This is a letter I sent October 1, 2014 to Executive Director and President of the Milwaukee Council. There has been no response.

Please distribute this letter to all Friend of St. Vincent de Paul that received your letter. Copy Attached with other Attachments

Dear Ms. Duskey and Ms. Sorts,
I have been forwarded an “open letter to friends of St. Vincent de Paul” of which my wife, I, Vincentians of our conference and others did not receive. You letter is to “update you on new store and clarify misinformation you may have received.” I do not know what “misinformation” you are referring to but I, personally, find your letter full of misinformation and misrepresentation. The first part of this letter I will only deal with what you call “Facts” and will only draw only from information from the Rule of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Manuel of St. Vincent de Paul in the USA, information given to us by you, Michelle Martin or other board members. Unlike your statement I will document all the facts. I added some personal remarks at the end and will leave other Vincentians, “ad hoc” committee forming of Vincentians, poor and people concerned about serving those in need to draw conclusion, options and actions from this information.

First, since you seem to be operating in a different universe than the Society of St. Vincent De Paul let me state and footnote some basic principles of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on which my interpretation of ‘facts’ are based on.
A The main Mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is in fellowship to serve, in a person to person way, people in need. It is not to run meal programs, social agency services or even run Thrift stores. See The Mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

B The mission of a Thrift Store of St. Vincent de Paul is to “serve Christ’s needy” by providing low cost items and a source for vouchers for those who cannot afford the items. It is not to make money for our mission. See Mission Statement of a St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Stores

C In the Society, all our money, (income, donations, and debts) belongs to the poor. (“The Society has held from the beginning that the funds donated to the Conference belong to the poor.” …… “Like Conferences, Councils act as custodians of funds given to the Society, understanding that they belong, ultimately, to the poor.” (Manuel of Society of St. Vincent De Paul, USA)

D The way for a wealthy conference to aide a needy conference is by twining, a conference to conference way of sharing. Twining is not a Needy conference fund in the Central Office budgets, but is a “direct link between two Conferences or Councils, consisting of sharing, prayer, a profound friendship and material resources”. (Rule of St. Vincent de Paul Society 4.1)

 Corrected Facts:   

1) On March 3, 2014 33 if 55 Council Presidents , despite a lack of details like interest rates on loans or how there will be a return on investment, voted 29 to 4 to approve a purchase of part of a building in Greenfield for 1.8 million dollars. Board and Council President did try to redo this discussion and vote but were denied. See 9 below.

2) The 29 Presidents did approved funding, 1.8 million for purchase and 1.4 million for construction and set up of store. 1.9 million was used for purchase. See 6 below.

3) All funds, materials, loans, interest, monies in trust fund, donations of items are owned by the poor. “Your statement that no funds donated to poor are ‘being used for the purchase, construction, setup and operation of store is not true or factual… See C above and budget 4 below.

4) Your statement that “revenue from the store operation will pay off the debt and produce additional revenue for our programs to carry out our mission in Milwaukee County is false. In fact the projected 2014–2015 budget (attached) has a projected deficit of $297, 129. These yearly deficits are usually higher than projected and money is transferred from the Vincentian Reserve trust fund to make up most of the deficit. (See p. 3 of St. Vincent de Paul Board Approved Budget for 2014–2015 attached. In the 2013–2014 board approved projected budget (attached) 99.4 % of budget was for compensation, operating and depreciation. Less than 1% was use for direct ‘relief’ service or the main mission of society money for vouchers for people in need or what you call in the budget ‘relief’.

In the 2014–2015 projected and approved budget, there is a $679, 838 increases over the 2013–2014 projected and approved budget. This is due mostly new Thrift store in Greenfield that is not honoring the mission of SVDP thrift stores. For example the total compensation projected is up from $1, 269, 781 to $2, 068, 264; The interest expenses due to new store are up from $0 to $160, 000; the condo association fees that are new are $20, 300. The P.I.O.T., payment in place of property taxes are up from $0 to $15, 000 (part of agreement with City of Greenfield for permit). I can go through each of the so called ‘operating’ expenses and show significant increases due to Greenfield store that serves the people of Greenfield. The fact is the new Greenfield thrift store, not serving the mission of SVDP or mission of SVDP thrift stores will be very costly for the poor.

5) The new 2014–2015 budget includes $800, 000 of income of all the conferences, something not done in 2013–2014 budgets. There is also $800, 000 of expenses by conferences, nearly 100% going for relief or vouchers to needy. Taking out this $800, 000 paper budgeting change the total for ‘relief, money to help the needy is down $3600 in new budget. So with $800, 000 of conferences funds in and out the 2014–2015 projected and approved budget is $3,714,844 budget. 99.295% that goes for compensation, operating and depreciation and only .395 % of the budget that goes for main mission of the society. (A good part of the $800, 000 raised and spent by conferences goes to Central Office store budget since conferences in Milwaukee pay 100% of retail cost for donated items to the store like clothes, household items, beds etc. Some items, like donated furniture, are paid to central office store budget at 50% of retail.) Looking at the numbers of your own budgets and not counting compensation, depreciation and operating cast as “relief” or services provided by SVDP members to the poor 99.295% are used for “management and general expenses and .395% go directly to serve people in need by home visits.

6) On August 4, the Society, represented by elite group of staff and members did closed on the Greenfield store for 1.9 million dollars, $100, 000 more than President’s council approved. The loan was from Securant Bank. No numbers are available for the ‘construction of new store’ which is financed by a loan from an investment fund. The SVDP trust fund is being used as collateral for one or both loans according to President and Treasurer of the Board. When I asked the Treasurer of the Board where in the budget of 4 million payment of principle of $3.1 approved was loans are accounted for his reply was he was informed by staff that any questions I asked had to go through the Vincentian lawyer, paid for by the poor. Where is the payment of principle in the budget?

7) The ‘visibility of our Society and its mission would be better serve by promoting our pick up services and using the majority of donations to central office and stores for people in need via the conferences. Charities that involved lot of participation of persons raise money easier.

8) The Society in Milwaukee has heard of the commitment to opening a store on the north side since the closing of the North side store about 10 years ago. According to board member on the property committee work by staff, committee and board on new store in Greenfield as been nearly a year. There are plenty of properties in North Central Milwaukee that would cost a lot less and if combined with unused property Society now would produce a thrift store that could serve the main mission of SVDP thrift stores at a fraction of the cost of Greenfield store and be self sustaining. See TwoSt. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store Proposals

9) Having attended the three board meetings since March 3 council meeting I have not heard of any mention of the Board engaging “The James Company to do a study to “determine our capacity for raising Capital Funds for the Greenfield store, the relocation of north side meal program and a north side store. Also if “no funds donated to the poor are being used for the purchase, construction, setup and operation” of Greenfield store what would there be a need to raise funds for the Greenfield store.

At the first two Board meetings after March 3 council meeting, the member of the board who represents North Central Milwaukee and the only African American on the Board made a motion for the board to discuss having another President council meeting about the new store, since there was so much new information of it. His motion for discussion was not seconded by any board member and the third meeting he did not show up and is no longer a board member. On July 2014, five presidents of the council requested, according to Wisconsin State law and bylaws of SVDP, another meeting of Presidents of Council for full disclosure of information relating to store in Greenfield. There has been no such meeting and Oct. 14th is not what was requested.
Maybe “Facts” do not matter but when a person in needs calls the central office for a home visit and hears the phrase “We do not serve your area” it does matter.

North Central Milwaukee where a SVDP thrift store is needed for the conferences who receive thousands of requests each year has a household income of $20,787.00 and is 85% plus African American. In Greenfield and surrounding area where conferences receive around 10 requests per year the average household income is $42,586.00 and it is 85% plus white.
There is many more facts and figures but basically the residents of North Central and South Central (over 85% Hispanic) area have become poorer and poorer over the years and while SVDP Society is spending more and more money, not on the needs of the poor but on building a central office controlled bureaucracy that now consumes about $4 million a year, money which the poor cannot afford. SVDP conferences in North Central and South Central Milwaukee because of the increased burden, outdated phone request system, lack of funds or lack of members have gone out of business or cannot serve all those in need. Meanwhile money for needy conferences or twining goes to Central Office and less money goes toward serving the mission of Society, unpaid members making person to person home visits to those in need.

I do this research and cry out for the poor not because I like to but because I am a proud member of the Society of SVDP since 1992 and need to. I am a native Milwaukee who moved back home a Vincentian in 1995. The top two executives, you and Michelle, have a total compensation of over $170,000 as reported to IRS tax form from 2012–2013. (See Attached IRS 990) You and the other 2 million dollars of staff are good intentioned people and what you do may be legal. But the poor and those of us who serve the poor are also good people. Let us create a new society of SVDP in Milwaukee that makes its primary mission person to person home visits. If any of my facts are incorrect I ask, as I have done in the past to let me know. You can do the numbers yourself with your own information and Rules and Manuals of SVDP but let me say, personally and from my heart let us be free to be the Society we are meant to be.

Bob Graf, Vincentian since 1992, Catholic Worker since 1967

“Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. (Proverbs 31: 8–9)

“We must do what is most agreeable to God. Therefore, we must do what our Lord Jesus Christ did when preaching the Gospel. Let us go to the poor. ”Blessed Frederic Ozanam(1813–1853)