -
DOUG: M’mm.
GEOFF: - - - almost half of it is a money pot of promised gold. This is a budget 5-months into the [financial] year. It’d be nice to say to Jason just how they’re running in that budget. Because of course, half-way in they’d know. Whether they’ve got AU$964,771 of income on-track.
DOUG: M’mm.
GEOFF: I’d be staggered. Because we’ve tried to ask them that beforehand, how they’ve gone according to budget and got a patronising answer.
DOUG: I’ve got a message here:
[reads]
“If ALSO budgets for 950-thousand income but misses its target again how much additional loss from ALSO Care is acceptable ...”
GEOFF: Well, they haven’t got that much left there. It would be under a million dollars and as I say. You could transfer that across by upping the management fees. But what are they managing? A cupboard? In which the bequests are sitting? What is the rent for managing some bequests, there? It’s ridiculous. Those sorts of charges; any fund manager out there in the community, would manage $1m for far less than is being taken out by ALSO Foundation. It’s just a matter of them balancing their budget so that it looks nice.
DOUG: But there still is that big pot-of-money sitting there in the ALSO Care fund, yeah?
GEOFF: There’re assets showing there in any balance sheets, you’ll see - - -
DOUG: Right.
GEOFF: - - - assets are there.
DOUG: Which are cash assets? Or - - -
GEOFF: I don’t know. It would’ve been nice if I’d got the figures for this year’s reports, I haven’t yet and I’m a member. I suppose they’re out there, somewhere. In the mail or whatever – that’s the best I can hope.
DOUG: They turned-up in my pigeon hole last night.
GEOFF: You might’ve got an advance copy and three or 4-days before a meeting isn’t enough time to dissect.
DOUG: The meeting is on Tuesday, isn’t it?
GEOFF: Yes. I’m sorry. I can’t answer you - - -
DOUG: Of course.
GEOFF: - - - fully on that. It’d be nice to know but – m’mm, my guesstimate is they’ll be running-down the reserves this year. If they don’t get that pot-of-gold from the government. Fancy budgeting on a promise, on an election promise and upping the income, to that extent?
DOUG: The government’s been talking about spending – what is it? AU$400,000 on a peak body but unspecified to which it is?
GEOFF: Yes, correct.
DOUG: Is this making the assumption that ALSO’s going to be that body?
GEOFF: I would be asking that on Tuesday night, unless they’ve some other pots-of-gold as well? I may be treating them harshly there but Jason of course, will know the answer to that when you interview him, shortly.
DOUG: I hope so, yes.
GEOFF: M’mm.
DOUG: A message here from the previous questioner – it’s down about 680-thousand from statements sent-out this week, that’s the pot that’s in - - -
GEOFF: Well I think the reader who’s got that information it’d be nice if I’d had it, too.
DOUG: Well obviously we’re going to have a few questions for Jason later on and I’m sure, he will have some answers for us. In the meantime what’s your next move? The meeting is on Tuesday, you’ll be raising these issues on Tuesday.
GEOFF: Most certainly. I hope all you people out there who haven’t voted vote for Geoff Richards, Ross Wootton and Bob Morris in the ALSO Care Committee and Bob Morris is also standing in the Foundation. That’s only the start. We really need to separate the two and not have common directors. It’s like a trusteeship and that’s what’s happened; no-one is monitoring a fox who’s in the chicken coop - - -
DOUG: Yep in other words the old thing about who guards the guardians?
GEOFF: - - - yeah. Yes, yes.
DOUG: We don’t have guardians in this situation it seems.
GEOFF: There was supposed to be this gift fund and report but there’s not for the bequests. I believe we ought to replace those bequests back – the Board should take a cold shower, accept they’ve done wrong in the way they’ve done it and recreate the fund, there. (and) Then there’s a million dollars over the time you could use the income from it. You can’t at the moment. Because they’ve stolen that income, they’ve taken that away then they double-dip with the management charges.
DOUG: Yeah but again we ought to stress, there’s nothing illegal in any of this. That they’ve done.
GEOFF: No, no.
DOUG: It’s all - - -
GEOFF: Creative accounting’s the term for it, Doug.
DOUG: - - - think a lot of community associations work on that - - -
GEOFF: [laughs]
DOUG: Because they wouldn’t have anything if they didn’t.
GEOFF: Yes.
DOUG: But anyway – m’mm, I think you’re going to have an interesting meeting on Tuesday.
GEOFF: Yes. If past performance – we’ll be patronised, again. So it means that you’ve got to then turn to call a special meeting and a spill of the Board. I fancy you won’t need to get too much to worry about, there. If they haven’t got their 900-thousand surely the Board would march, then?
DOUG: Well, they say: may you live in interesting times. It sounds like you’re having some very interesting times at the ALSO Foundation. Geoff, thank you very much for coming in today – m’mm, have you found somewhere for your partner?
GEOFF: Yes and no thanks to ALSO. But it did take a search. It’s difficult to find somewhere that’s amenable plus take his dog. So now, the dog is taking Harry off to his retirement village in a short time and - - -
DOUG: May I be rude and ask you how old you are?
GEOFF: I’ve hit 73 now, Doug.
DOUG: Your partner’s a good deal older isn’t he?
GEOFF: Not partner – but friend. Business partner, we shared over the years in many activities. He’s 83.
DOUG: So it’s about time you saw something out of ALSO.
GEOFF: I would hope so, Doug.
DOUG: I would hope so, too. I’m only 60, a spring chicken next to you but I’ll be keeping my eye on what they do.
GEOFF: If you don’t have any luck with ALSO Care, ring Geoffrey. We’ve found it all out now.
DOUG: [laughs]
GEOFF: Thank you, Doug and thank you, listeners.
DOUG: Thank you very much for joining us today – Geoff Richards, there. Talking about the troubles at the ALSO Foundation.
THE EMAIL FROM GEOFF RICHARDS
ALSO – STOP THE ROT
10th November 2010 – for immediate release
HOW LONG WILL THE LEMMINGS MARCH?!
Yet again at the November annual meeting, Also Foundation Directors will exhort their followers to keep marching towards the cliffs of insolvency says Geoff Richards, Ross Wootton and Robert Morris
Over past years varied Leaders and Directors of Also Foundation have declared losses -always accompanied with promising rosy recovery forecasts.
How have they continued to remain solvent?
That’s been easy! -, says the trio standing against entrenched Committee members of Also Care
As the latter happen to be Also Foundation Directors they have readily each year been approving funds transfers from AlsoCare to AlsoFoundation.
You can make Also Foundation declare any profit or loss figure you like says Geoff Richards, spokesperson for the Save AlsoCare group. He, together with Ross Wootton and Robert Morris are standing in the current Also Committee election and seeking member support for change.
Robert Morris is also challenging in the Also Foundation Director election.
How were the transfers facilitated?
First it was by taking the Interest enjoyed from over $1million of past member bequests -and who knows if any of these monies are left now, there’s never a dispersal statement says Geoff.
But, not being enough to satisfy those at the ‘trough’ they in effect ‘double dipped’ into the bequests by then imposing on Also Care exorbitant mangement fees, rental and other creative charges.
Now that the operations of the Op-shop have been stirred into the mix says Geoff – himself a CPA,
I defy anyone to be able to understand the murky sets of accounts that are year after year, despite protest after protest, being served up to the lemings .
Its time for reality TV to arrive at ALSO.
Geoff, Robert and Ross seek concerned member support to help-
• Stop the continuing deficits in Also Foundation and AlsoCare
• Protect AlsoCare member bequests from in-equitable charges
• Demand Transparent accounting
• Return to true Also Foundation and Also Care Objectives
For ALSO FOUNDATION DIRECTORS :
Vote : 1 Robert Morris
For ALSO CARE COMMITTEE
Vote: 1 Ross Wootton, 2 Geoffrey Richards, 3 Robert Morris
AND put Also Foundation President- Jason Rostant and Treasurer - Gerard Brody at the bottom of your numbering.
By voting in this way we can start the process of returning Also Care to its true role of fund raising and supporting the Foundation through an Independent Chair and a majority of Committee members who are not Foundation Directors.
Thus the Foundation would have to tender for, and show accountability for, the funds made available from Also Care – no more blank cheques for paperclips pleads Geoff
Released by long term Also Foundation and AlsoCare members Ross Wootton, Geoff Richards and Robert Morris AND there are plenty more where they come from?
Further information from Geoff Richards
23 years ago (Sept 7th.,1987) 12 people resolved to establish Also Care & Benevolent Society with SEVEN objects. FIVE of the seven objects dealt with provision of supporting services for the elderly and/or infirm and detailed various accomodation alternatives.
Over the next years more than $1million was left via bequests to Also Care and at least half indicated a desire to assist in the areas of accomodation care for older persons.
Only two objects were specific to AIDS related issues and in those earlier years they, with member support, received 'first priority'.
Soon however, AIDS- specific bodies took up this aspect and Also Care moved to support other areas BUT NOT for the older persons, except for a recent, yet to be found of value at the 'front-line', 'Vals Cafe' initiative.
Always the excuse given for ignoring the older gay person was that others were more 'needy' and that the older persons, now rising towards 25% of the population, could take care of themselves! How arrogant of a younger generation of Also Directors was that response! But Also did participate in some older care related surveys AND is STILL doing so...?
Imagine our disgust when we found, and despite years of protest, that the bequest funds appear to have been whittled down to near extinction. I, as Committee member, feel betrayed.
In my opinion this result has been achieved through exorbitant management and other 'creative' charges by the ALSO Foundation -presumably so that it could survive. So blatant has been the disregard for donor wishes that it is questionable whether the donor estates in some cases should not have had the funds returned to them.
It is an inditement upon Also Foundation Directors that they continue to acquiese to the use of bequest, and also I presume donation monies, in the manner that they do and refuse to detail that expenditure.
Now 23 years on, as a Carer for an older person, we commenced and finally found older person retirement care - in what we hope may be a gay-friendly setting.
NOT ONE word, document, referral for assistance or advice, came from Also sources!
The original meeting proposed only FIVE Committee members being nominated by the Also Foundation and SEVEN elected from AlsoCare Contributors. Instead we have AlsoCare composed entirely of Foundation Directors who thus are able to please themselves, without any independant checks or balances, on how they manage AlsoCare. They appear to treat it simply as a cash cow for the Foundation.
Also Care needs independance from the Foundation with an Independent Chair. Only then may it be better able to follow its true objectives AND perhaps then could share in the current funding announcements of the Victorian Government. At present, as a past accountant and auditor, I would not hand over my 'piggy bank' to any aspect of Also and I urge other prospective donors to seriously question where their benefits will go, and if of significant amount certainly establish supervising trustees outside of Also.
Geoffrey R Richards
Past AlsoCare Committee member
