NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — A non-profit in Norman is under fire following an investigation by the City of Norman’s auditor.
The audit raises a lot of questions about how tax payer money is being spent, but the non-profit claims it has done nothing wrong.
“…Indicated mismanaged funds in the amount of $9,835.60 during the period of November 2022 through February 2024,” Shaakira Calnick, City of Norman Auditor said.
That’s just one of the many issues presented by City Auditor Shaakira Calnick during a Norman City Council meeting last month.
Calnick’s report centered on a homeless shelter called “A Friends House” operated by the non profit “Food and Shelter” and its Executive Director April Doshier.
The shelter has a contract with the city, but the audit found multiple issues.
A few include thousands of dollars in mismanaged funds, unexplained raises and bonuses for Doshier, and a large chunk of the money missing.
“The remaining funds of $20,542.00 is currently unaccounted for,” Calnick said.
We reached out to Doshier and the non-profit about the findings.
They sent us a statement saying in part:
“The Municipal Auditor misused the term that funds were “disappearing.” These funds didn’t disappear. They covered a percentage of the necessary general operational costs, such as liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. None of the financial findings in the audit are of malicious activities. Every dollar went to keeping the shelter open and serving people experiencing homelessness.”
That statement goes on to say they will continue to work with the city for a resolution of a better contract moving forward, but uphold their belief that they have done nothing wrong thus far.
Their full response is below.
“In 2022, Food & Shelter responded to a request for a proposal released by the City of Norman in search of a new operator for the City of Norman’s emergency shelter. Food & Shelter created a projected budget that included wage projections, vendor cost estimates, and cost estimates based on a previous shelter operated by the City of Norman.
This proposal would provide the best possible service to shelter guests. The City Council accepted the proposal; the City drafted a contract that was accepted by Food & Shelter without negotiations.
The shelter opened on November 1, 2022, at 109 W Gray, named A Friend’s House. The contract was intended to be temporary for the winter months at this temporary location. Time passed, and the City could not agree on a permanent location, so the temporary contract remained in place.
Recently, there was an audit by the City of Norman’s Municipal Auditor, Shaakira Calnick, an employee of the Norman City Council. Words like “investigation” were used in a public forum. The Food & Shelter Executive Director, April Doshier, was interviewed during an information-gathering process that was not an investigation into any wrongdoings of Food & Shelter.
The contract between Food & Shelter and the City of Norman for A Friend’s House needed amending since it was on a month-to-month basis. Even though findings were in the final report, questions regarding operating procedures, controls, or audits were not asked during the brief information-gathering process between the Food & Shelter Director. None of the financial findings in the audit are of malicious activities.
A response from the Food & Shelter Board to the report was provided and was not considered, even though the response answered the items in question and would have moved the process forward. The Executive Director of Food & Shelter was in the study session and was available to respond to questions to move the process forward. Due to the community’s unanswered questions, Food & Shelter wants to follow up with some information.
The Food & Shelter board is trained in best practices; leadership has graduated from
the Oklahoma Center for Non-profits Standards of Excellence program, where operational policies have been reviewed and developed, and policies and practices have been audited by funders and outside accounting firms every year for decades. For more than ten straight years, Food & Shelter has never had a finding on an audit.
Funders have praised the financial and grant management practices so much that they
send new directors to Food & Shelter for training. “I’ve been on the Board for Food & Shelter, Inc. for seven years and the president of the Board for the last year. It’s an honor to serve on a board that so many members of our caring community have served on over the last four decades. As a board, we work very hard to ensure the hungry and homeless in Norman are taken care of, which means being fiscally responsible with our donors and the City of Norman funds.” –
Adam Clinton, Board President.
The Municipal Auditor misused the term that funds were “disappearing.” These funds
didn’t disappear. They covered a percentage of the necessary general operational costs, such as liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. The implication that these funds disappeared is incorrect. The contract with the City of Norman did not indicate Food & Shelter was not allowed to use the funds for administrative costs. That amount represents 2.2% of the administrative costs of the contract. Using funds for general operational costs aligns with other non-profit agreements and is not a misuse of funds. Every dollar went to keeping the shelter open and serving people experiencing homelessness.
Like many small to medium-sized non-profit organizations, the operational budget
does not allow for an accountant on staff. The bookkeeping is done in-house, and
one-and-one-half full-time equivalent employees share these duties for a proper
check-and-balance system. Significant controls are in place to ensure donor and tax
dollars are used correctly.
Food & Shelter takes stewardship seriously. All invoices and expenses are first approved by the Executive Director, and all financial transactions, regardless of dollar amount, are reviewed and approved by a member of the Executive Board of the Board of Directors. This review and approval is done weekly. This was explained before the report was completed and announced incorrectly in a public forum by the Municipal Auditor.
When A Friends House opened in 2022, no shelter administrator was employed, and no funding for an administrator was included in the temporary contract. Our Board of Directors does not ask employees to work extra hours without compensation. These were not overtime hours as was stated by the Municipal Auditor, but these wages were additional pay negotiated between the staff and the Board leadership.
Our Board approved these hours; this additional pay is for many extra staff work hours. Payroll and human resource management are conducted by the outside company Paychex. Since opening on November 1, 2022, Food & Shelter has built an incredible staff for A Friend’s House comprised of educated, dedicated, and compassionate people. The last line in the Municipal Auditor report states, “The only person who fully understands the true circumstances of A Friends House operations at any point in time was the Executive Director of A Friends House.” This assessment was made without interviewing any other staff member or member of the Board of Directors of Food & Shelter. We fully stand behind our hardworking staff.
“Sometimes, there are those who feel that service work should not be compensated,
that jobs for non-profit organizations, teachers, or other noble professions should, for
some reason, sacrifice pay for high moral principles. We do not believe the two are
mutually exclusive. The community of Norman has, as have most other cities our size or
larger across the U.S., seen an increase in the hungry and homeless population.
There have been some opinions lately about the salary compensation of April Doshier,
Executive Director of Food & Shelter, Inc. As the advisory Board of Food & Shelter, part
of our job is to oversee the organization’s financials, including the compensation
expense of the Executive Director.
April has been running Food & Shelter for 14 years. In that time, she has guided the non-profit through a relocation outside of the core downtown, including adding McKown Village, 32 cottages for families in need of affordable homes, and launching a brand new food resources center, the Share Center. This also includes a steady increase in the number of meals served daily at the kitchen as well as the risks and emergencies brought on by sub-zero and 100+ temperatures, COVID, or the inherent risks of working with individuals who may be experiencing
mental illness.
The other volunteers of Food & Shelter and I have seen first-hand the enormous heart,
care, and hard work April puts in daily to do a job most people would not be able to
handle. Her salary is commensurate with that of leaders of other similar-sized
non-profits in the area, and for 14 years, she has been earning it and continues to
earn it.
April continues to lead a strong team of hardworking employees and volunteers at
Food & Shelter, Inc. to work against this trend by taking people off the street, feeding them, and putting them into homes until they can get back on their feet. We are proud of the work she and her team have and continue to do.” – Adam Clinton, Board President.
A Friend’s House is a life-saving and life-changing program. Food & Shelter has
worked diligently to provide excellent services and comply with all the City of Norman’s requirements. Any amendments that should be made to the contract to improve
the shelter will gladly be accepted. At no point has Food & Shelter ever refused to
comply with the contract as executed. Our understanding of this contract was to
provide a low-barrier shelter for the contracted amount of funds. Every dollar received
is spent with integrity to provide shelter and support services to individuals experiencing homelessness in Norman.
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Food & Shelter believes in the work of A Friend’s House. Our community needs this
shelter so that people can have a place to sleep. We strongly encourage a continued
conversation outside this report and social media to fully understand how well A
Friend’s House works and what changes can be made to make it work even better in
the future.
People in the community have various opinions on homelessness. Still, Food & Shelter
has always had a reputation for being one of Norman’s many great non-profits, helping
many people as best we can and being fiscally responsible. This Municipal Auditor’s
report, maybe unintentionally, has raised questions, and we have seen public statements from community members, not knowing the big picture, tarnish our reputation.
We are pushing forward with our mission because we know we are doing great work
for people like Brittney. “35 years ago, Food and Shelter for Friends provided a place
for my two-year-old self and my parents at the old location behind the train depot. The
organization has helped so many individuals and families over the years.” – Brittney.