[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-303316-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":80,"doc-detail-303316-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","bohemian-com-vol-4127-november-2-0-2-6-2019","BOHEMIAN . COM - VOL - 41.27 - November 2 0-2 6, 2019","","BOHEMIAN . COM, Vol. 41.27 (Nov. 2 0-2 6, 2019) investigates the Rebuild North Bay Foundation and its founder, Darius Anderson, after the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County. The reporting examines claims made in a 501(c)(3) application and tax filings, contrasting promised disaster relief with findings from an independent audit, tax returns, and public records. It details allegations that the organization operates primarily as a lobbyist, including interactions with PG&E and public officials.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/bohemian-com-vol-4127-november-2-0-2-6-2019/303316/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/bohemian-com-vol-4127-november-2-0-2-6-2019/303316.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Pentious","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-26","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What disaster relief purpose did Rebuild North Bay Foundation describe in its 501(c)(3) application?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It said it would provide immediate disaster relief to North Bay residents hardest hit by the wildfires, including displaced low-income families and individuals, and help residents rebuild in a “fire safe” fashion.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What did the investigation report about how the foundation used its funds during its first year?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The reporting states that most expenses went to management and administration, while relatively little money was spent on public grants, according to its audit.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why does the article argue the foundation’s activities matter legally and practically?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"It argues the IRS charity mandate may be jeopardized because lobbying-focused behavior can cause loss of tax-exempt status, and it highlights conflicts between disaster-relief messaging and political/business interests tied to the founder.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},303316,1790458028,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,88,93,98,103,108,113,117,122],{"id":84,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":89,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},18,30,"letters",{"id":118,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":123,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":125},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":127},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":128,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":22,"category_id":114,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":140,"read_time":33},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","BOHEMIAN . COM • VOL . 41.27  \n NOVEMBER 2 0-2 6, 2019  \nSERVING SONOMA & NAPA COUNTIES  \ncharitable business  \nUncovering problems with PG &E and the Rebuild North Bay Foundation p8  \nDIVERSITY LESSONS P18 EMERGING ARTISTS P22 OLIVER! P25  \nTHE  \nSWAG BAGS Rebuild North Bay Foundation distributed 5,000 ‘GO! Bags,’ like this one, to North Bay residents. They do not contain the standard emergency items that are recommended by the California Department of Public Health.  \nCharity Case  \nInvestigating PG&E-funded Rebuild North Bay  \nFoundation BY PETER BYRNE & WILL CARRUTHERS  \nPaper  \nO  \nn October 30, 2017, as thousands of Sonoma County homes smoldered  \nin ruins from the Tubbs Fire, Darius Anderson established the nonprofit Rebuild North Bay Foundation. Anderson is a longtime lobbyist for Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation and owner of  \nthe Press Democrat.  \nIn a subsequent application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, Anderson told the Internal Revenue Service his charity would“provide immediate disaster relief to those residents of the North Bay who were hardest hit:  \nfamilies and individuals with low incomes who have been displaced from their homes and/or lost  \ntheir jobs due to the wildfires.”The foundation would also work with local governments to help residents rebuild in a “fire safe” fashion,“for example, by assisting with the construction of fire-retardant roofs,” Anderson wrote. According to a six-month investigation of Rebuild North Bay Foundation by the Bohemian, that’s not exactly what happened.  \nThe organization’s  \nPeter Bryne  \nindependent audit and tax returns and hundreds of emails obtained from local governments under the California Public Records Act reveal that Rebuild North Bay Foundation functions more as a lobbyist than a disaster relief group.  \n• During its first year of existence, most of the foundation’s expenses went to management and administration; it spent relatively little money on grants to the public, according to its audit.  \n• The foundation made erroneous claims in its tax return regarding its lobbying activities; serious errors which the organization says they will correct.  \n• The law prohibits the foundation from making campaign contributions. Yet, the campaign committee of a Sonoma County supervisor disclosed a contribution from the foundation, which also“gifted”money to the mayor of Santa Rosa, public records show.  \n• According to an aide for North Bay Congressman Mike Thompson, some of the foundation’s lobbying activities may be doing harm by “injecting politics” into the disaster-funding process.  \n• Rebuild North Bay Foundation is mostly funded by PG&E.  \nWhile Rebuild North Bay Foundation has performed some charitable acts, it has focused on creating a network of businesspeople and local public officials to lobby bureaucrats and legislators in Washington, D.C., on specific issues. Under IRS rules and regulations a charity is allowed to do some lobbying related to its nonprofit purpose—but focusing on lobbying can result in the loss of a nonprofit’stax-exempt status, tax experts say.  \nAccording to a nationally prominent expert consulted by the Bohemian, the Rebuild North Bay Foundation crossed over the boundary between charity and lobbying. Ellen Aprill is the John E. Anderson Professor of Tax Law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She reviewed  \nthe foundation’s IRS Form 990 federal tax return for 2017–2018, which discloses its financial information and lobbying and charitable activities. Aprill concluded,“It’s not even a close call, it’s blatant lobbying. The foundation is primarily a lobbyist, not a charity.”  \nPhilip Hackney is a professor of nonprofit law at the University of Pittsburgh and a formerIRS lawyer. He explained that asking public officials to support specific legislation or funding requests is the definition of lobbying. Hackney said that spending a substantial amount of an organization’s effort on lobbying can violate the charitable mandate.  \nIt is up to","cbCaijM4EnPPKBbx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijM4EnPPKBbx","pdf",5912472,10,"English","# Charity Case\n## Investigating PG&E-funded Rebuild North Bay Foundation","[{\"question\":\"What disaster relief purpose did Rebuild North Bay Foundation describe in its 501(c)(3) application?\",\"answer\":\"It said it would provide immediate disaster relief to North Bay residents hardest hit by the wildfires, including displaced low-income families and individuals, and help residents rebuild in a “fire safe” fashion.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the investigation report about how the foundation used its funds during its first year?\",\"answer\":\"The reporting states that most expenses went to management and administration, while relatively little money was spent on public grants, according to its audit.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the article argue the foundation’s activities matter legally and practically?\",\"answer\":\"It argues the IRS charity mandate may be jeopardized because lobbying-focused behavior can cause loss of tax-exempt status, and it highlights conflicts between disaster-relief messaging and political/business interests tied to the founder.\"}]","BOHEMIAN . COM - VOL - 41.27 - November 2 0-2 6, 2019 | PDF",1789801910]