***Important Note:
At press time, The Spectrum received an additional statement from Ed Schneider, executive director of the UB Foundation (UBF), via email. The statement, received almost 30 hours after The Spectrum initially contacted UBF, is UBF's explanation of what happened in 2010.
The Spectrum had no opportunity to verify the accuracy or falsehood of anything in the statement. With that in mind – and given that, even after receiving the statement, The Spectrum stands by everything in the article below – the article runs as is, and Schneider's statement, in its entirety, is printed at the end. Stay with The Spectrum; a follow-up will run on Friday.
New York State's official website shows that the UB Foundation broke federal law in 2010, when it contributed $2,560 to Erie County Executive Chris Collins' re-election campaign.
Formally the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., the Foundation (herein referred to as UBF) is a university-associated private corporation that manages gifts to UB. There are also "affiliate corporations" such as UB Foundation Activities, Inc. (UBFA), which handles UBF's financial management and gift expenditures, according to ubfoundation.buffalo.edu.
Collins, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Mark Poloncarz in November's election. The latest polls show the candidates locked in a neck-and-neck race.
UBF contributions to the Collins campaign (formally named "Collins For Our Future") are illegal because UBF and UBFA are tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations under §501(c)(3) of the United States tax code, which requires such organizations not to "participate in, or intervene in…any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
NY.gov indicates that UBFA made two separate payments to the Collins camp: $2,500 on March 13, 2010 and $60 on June 30, 2010.
UBF Executive Director Edward Schneider said he first heard this news when The Spectrum left a voicemail at his office on Monday afternoon. He added that hundreds of thousands of payments go through UBF, so he can't be aware of every one of them. Schneider said UBF would take appropriate action if he finds that the contributions did, in fact, get made.
"The facts are the facts," Schneider said. "Whatever happened in 2010 happened in 2010, so we've got to review what happened and then take the corrective action that's necessary. One of the corrective actions, if [the contribution] did happen, is to ask for the money back, because…there seems to be some impropriety for such a payment."
In addition to handling gifts to the university, UBF (either itself or via UBFA or another affiliate) receives revenue from the Center for the Arts and from UB's "continuing education" courses, according to IRS 990 tax forms available at GuideStar.org, a website that "gather[s] and publicize[s] information about nonprofit organizations." Continuing education courses are professional development workshops and training programs.
"I don't know what to make of it," said SUNY Distinguished Professor Bruce Jackson, a faculty member in UB's English department, in an email. "It seems bizarre to me: they're not fools over there; they're business people. They know those contribution records are public.
"If the Foundation actually made that kind of contribution, then somebody's got a lot of explaining to do and the Foundation should be nailed for the misapplication of funds," Jackson continued. "If the Foundation didn't make the contribution, then other people may be deliberately stoking up a phony issue – and they've got the explaining to do.
"It may be just what it seems to be, but I've never heard of them doing anything like that before, and the second contribution [of $60] is such a weird number that I can't help but think there is more – or less – to this than we know now."
The Spectrum contacted the Collins For Our Future campaign and spoke to a volunteer, who said that a campaign official would call back. The volunteer declined to reveal his full name. Nobody had called as of press time.
"There's no way you can change history," Schneider said. "Whatever happened in 2010 happened, and we'll have to deal with it."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Statement from Ed Schneider, executive director of the UB Foundation:
"Earlier today one of your reporters called me to ask about something that looked like a campaign contribution from the UB Foundation. I've looked into this and want to share what I found. First, let me explain the role of the UB Foundation. We provide business services for several organizations associated with the university. These organizations generate their own income, and deposit with us. We then issue checks on their behalf. In Spring 2010, one of those entities, The Center for Industrial Effectiveness, submitted two payment requests for their staff to attend a breakfast and a dinner honoring Chris Collins. Together, these totaled $2560. The source of the funds were revenues that the TCIE generates for itself from providing consulting services to businesses in our community. This slipped past our processor – it was an honest mistake. We will contact the Collins organization and ask them to return the funds. I think this is an isolated error. I reviewed our records today and didn't see any other expenditures of this kind. In 28 years here I can't recall anything like this. It's important that your readers understand that the UB Foundation itself did not make a campaign contribution." –END–
Follow-up article on Friday…
