A Chatham woman is greatly disappointed with the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation (CKHAF) after a lengthy battle to find out why money from a fundraiser didn't go where it was intended.
Elisha Banks, founder of the Music for the Mind fundraising event, said it took her seven months to get answers and when she got them she felt angry.
The $92,000 raised over the past two years was meant for the Inpatient Mental Health Unit of the Chatham hospital, with all proceeds to go towards buying essential items such as toothpaste, deodorant, and clothing, for the patients. However, Banks was told at the end of her hard-fought battle that the money couldn't be used for those personal supplies and it sat in a bank account for two years.
Banks accuses the CKHA Foundation of breaking its donor policy, saying it states "all restricted or designated donations will be used for the purposes for which they were given unless the Foundation has obtained legal authorization to use them for other purposes.”
Banks said the truth should have been shared with her two years ago when the fundraiser first started and questions why the Foundation or the hospital let her raise the money for a second year.
"Transparency and accountability to me as the donor should have been seen as a priority in this situation," said Banks. "Why was I given a letter of support the second year without any discussion around the message that I was communicating to the public or businesses regarding what I was raising money for?"
Banks said she finally had a meeting with hospital officials in January of 2022 but felt unheard, defeated, and not taken seriously.
"I felt like, in their eyes, I was nobody of importance, that I was not worthy of their respect, and was not seen as a valued donor to the hospital," Banks said. "It honestly breaks my heart that it has come to this because all of this was preventable. All they had to do was be honest with me from the very beginning, to tell me the truth about how the money could and could not be used."
She was told the hospital cannot use fundraised dollars to buy things like supplies because those items are included in the operational budget.
"I am very angry that I was put in the position where I had to agree the money could be used for other purposes, not because those other purposes are not important, but because that money was generously donated by this community who believed their donations would be used for supplies," she said. "Ultimately, the hospital put me in a horrible spot, a spot no donor ever wants to be in and they put my reputation and credibility as the founder of this fundraiser at risk."
The $92,000 raised will now go towards buying sound machines, tablets, MP3 players, headphones, sensory tools and kits, weighted lap pads, a DVD/VHS player to play movies for the patients, a ceiling lift, an industrial-grade washer and dryer, storage units for the storage room, and renovating quiet rooms.
Banks said her trust has been broken beyond repair but will be continuing the Music for the Mind fundraiser. However, next time the proceeds will go to another deserving mental health charity in the community.
CKHA Foundation President and CEO Mary Lou Crowley said the foundation is bound by privacy and confidentially laws that prevent them from speaking about specific donations or donors, but did say they're in constant contact with donors.
"I can say unequivocally and with certainty that we are in constant communication with all of our donors related to their gifts, the use of their funds, and the impact of their generosity," said Crowley.
Crowley also said the hospital sets its priorities and determines the flow of funds and the foundation only communicates them to the donors.
CKHA CEO Lori Marshall said she was not aware that staff at the hospital were purchasing personal items for the patients and that has been resolved. She also said the money sat for so long waiting for a priority.
Marshall is grateful to Banks for raising the money and bringing attention to the issue. She said there's a "good news" announcement coming before the end of March to recognize Banks and doesn't think this issue will hurt future fundraising at the hospital.
"I would say categorically that I do not believe that it will have that impact," said Marshall. "I have absolute confidence in the foundation and their fundraising abilities."
