San Francisco, like most cities and counties, uses the nonprofit sector as its service arm. This can also be said for the federal government. Serving the most vulnerable or providing altruistic service is far easier for government or elected leaders to do by funding organizations willing to do the work that too many often don’t want to do. The elected officials can turn around and say they’re helping without having to take accountability.
But what happens when those nonprofits don’t deliver? What happens if they can’t account for the money? What happens in a city like San Francisco when more than a dozen nonprofits are investigated for financial malfeasance, misappropriation of funds, wage theft, stealing retirement contributions, and giving credit cards to half the staff who use them for trips and parties? These are all fair questions, but we need solutions. San Francisco should consider short-term contracts (two years maximum) with caps on funding dollars to be reviewed by a third-party independent auditor at the end of the contract before renewal. It’s time for the grift to stop.
Below is a list of 10 nonprofits in San Francisco that contracted with the city that either were or are currently under investigation in San Francisco since 2021:
United Council of Human Services
Providence Foundation of San Francisco
PRC SF (Baker Places)
TURF Community Improvement Association, Inc.
San Francisco Pretrial Diversion
Mind you, these are just 10. There are more. Here’s the issue. While some organizations were purely grifting, others set out to do good. But when the city threw millions of dollars at these organizations, some were unable to scale to the contract or service they applied for. Others poorly managed the funds themselves. Others viewed their organization as an activist group driven by ideology and didn’t think the city would circle back to check if they had been effective. Regardless of the reason, it does not absolve them from responsibility. Nor does it absolve the city.
San Francisco should consider short-term contracts with caps on funding dollars and third-party independent auditor review before renewal based on audit outcomes and efficacy.
Handing out no-bid contracts and nepotism is a problem. No-bid contracts decrease competition and invite corruption. Also, city department heads (like the Human Rights Commission) abuse their power to hook up friends and family with lucrative contracts. Currently, under the Lurie administration, there is a renewed effort for nonprofit accountability, but it needs to be taken further. Instead of the occasional audit by the city attorney or the controller, regular third-party independent audits must be done every two years for all nonprofits that contract with the city. Yes, that will be expensive. But the money we save in waste, fraud, and abuse will offset those costs, and service providers will be incentivized to provide service to those most in need. I also propose the city limit contracts to two years maximum renewable based on audit outcomes and efficacy. If the money being spent is producing results, great. If not, move on to another service provider. Right now, there are 31,665 nonprofits in the Bay Area. I’m sure one of them is up to the task.
Nonprofits can do good work. They help the homeless; run shelters; operate supportive housing, food pantries, after-school programs, health services, drug and mental health treatment programs; provide family services, crime prevention, services for the LGBTQIA+ and community, the list goes on. They generally provide vital services to the most vulnerable in our community. So when a nonprofit gets mired in scandal, it is insulting to all the good nonprofits and people affected while also making it harder to provide these vital services because it turns the public against them. Profiting off the homeless, those in poverty or underserved communities is the lowest form of low. We shouldn’t provide these organizations with anything but our scrutiny, and certainly no more money. People deserve better. San Francisco deserves better. It’s time for real accountability.