Walter H. McClenon Fund, Inc.
Special Report
Girls,
Incorporated
Girls
Incorporated is a national research, education, and direct advocacy
organization that inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Programs encourage girls (ages 16 to 18) to
take risks and master physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges.
Programs are offered at 1,000 sites nationwide and are facilitated by trained
professional staff.
This feminist organization is well
over 100 years old. Their publications
may seem very attractive to some people. My personal reaction is that of a
skeptic, based perhaps in part by my own experience with the Boy Scouts of
America. I suspect that individual
chapters (or whatever they are called) may be very good for their girls who are
involved. This will depend on the
quality of the volunteers and the “trained professional staff.” I have not been aware of actual participation
by anyone I have known. Some other trustee(s) may be glad to support a contribution
by our Fund, but I have not been favorably impressed.
After
looking at their annual report I still don’t understand their financial
situation. At March 31, 2008 they had
$19 million of assets, $11 million of it in “funds held by trustees.” The total
of liabilities was about $3 million, leaving about $17 million in net worth, of
which $13 million was permanently restricted and $6 million temporarily
restricted, leaving a deficit of more than $1 million unrestricted; I don’t
know what the “restrictions” mean, but I don’t feel at all comfortable about an
official balance sheet which shows that a restriction has been violated. One
other problem (for me) is that I found a D.C. telephone number for Girls, Inc. [202-463-1881]
which turns out to be the national advocacy office, the office from which they
do lobbying. (I suppose that shows that they should not be eligible for a
contribution from our Special endowment – at least not unless they also have a
separate limited fund.) I was given the phone number for the
I
believe that Girls Incorporated operates a program that qualifies them for a
contribution from our General Endowment, but not from the Special
Endowment. I am not favorably impressed,
and do not suggest that they be nominated.
If another trustee wants to investigate further I might be persuaded to
vote to support a contribution. If there are no other volunteers, I suggest
that we find Girls Incorporated eligible, but not nominated, for the General
Endowment and Not Eligible for the Special Endowment.