San Diego Pride Bonusgate: Backlash and Board Resignations
Over the last couple of days, there has been a scandal brewing concerning the management of San Diego Pride’s finances. Of particular concern has been the issuing of bonuses to staff members, as well as a gift to the Chair of the Pride Board of Directors. While the story continues to unfold, the facts seem to be that in late December the Pride Board of Directors approved bonuses totaling $12,000 for the Board Chair and certain staff members. While many in the community are up in arms about this news, we also need to evaluate who is at fault and how Pride can move forward given the resignation of two other key staff members.
First, each Board of Director of San Diego Pride needs to tender their resignation immediately. Why? It is the Board of Directors fiduciary responsibility to steward the Pride organization. Clearly, it is a conflict of interest for them to award bonuses to any of their members. The Pride Board is a volunteer organization, pay is not expected and should not be accepted. How the Board of Directors assumed that it was appropriate to issue a bonus to its Chair is beyond me. Where are the checks and balances in this scenario? Could they have issued a bonus for $50,000 to the Chair? Unfortunately, the check on the Board is the backlash that the community is showering upon Pride. This is not good for the Pride organization or our community in general. However, it was necessary to get Pride back on the right track.
As far as the bonuses to staff members, once again it is the Board of Directors who should be held accountable. The Board of Directors approves the budget, as well as the compensation of executive staff including bonuses. While many may disagree with the bonuses issued to Ron DeHarte and others, the staff members should not be vilified for accepting them. The Pride Board of Directors should never have approved them in the first place. Given the economic situation with many San Diego LGBT organizations, issuing bonuses to staff illustrates that the Pride Board of Directors is out of touch with the community needs. I mean the staff and Board bonuses are nearly equivalent to what Pride donated to the Center this year; doesn’t that say it all?
Couple the current bonusgate with the increased fees for the Pride festival, the 15% charge to non-profits so their events are “official” Pride events and the elimination of the military free admission at Pride, no wonder the community is up in arms about the recent developments. Were these changes made to generate money for bonuses? I sincerely hope not, but I can understand how some have concerns.
How should Pride move forward? First, there needs to be a new Board of Directors appointed immediately through a process that involves former Board members and the Community Leadership Council. The new Board members should be brought on with the understanding that during the next six months they will have to dedicate significant time to ensure that Pride gets through this transition. Then, the new Board must immediately appoint a new interim Executive Director. The interim Executive Director should have experience running an organization with a budget greater than the Pride organization’s and have experience managing more than 200 volunteers or employees. Next, the new Board should spend a few meetings reviewing and updating the Pride organization’s bylaws to ensure that the current situation never happens again.
I cannot stress enough how critical it is for this year’s Pride to be a success. As we all know, the Pride organization has increased expenses with the purchase of its new facility. Therefore, this would not be a great time for the organization to have any money problems due to a mismanaged or low attendance Pride festival.
Finally, Pride needs you more than ever. Yes, mistakes have been made and people will be held accountable. However, we need to rally as a community to ensure that the Pride organization survives, as well as thrives in the future with new leadership and a commitment to the LGBT community at large.
It seems to me that they should start all over with the whole Pride organization. If the Executive Director was trying to cover up a payment to a board member while in return receiving $20K in bonuses (by the way – not a bad gig for a non-profit that is raising festival ticket prices during a downturn in the economy when most folks can’t afford to attend the festival). I can’t believe they are working for the community. Aren’t there more talented, caring people searching for jobs that would be a better fit?