logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Ex-Footballer’s Foundation Called for Foul But Suffers Minimum Penalties

Bruce S Trachtenberg
June 24, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

June 22, 2010; Source: Chicago Tribune | The Chicago Tribune appears to have done more investigation into a charity, that by all accounts and rule of law should have been put out of business years ago, than any of the state or federal authorities that are supposed to make oversight of nonprofits routine, not just when they get around to it. According to the newspaper, a foundation started in 1993 by ex-Chicago Bears player Chris Zorch, had its registration canceled by the Illinois attorney general’s office for failing to file its 2002 tax return on time.

Although the charity is still considered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax-exempt, the last tax return it received was for its 2002 fiscal year, but that didn’t show up until 2007. Still the IRS waited until last April to file a $10,000 lien against the foundation. The Tribune reports that when—as part of its investigation—it asked the Illinois attorney general’s office about the charity it was told that it “was trying to reach Zorich.”

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.

The newspaper apparently had no problem locating him. He works in the University of Notre Dame’s athletic office. Zorich himself, however, had little helpful information. His understanding was that the foundation was closed in 2008, and claimed he was unaware that no tax returns had been filed since 2002. He also was surprised that when told that chriszorich.org is an active website and lists an address to mail donations. As to the status of the $864,645 listed in assets on that last return, Zorich said he had no clue, and told the Tribune he assumed the money was still there. But when asked, he couldn’t produce a bank statement listing the funds.

Also saying he knew about his foundation’s past problems with the state, he again assumed the charity’s executive director—a cousin who has since died—had resolved those issues years ago. As for the future of the foundation, Zorich told the Tribune he plans to hire an accounting firm to review finances and help distribute any remaining assets. In the meantime, he’s yet to hear from the attorney general’s office.—Bruce Trachtenberg

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Forerunners of Food Justice: Black Farmer Movement Spans Generations
Demetrius Hunter
What Would a Social Justice Investment Ecosystem Look Like?
Steve Dubb
Measuring Healthcare Equity in North Carolina
Sonia Sarkar
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation between Cyndi Suarez and Claire Dunning
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
Remaking the Economy: Caring for the Care Economy
Steve Dubb, Adria Powell, Jenn Stowe and Mary Wilder

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Foundation Giving Numbers for 2020 Show 15 Percent Increase
Steve Dubb
Strike MoMA Imagines Art Museums without Billionaires
Tessa Crisman

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.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

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.