The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "non profits" ...
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For-Profit-College Business Model Breeds Exploitative Marketing Tactics
In the first radio piece: Interviews with former recruiters, faculty, administrators and students of a small group of for-profit colleges in Minnesota paint a picture of schools that are exploiting unsophisticated students for their financial-aid money. Analysis points to a high-enrollment, high-dropout business model that earns the company millions but provides questionable return on taxpayer investment. In the second radio piece: Political differences at the federal level make it unclear how much the government will regulate for-profit colleges. At the Minnesota state level, the leading official for higher-ed says his agency doesn’t have the resources to go after problem colleges – and isn’t sure whether beefing up enforcement would be the best use of higher-education funding.
Tags: Non-profit colleges; financial aid; business models; for-profit colleges
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Trashing Your Tax Dollars
The NBC2 Investigators uncovered wasteful spending in a multi-million dollar federal program mean to re-stabilize neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures. The program - called NSP (Neighborhood Stabilization Program) - utilized stimulus money approved during the George W. Bush administration to buy foreclosed homes, refurbish them and then sell them to families who would live in them, thus stabilizing a neighborhood. In our area, the program was administered by our county (Lee) and another program was administered by our city (Fort Myers). Our investigation of the county-run program found they were throwing away perfectly good appliances and replacing them with more expensive products. Not only could they have kept those appliances in the home - leaving them more money to refurbish others - but the appliances they did throw away could have gone to people in need in our community. Ultimately, our story forced the county to change policies in the program. They now coordinate with a local non-profit to donate all appliances and equipment once meant for the landfill.
Tags: broadcast; neighborhoods; foreclosed homes; appliances
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Greg Mortenson
Serious questions were raised about the co-author of bestseller "3 Cups of Tea" and Nobel Prize Nominee Greg Mortenson and the way donations to his charity were being used.
Tags: Charity; Greg Mortenson; Non-profit
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Chainsaw Scouting
This series “examines the long-running logging and land use practices conducted by Boy Scouts of America groups across the nation for the past two decades”. Some of the major findings include: instead of preserving the land they often sold woodlands to make money, sold property given to them by donors, ruined habitats for a number of protected species, and used the revenue from these deals to compensate for lost funding.
Tags: non-profit; camps; profit; conservationists; children; Virgil McCroskey; forestry
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Full Disclosure
When the Daily Record used the state's new open records law, it created an open records website. Doing this published multiple public records based stories and investigations. One of the largest stories to come out of this was the compensation paid to the founders and operators of Angel Food Ministries Inc. This raised the question of what their earnings were being used for and if they were really an organization focused on helping the less fortunate.
Tags: FOIA; Angel Food Ministries Inc; charity; new open records law; records; public; access; documents; Wingo family; non-profit; Christian
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"Housing Authority"
Lewis Kamb investigates the financial troubles of a Tacoma non-profit housing development group. He reveals that the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association used public money to follow "questionable development deals" and that the association itself was in a serious financial mess.
Tags: Martin Luther King Housing Development Association; Jeffery Bruce; MLK Way; Eric Anderson
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Positive
"The state of Illinois has increased its HIV spending by tens of millions of dollars-creating two new grant programs designed to combat the epidemic among African Americans. One of the grant programs was mismanaged and much of the funding does not target the highest risk population." Furthermore, the health department and non-profits were either understaffed or waiting for the funds to be received before they could treat anyone.
Tags: Illinois; AIDS; African Americans; Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV); Grant programs
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Big Money Slides From WFP To City Campaigns; All In The Family
“The Working Families Party is an increasingly powerful third political party in New York which, due to quirky state election laws, is able to cross-endorse candidates and get involved in other parties’ primaries.” The question that everyone has been asking is how WFP (Working Families Party) finances its extensive operations. The first article reveals this very question. The WFP owned a secretive political consulting company, which uses the same resources as WFP and in apparent opposition to New York City’s campaign finance laws. The second article reveals that WFP not only has two arms, but there are in fact four arms. These four arms show the benefits received by WFP are of a political party, a non-profit, and a for-profit.
Tags: Working Families Party(WFP); New York; Data and Field Services(DFS); Campaigns; Politics; Politicians
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Mall School
A Team 4 hidden camera investigation exposed a system that allows disruptive students to get the same diploma as other children, even though they only have to put in half the number of hours. Many of the schools they attend are run by private non-profits that are not required to have certified teachers. The students only have to spend 15 hours a week in the classroom, which is about half as much as regular students. And when it's time to graduate, they get a diploma from their home high school, just like other students.
Tags: educations; teacher certification; high school education; private nonprofit organizations; disruptive students; contracting
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Ohio Attorney General: Price of Corruption
WBNS-TV (Columbus, Ohio) revealed a pattern of corruption inside the state's highest law enforcement office including cronyism, misuse of state funds and property, improper use of campaign funds, ethics violations and cover-up. The reporters found that the Attorney General had used campaign funds to rent a condominium for two of his friends/employees that was later tied to sexual harassment,alleged crimes involving state vehicles and the hub for cronyism. Their reporting revealed that the Attorney General created a "transition fund" as an unregulated 501 c4 non-profit account. Through law enforcement, the station learned that this fund funneled at least $2,000 in inappropriate payments to the Attorney General's friend/employee/condo-mate.
Tags: Ohio Attorney General's Office; corruption; 501 c4 non-profit; cronyism; abuse of public funds; misappropriation of funds; abuse of power