CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – On May 14, VIP Clarksville Magazine held the Black Tie Ball, promoting it as a way to raise needed funds for the Boys & Girls Club in Clarksville. The event was a success, netting tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds. But five months later, none of the money – estimated at about $60,000 – has been handed over to the Boys & Girls Club.
The parent club in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is now demanding a full accounting of the money and that it be turned in to the charity organization.
What happened?
Nationwide, the Boys & Girls Club of America seeks to establish and maintain clubs that provide a safe haven for more than 4 million youth, providing them mentors, activities and guidance. There are several clubs across the Southeast, but one has yet to get up and running in Clarksville.
The local committee leading the effort to bring a Boys & Girls Club to Clarksville had been partnering with the Hopkinsville club for several years to initiate the effort and raise the necessary funds.
“The Boys & Girls Club of America, at the time, is not creating new 501(c)3s, so that all goes through us by means of a committee that exists in Clarksville,” said Holly Bivins, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville, noting that there are several costs associated with starting a new club.
On May 14, VIP Clarksville hosted its annual Reader’s Choice Awards event, themed the Black Tie Ball. Organizers promoted the ball through several avenues, many of which stated that proceeds would benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville. One in particular stated: “All proceeds from this event will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville-Montgomery County.”
Several people bought sponsorships, including two political campaigns: that of County Trustee Kimberly Wiggins and County Mayor Wes Golden. Golden told Clarksville Now he purchased a $250 campaign advertisement; he did not provide further comment. Wiggins said she purchased a $450 advertisement.
But according to Bivins, the organization never received any of the VIP event funds.
“We were made aware that there was an event that was to raise money for the Clarksville club, and that is not something that we have been a benefactor of to this date,” Bivins said. “There have been no deposits from it, and we don’t know what the amount was either.”
Documents obtained by Clarksville Now show that VIP Clarksville Magazine raised over $90,000 from the Black Tie Ball and had over $30,000 in expenses, much of it going to the event venue, Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel. According to those documents, that leaves an estimated $60,000 in proceeds.
On June 1, about two weeks after the ball, the committee in Clarksville received a notice of default in their agreement with the Hopkinsville Boys & Girls Club. The notice said Clarksville was in breach of the memorandum-of-understanding agreement and ordered the committee to cease all fundraising efforts. In addition, any funds raised for the Clarksville club, mentioning specifically the VIP event, were to be handed over to Hopkinsville.
“Any money that was raised or brought in for a Clarksville club will always be for a Clarksville club. It is still designed as such in an account,” Bivins told Clarksville Now. “I don’t want there to be specific harm done as far as relations, because I think someday there is definitely going to a be a club there (in Clarksville), whether it’s us or another organization. I see that as something that will happen. It’s something that we were working on for several years.”
Mynatt: ‘That’s a private event’
Clarksville Now reached out to Ashley Mynatt, owner and publisher of VIP Clarksville Magazine, who said the Black Tie Ball was a for-profit event, and she would decide what funds went to what charitable organization she chose.
“That’s a private event that I hold each year, and so the monies raised are monies that my business raised, first of all. So, it’s not a fundraiser per se. I personally give money to nonprofits based on what I raise at my event. It’s me personally, out of my pocket, giving and donating, so it’s not on behalf of anyone,” Mynatt said.
“It’s not an organization like a nonprofit actually holding an event. That’s me personally having an event, a for-profit company, and then me personally, as the owner of this business and as a community member, deciding to donate that money wherever I determine I would like to give it. So that’s me holding an event, and anything that I personally make from it — me being charitable toward my community.”
However, multiple advertisements for the Black Tie Ball published in VIP Clarksville Magazine indicated otherwise. Some of those advertisements contained a QR code connected to Ticketbud, where patrons could buy tickets for the event. The Ticketbud webpage specifically ties the ball to the Boys & Girls Club and indicates that those funds would go to the Boys & Girls Club. The same link was also included on multiple Black Tie Ball event Facebook posts.
A separate two-page promotion in the magazine soliciting donations to the Boys and Girls Club – making no reference to the ball – includes a QR code for donations. That QR code directs donors to the same Ticketbud web page for the Black Tie Ball.
Mynatt said she still plans to give money to the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville. On Oct. 10, Mynatt sent an email to Black Tie Ball supporters that stated VIP would be committing “our minimum pledge of $25,000” to the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville. That’s less than half of the estimated proceeds from the event.
However, because Clarksville doesn’t have 501(c)3 status, she said, she cannot do that yet.
“I’m very much supportive of that organization, so I’ve already pledged my commitment,” Mynatt told Clarksville Now. “Unfortunately, currently, there is nowhere technically to give to a Clarksville club. So once that opportunity is there, and everything is finalized and everything is official, and I’m able to do that, then I will be able to do it. But, currently, there’s nowhere to give to support the Clarksville club,” she said.
Getting the club started
While the agreement between Clarksville and Hopkinsville has been terminated, that does not mean that a Boys & Girls Club will never be formed in Clarksville. Rather, it means that it is unlikely to happen under the Hopkinsville umbrella.
Danielle Stack, who has been part of the committee for the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville for the past several years, said the club can move forward if another partnership is secured. Stack and fellow committee member Jim Mann both said the group is looking at an alternative agreement.
“We’re just waiting to get another agreement,” Stack told Clarksville Now. “Nothing is going to change. We just have to have a parent organization, and they will not allow us to open up a standalone without that,” she said. Stack would not go on record as to where the club is pursuing that agreement.
Stack noted there has been a lot of red tape, and she looks forward to the day when the club can start helping local youth. “I just have to keep telling myself that it’s going to happen in God’s time,” Stack said.
As for the funds already raised for Clarksville, Hopkinsville has those sitting in an account. Stack said all funds have been surrendered to Hopkinsville except those from the Black Tie Ball.
“All money in the account was signed over to them,” Stack said. “The club could not ask for us to give them the VIP event money. It was a private event that said proceeds would go to them after expenses from the casino, food, prizes and some auction items.”
Hopkinsville insists funds be turned over
Bivins said in a statement that the Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville will continue trying to get an accounting of the proceeds from the ball.
“We are aware of concerns regarding the status of proceeds from the Black Tie Ball that raised funds for the proposed Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville earlier this year. Unfortunately, our organization has not yet received proceeds from the coordinators of the event, but we have engaged the support of key leaders at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, our national organization, to assist us in obtaining an accounting of the donations and the promised funds. We take this issue very seriously and can assure you that we are working to ensure that all donor contributions intended to support the Clarksville Club be directed toward that purpose.
“Once this matter is resolved, we will share the status of the donations as well as that of the proposed Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville, as the Clarksville community continues to explore options with neighboring Boys & Girls Club organizations.”
On Oct. 14, Bivens sent a notice to Mynatt and Stack making a “final request for a full accounting of the donors, donations and expenses” associated with the ball, in addition to the custodial chain of donations made in support of the Clarksville club.
The notice requested that those items be returned to Hopkinsville no later than 10 days after receipt of the notice. The notice also detailed concerns regarding the tax status and fulfillment of donor intent. According to that notice, inquiries about the issue have come from community stakeholders and the national office of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
VIP Clarksville Magazine is required under the Tennessee Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act to donate any funds that were collected for the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville, according to Julia Brock, director of communications with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office. If a club is never formed in Clarksville, the money would have to be refunded to the donors, Brock said, unless there was an agreement to give those funds to another charity.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.