logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Follow the Money: Nonprofit Campaign Soup

Jeannie Fox and Erin Rubin
April 13, 2018
By Flickr user Bill de Blasio (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

April 9, 2018; New York Times

A New York state ethics panel announced this week that part of the ongoing investigation into matters involving Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Campaign for One New York would end in settlements. CONY is a now-defunct nonprofit de Blasio founded to advocate for his policies, especially around affordable housing and universal preschool. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which enforces state lobbying laws, was concerned that contributions may have been made in exchange for political favors, and that de Blasio’s organization was not sufficiently transparent about receiving the money.

In one settled case, James Capalino, a lobbyist, was alleged to have made a campaign contribution to the nonprofit that exceeded the state’s contribution limits for registered lobbyists. The New York Times’ J. David Goodwin reports,

Mr. Capalino agreed to pay a fine of $40,000 for making a $10,000 donation to the nonprofit and raising another $90,000 from his other lobbying clients at a time when he was a registered lobbyist. State rules bar lobbyists from giving gifts of more than $75 to elected leaders or to a charitable organization at the behest of the elected official.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

While the cases against the donors have settled, the commission still has not determined whether the 501c4 Campaign for One New York actually violated the lobbying law. The panel explained that “The commission’s investigation relating to donations to CONY is continuing.” Laura Nahmias reported that “Politico New York analyses have shown that a majority of the donors to the nonprofit had business before or labor contracts with City Hall, or were trying to secure approval for a project when they contributed.” It seems that many of CONY’s donors and contractors were either also contracted with the city or were affiliated with other groups that had a stake in decisions made by the mayor’s office.

An earlier story by Politico reported that CONY and similar organizations have “been a windfall for the handful of consulting firms with close personal ties to de Blasio.” For instance, Bill Hyers, CONY’s board chair, is a partner at Hilltop Public Solutions, which earned over $400,000 from de Blasio’s organizations, including $156,010 just from CONY in 2014. Former secretary Stephanie Yazgi also came from Hilltop.

The rules related to nonprofit lobbying and advocacy are meant to ensure that the public’s dollars are used responsibly and not to create a circle of self-interest that counters the service mission of nonprofits, something de Blasio likely knows well. If this is a case in which the mayor was unaware that his organization was operating with these conflicts of interest, it seems a rather extreme oversight. The mayor claimed that CONY was shut down in 2016 because it had accomplished its goals but had to be compelled by a judge to release its communications.—Jeannie Fox and Erin Rubin

About the authors
Jeannie Fox

Jeannie Fox is on the faculty of Hamline University and directs the master's of nonprofit management program. She has over 20 years experience in nonprofit organizations and public agencies. She most recently served as chief of staff to former Minnesota Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie. Following a career as a senior manager in nonprofit direct service organizations, Fox lobbied on behalf of the nonprofit sector at all levels of government during a nine-year tenure as the deputy public policy director for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. She previously held adjunct faculty positions at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Duluth campuses and was a 2012 State Department Legislative Fellow in the Dominican Republic. Fox’s publications include chapters in the textbooks, “Nonprofit Management 101” and “The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations.”

Erin Rubin

Erin Rubin was an assistant editor at the Nonprofit Quarterly, where she was in charge of online editorial coordination and community building. Before joining NPQ, in 2016, Erin worked as an administrator at Harvard Business School and as an editorial project manager at Pearson Education, where she helped develop a digital resource library for remedial learners. Erin has also worked with David R. Godine, Publishers, and the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers. As a creative lead with the TEDxBeaconStreet organizing team, she worked to help innovators and changemakers share their groundbreaking ideas and turn them into action.

More about: Nonprofit NewsPolicyPolitics

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
As Neoliberalism Crashes, What Comes Next?
Steve Dubb
Beyond Wishful Thinking: How to Build Lasting Youth Political Infrastructure
Katie Kirchner
US Nonprofit Sector Documents Its Own Powerlessness, but What Will We Do?
Tom Tresser
Cancer Research in the US Is World Class Because of Its Broad Base of Funding—with the Government Pulling Out, Its Future Is Uncertain
Jeffrey MacKeigan
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely on Them More Heavily in Turbulent Times
Ellen P. Aprill
Saving AmeriCorps: What’s at Stake and Why We Must Act Now
Hillary Kane

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
Street protest with a young woman holding a sign above her head that reads “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention
As Neoliberalism Crashes, What Comes Next?
Steve Dubb
US Capitol Building
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral...
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson
Beyond Wishful Thinking: How to Build Lasting Youth...
Katie Kirchner

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.