Friends of Gracedale is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organized to raise money "to enhance the quality of life and care to those in need at Gracedale." It exists for the residents, not the county. It was formed at the suggestion of former NorCo Council members Bob Werner and Scott Parsons, who actually discussed this with Northampton County Council back in 2017. It is used to purchase items for the residents, like Christmas gifts.
When it was first formed, its tax-exempt status was briefly revoked when it screwed up a tax return (known as a 990). The group is run by volunteers, some of whom are retired Gracedale workers. That revocation was lifted within a few months after the error was corrected, and all donations and gifts are tax exempt, including those made during the revocation.
You can see the IRS Determination here:
IRS Determination Friends of Gracedale by BernieOHare
No harm, no foul, right?
Not according to NorCo County. Solicitor Missy Rudas has sent not one, but two certified letters to Friends of Gracedale demanding that it stop raising funds and "cease and desist" from using Gracedale as part of its name.
Here's her latest missive:
In this letter, Rudas contends that her determination is based on a review of the IRS website. Missy is not stupid, so I can only conclude that someone at Gracedale or in county administration misread the webpage and subsequently misinformed her.
In my own review of the IRS website, which took 5 minutes, the IRS determination that Friends of Gracedale (posted above) is clearly linked. So are the tax returns for years 2020-2024 (they are 990-N returns because the gross receipts are very small).
I was unaware that the NorCo Solicitor's office enforces the federal tax code. That would be news to the IRS. That office should have done its research a little better.
I suspect what really is going on here is a what amounts to a hostile takeover. Executive Tara Zriski has created a Continuum of Care department, and part of that department will be raising funds for what amounts to a massive Gracedale Village that will include housing, medical offices, assisted living, and a refurbished nursing home.
That's fine, but that's a county project. Friends of Gracedale exists for the residents, not for county development.
44 comments:
The irony is inescapable. "The County of Northampton does not want Gracedale to be associated with the Foundation being out of compliance with IRS regulations..." Aside from the inaccuracy of this statement, what about Gracedale itself NOT BEING IN COMPLIANCE with state regulations??? Is this lawyer intentionally acting like an idiot?
TZ using tRUMP's playbook 101 - deceive, backstab and sue.
These people are ruthless! Zrinski is already turning out to be the disaster many predicted. I was cautiously optimistic, but now I’m convinced this isn’t going to end well.
Just think, only 3 &1/2 years of mismanagement and pipe dreams to go.
There was no reason for such an ugly and misinformed letter.
Unbelievable. Bullying an organization doing great things for the elderly. Solicitor wants to know the amount in account which is none of the counties business. Directing them to stop coming into Gracedale is just sad. About the Gracedale Village, is she nuts? Thats like putting lipstick on a pig. Fix the problem of Gracedale. Is there a qualified, cerified head of Gracedale with nursing home administration degree of masters degree and years experience? They need to stop the nonsense, leave this group alone and get to route of problem.
Just as the ultra-woke socialist/communists are destroying Title IV and women's sports using their LGBTQIA2S++ ridiculousness, the ultra woke socialist/communist Zrinski is destroying Gracedale with her out of control authoritarian nonsense. It's akin to a dog chasing its tail until it bites it off. It's almost like they want Gracedale to crash and burn. She's an enigma wrapped in a disaster. She'd bankrupt a lemonade stand on a hot day, and she wants to make much larger that which she can't manage at its current size. Baffling.
This really is right out of the Republican playbook. This took place in Hellertown / Lower Saucon, when Banonis and Carroci tried to hijack the Friends of the Hellertown library as well as the library itself (both non-profits) to capture their funds and the library endowment. What is the problem with politicians who want to suck up every bit of money from their constituents? It crosses party lines.
They want the money to pay for the new positions.
Ok, so Tarable is using the Orange Man's playbook. This confuses me. Tarable won because people are upset with the Dorito Dictator so they punished local republicans by overwhelmingly voting for Tarable. But if she is using the Citrus Ceasar "101" approach then everyone actually voted for that which they were trying to vote against. Got it. Good job everyone. Terrible, I mean Tarable.
The letter was the wrong way to handle what should have been a cordial informal inquiry. The factual mistake is not excusable. There was no cause to launch an adversarial position and demand under the circumstances. The solicitor and exec are presented with a test of leadership and character. Will they apologize or will they double down? Only the former would signal the character expected from those their positions.
The sad part is that my tax money is paying for this harassment. Leave my Friends alone!
This is Tara’s idea and the last time I checked, she’s a Democrat. The Gracedale city and the department she created to also raise funds to build that city changes the status of the Friends of Gracedale if she includes them to raise funds so they are no longer a 501.3c., right? Duh! Cutting that nose off again to spite the face.
Gosh, any chance Asst Solicitor McClure had anything to do with this? A first year law student would have handled this more competently than Rudas. Hard to believe this was at the top of the “To Do” list for the Solicitor’s Office. I hope her necessary apology gets widespread publicity. Time for a competent local attorney to step up with an offer of pro bono assistance to help the non-profit respond to this outrageous letter.
The Friends of Gracedale letter is to distract from the stupidity of the Gracedale Villiage proposal.
The Gracedale Villiage proposal was made to distract from the failure to manage Gracedale properly.
Such is the way of incompetent leaders,
- deflect and distract.
It will continue as long as Zrinski has a pool of uninformed voters supporting her, or enough people demand that she solves the core problem of Gracedale first.
Please take a sedative.
I actually think the Gracedale Village idea is a great long-range plan. It achieves quite a few goals, but the care crisis needs to be addressed first. It is quite clearly being managed poorly.
Sorry, scooter. Can one obtain a sedative from a Gracedale "patient?"
Bernie, Thank you for your accurate and public reporting
regarding this recent attempt to stop and possibly take over the Friends of Gracedale Foundation.
For the record, Scott and I offered
the county the outlines for developing their own county controlled 501C3 which would have allowed tax free donations offered from supporters and patrons of Gracedale, to be controlled by the county.
Sadly, the proposal was tabled by the council, and left to die in limbo, never to be discussed again. After council refused to act, Scott and I put together a program which mirrored many successful local 501C3 programs and had the backing of former Gracedale personnel, concerned citizens, lawyers, and a congressman. The actions taken by the administration and council are disappointing knowing that
The executive and any council member could have easily reached out to Scott or myself for accurate, and factual information,
and chose not to. Thank you for bringing this to the public’s attention. Gracedale itself has done nothing except age with those it takes in, but the people who are charged with the home’s oversight will define its future.
Respectfully ,
Bob Werner
Former Northampton County Councilman
The county can't manage its current size. A larger Gracedale managed by the same people is a disaster in the making. They had one job, and they screwed it up.
Underling: Tara, the nursing home’s crumbling, care’s a total mess, and the residents are seriously at risk. What the hell are we gonna do?
Tara: Well dipshit, it’s obvious — time to bulldoze the old place and build a brand-new nursing home. While we’re at it, we kill the charity that’s been dragging it down and put up nice houses for all our employees. They gotta live somewhere, right? Throw in some stores too so they can actually shop without driving halfway across town. Problem solved.
Heck yeah the one guy was a walking pharmacy lol.
While I respect Bernie’s view I’m afraid you’re right. They can’t fix Gracedale now. The county has fiscal problems. The jail has big problems. If they can’t fix Gracedale now, how are they going develop and manage this enormous proposal? I don’t think they, meaning TZ and County Council, have the expertise, nor the competence, to do it successfully.
really glad that says Former NORCO Councilman as you clearly never understood your role as a elected official or the HRC when it comes to donations to the county
Bernie thank you very much. I have been a volunteer with Friends of Gracedale for almost Two years. This group is dedicated and puts a lot of time and their own money into ‘tis group ! Why would someone want to hurt all the residents we have helped ? They love all the events and appreciate all we do . Yes no one did there homework. To try to get rid of a group that helps people is disgusting ! We provide a lot and there are a lot of people that don’t get visitors. They look forward to all our events. We are a non profit and I can tell you this group works harder all year round. Why would someone go after this group? They have done only good things. The late Wayne Grube would be up in arms! He was a good friend of ours ! The public needs to speak out Katelind Brennan
"Sadly, the proposal was tabled by the council, and left to die in limbo, never to be discussed again.
The actions taken by the administration and council are disappointing knowing that"
Bob,
I just want to clarify that whatever information you sent was to a previous Council, not the current one. And the tabling of this 501c3 was by a former Council, not the current one.
Council is not involved in the actions described in this article. Bernie's post is the first I'm reading of this. So I don't want to comment further without getting more information.
This group, unfortunately, is no longer supported on site as it once was because of the majority of agency personnel working at Gracedale. Hopefully any of the volunteers of this organization who supported and voted for Tara now understand that she has no intention of supporting this group in its present state. The Provisional II license status of Gracedale has everything literally in limbo at this time. Bernie, Gracedale city doesn’t have a chance nor should it.
Thank you for this insight, kudos to you and all Foundation volunteers for the work you do.
Really glad you identified yourself , when were you ever involved in county government?
and you clearly have no clue about how to navigate non profit avenues or the ability to understand protocol.
Friends of Gracedale put in alot of there OWN time energy and MONEY to DONATE gifts for Christmas and other treats threw out the year..They are mostly retired workers who still care about the residents. shame on Tara!!!!! makes me wonder if she really cares!! They should sue county for false accusations and harassment!!!!! There is much BIGGER problems in Gracedale going on!!!
Bob is a co-founder of the Gracedale non-profit. That group is a volunteer organization that raises money for residents. He is no longer an elected official, yet he has been subjected to several anonymous personal attacks. Knock it off or identify yourself. I will decline to publish any more of these petulant back stabs.
You are correct!
Tara wants to take over the charity, that is what all this is about
Of course the current council members don't know about this, Tara didn't inform them before going after the charity to take it over 2 months ago. She was turned down by the charity's board, so is obviously trying other means
Did the current council not know about the letters that were sent?
If not, who made the decision to send them?
This would be the decision of the Exec, not Council. So far as I know, they had no idea.
Use your words like an adult if possible. You seem deranged.
Impetuous person, she is. What a shame
Why doesn’t the county look into setting up its own
501C3 if it is looking to procure funding for helping Gracedale?
Correct. We knew nothing about this.
As I recall, Ken Kraft was on council at that time and supported tabling the idea. Maybe he deserves a deeper look.
Dude every day with you and your tRump. Give it a rest.
Interesting. The 2017 date was referenced in BO’ early piece on this .
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