Those of us who are hardworking, save our money, value our credit and donate to charities should be appalled at what was just learned.
Above is a picture of a flyer for a raffle put on by Devoted Barn in July. This flyer was shared by the barn, its volunteers and hyped up beyond belief. At the bottom of the flyer you will see a red circle and in that circle is a license number.
In the State of Michigan there is a department of government that has oversight on fundraising for non-profits and things like raffles. It is called the Charitable Gaming Division of the Michigan Lottery and what they do is provide opportunities to local non-profit organizations to help them raise money. Their job is to make sure that people who give their hard-earned money to these non-profits are protected and they watch over the fundraising to make sure things are done legally.
The license number you see is applied for and assigned to the organization by the Charitable Gaming Division. It lets people know that this is an approved fundraising raffle, so they can feel comfortable buying tickets. There is oversight and reporting involved so that everything stays on the up and up. Well, except this time.
The license at the bottom of this flyer for this raffle was not held under a license that the Devoted Barn applied for and went through the proper process to get. Instead, they used a license owned and applied for by the Eagles Club.
You know that amazing organization The Fraternal Order of Eagles who donates more than 10 million dollars annually to local communities in the spirit of making lives better by lessening the ills and spreading gladness and hope. Well Devoted Barn certainly didn’t spread any happiness or hope at the Eagles Club who held this license.
Why does this matter??? Because The Charitable Gaming Division called for a meeting last week at the Eagles Club because people who bought tickets were never informed the outcome of the raffle and no one at Devoted Barn would disclose anything about who won or how many tickets were sold.
At the meeting, the Eagles Club was represented by a board member and guess who didn’t show up with all the reports and documentation of the raffle?? You guessed it Devoted Barn!! I guess they were just too busy going around and collecting more hostages with sad stories for you all to donate to, instead of showing up and helping the Eagles Club address why they are in hot water with the state for a raffle that wasn't theirs.
So, guess what happens now??? Every person who bought a ticket MUST BE refunded. Yep, that’s right REFUNDED!! As if that isn’t bad enough guess who has to refund them…the license holder which is the Eagles Club and then they have to try to get the money from the Devoted Barn. What an absolute joke and complete failure Devoted Barn is as a non-profit partner.
What kind of organization piggy backs off a reputable group like the Eagles Club and doesn’t even have the respect to make sure you follow the legalities of a gaming license. Heck, Devoted Barn sold tickets through PayPal which is ILLEGAL!!! Ring any bells…kinda like their Venmo which used to go directly to a personal account Melissa Borden. Again, Venmo does not work with non-profits.
Organizations like Devoted Barn and Melissa that have no credit and don’t pay their bills properly just don’t move through the world like legitimate non-profits and people. They jump on the backs of the hard workers and doers of the world and use them for all their worth.
Just like the people down in Newport that had great credit and felt bad for Melissa because she needed a truck (sound familiar???)...they signed for a leased truck for her to drive. She ended up trashing it and when she turned it in they assessed the signers THOUSANDS of dollars to fix it. Guess what…she didn’t pay them either, so they had to lien the property in Newport to get paid back. No good deed goes unpunished in Melissa's world. Then guess who ended up paying off the lien for the truck she trashed...well, technically you the donors because the woman lives off the rescue.
Stop giving your money to Melissa and this non-profit she uses as a front to pay her bills, take care of her personal animals and live free off your backs. No reputable organization runs their business like this and certainly no good person would screw over a group like the Fraternal Order of Eagles who do so much for the community.
Someone wanted to Fly Like An Eagle, but she couldn’t even get off the ground.
Comments