Danny Gokey’s Charity Awards Scholarships to Kids with Challenges

Good job gokey!!! that’s friggin awesome

Very nice! I wondering about the amount a $1000 each will not go far but I guess every little bit helps.

Great start on the programs to be supported through Danny’s foundation. Those kids look so happy, and so does he.

That’s really cool. I was one of the ones who doubted his charity would be able to help anyone, mea culpa.

As a parent who has been on the dishing it out end of paying for two childrens’ college educations, you bet every little bit helps! That will probably pay for some of those very expensive books that are required.

“That’s really cool. I was one of the ones who doubted his charity would be able to help anyone, mea culpa.”

That’s a great start, but the cynical side of me notes that the charity website has no information on the winners, so we don’t know if they just took a few kids from his church and took the photo.

But, OTOH, everyone could use an extra $1,000 these days for school expenses, and hopefully, we’ll hear more about this as the website gets updated.

Kudos to Danny Gokey. What a wonderful thing he is doing with his charity. I am happy that he is able to bring to fruition his dream for the foundation he started in honor of his wife. Bravo!!!!!

This is awesome! I’m glad to see SHF foundation is starting to get off the ground.

Yay d.b.cooper ur back! I missed my fave h8r.lol:)

That’s pretty awesome. Good for Gokey and the kids.

Re: ‘That’s a great start, but the cynical side of me notes that the charity website has no information on the winners, so we don’t know if they just took a few kids from his church and took the photo.’

Danny has mentioned that SHF is having a new website put together that should be coming online sometime in the next few weeks. Have an impression the original site wasn’t designed for the kind of traffic it has received as Danny & the foundation have become more well-known. They seem to have been having some growing pains, but seems to me that’s a good problem to have in such an early phase of starting a new charitable effort.

It may be that any updates will go onto the new site when it debuts. There have been other developments that haven’t been posted to the older site yet either, including the private event Danny did last month where his foundation received a nice corporate donation from a well-known insurance company with ties to his wife’s family. I know some people have questioned whether Danny’s charity is valid; I feel pretty sure no insurance company with a national reputation is going to give funds in public to a charity that doesn’t pass due diligence scrutiny.

Good job, Danny.

It’s nice, but I also would like to know how it went down. Was there an application process? Or did they just choose three kids from the church? It’s also not a lot of money and won’t go far. How much have they raised?

I totally support Idol-related charities. I appreciate them more when it’s done transparently with another organization, like Ace’s fan thingie with the Denver Children’s Hospital or the thing Adam is doing with the Donors Choose program. I have to belive Sophie’s Heart has received more than $3K. Maybe they have overhead, but it just seems to me that’s part of the problem. Why re-invent the wheel when you could just use your influence to contribute to an already worthwhile cause?

ETA: Didn’t a Packer or two give a crap load to the foundation? And so far only $3K. Sorry. I’m not impressed. I’m not saying his heart isn’t in the right place. I just think he lacks the business sense to pull it off in a meaningful way. I also think he needs to keep this project away from his church.

SHF has received at least three (known) contributions from Milwaukee area pro sports figures, although must say I don’t follow football so have no idea who these folks are… It does of course add up to more than $3000 given out on this one occasion.

That said, don’t think you can judge the intent of a charity by a single disbursement of funds. It’s just one data point out of everything it’s doing; in this case, the earlier focus has been on music programs, I believe. This may be the first time they have presented grants under their scholarship initiative. The charity is less than a year old, believe it warrants some slack to see how it develops.

Also Danny wants this to be a long-term foundation to help the community and honor his wife, so I’m sure the staff have to think about the big picture in building for the future as well as what they are doing right now.

Also, what kind of charity doesn’t have a Board of Directors? I looked under the “about” section and didn’t see it. Danny isn’t running things from the road, so who is? I suspect its the church and they don’t want to advertise it. I’ll back down if there’s a new site that clearly outlines who the operating officers are and if they are responsible to a board. Right now I’m not convinced. I’m open to being proven wrong, though. I personally won’t give money to anything that ambiguous. I think it would be foolish to do so.

This may be the first time they have presented grants under their scholarship initiative. The charity is less than a year old, believe it warrants some slack to see how it develops.

Yes, I get that. But what was the application process? What was the criteria? Who applied if that info is not there? I’m sorry, that should be available as a minimum on the site. They sure figured out how to link the donate buttons.

I personally won’t give money to anything that ambiguous. I think it would be foolish to do so.

Me neither. I prefer charities that are transparent, so that I can see exactly where my money goes. But this is still a nice accomplishment for SHF.

Helping kids in need is a worthy goal and I’m glad to see that Danny’s charity has begun making some distributions. I agree with those who say that every little bit helps.

I’m thrilled to see charity work being done for kids and yay for these kids!

I do however share a certain amount of trepidation about this foundation. Not because I don’t believe that Danny has anything other than the best of intentions with this, I do. I firmly believe his heart is in the right place, but charities and foundations are really sticky wickets to set up and run and I’m not seeing that they have done enough with this one. I worry for Danny’s sake and the sake of those donating to it, that due diligence isn’t being done here. I understand wanting to do something specifically in his wife’s name. But maybe doing what David Cook did, working with an existing organization/charity that had something to do with the loved one’s ailment, might have been better.

But that isn’t to take away from feeling happy for these kids and wishing the best in Danny’s charitiable leanings.

That is such an awesome and admirable thing that Danny is doing.

I sound like a bitch, but there is some really important info missing from the SHF site. I have to wonder who is running it. That kind of info is really easy to update on a website. Is that such a bad question to ask?

If they can’t do that (even if it’s incompetance), then do you trust them with your money?

Seems to me there is room for both approaches, going with an existing charity, or starting a new one for reasons that have personal meaning. Just saw a short news article that Carrie Underwood is now announcing a foundation she’s establishing for certain charitable goals she wants to sponsor. Good for her also.

I’m not sure what’s considered public record, but it was confirmed in some earlier situation that SHF is registered as a charity with the IRS. There presumably are records on file with the government, and there may be more information put on the new website when it comes online. Obviously, anyone’s choice which charities they choose to support and why.

As far as whether SHF is a bona fide charity though (as opposed to a mature charity, which is a different question), as I mentioned above, find it very hard to believe a large-scale corporation in a business as conservative as insurance would provide a ($10,000) grant to SHF if they hadn’t checked it out. One of the football’er-associated donations was reputedly over $100,000; again, can’t imagine that being done without due diligence by his financial/legal advisors.

As far as whether SHF is a bona fide charity though (as opposed to a mature charity, which is a different question), as I mentioned above, find it very hard to believe a large-scale corporation in a business as conservative as insurance would provide a ($10,000) grant to SHF if they hadn’t checked it out. One of the football’er-associated donations was reputedly over $100,000; again, can’t imagine that being done without due diligence by his financial/legal advisors.

Or maybe they had money to spare and it afforded them good publicity? None of that excuses the fact that the SHF doesn’t list the operating officers or a board of directors. That is made of fail and is easily added to any website.

Nor does it give kids a process to apply for those grants/scholarships. So, it reeks of an inside process to me.

Seems to me there is room for both approaches, going with an existing charity, or starting a new one for reasons that have personal meaning. Just saw a short news article that Carrie Underwood is now announcing a foundation she’s establishing for certain charitable goals she wants to sponsor. Good for her also.

Sure, but there are standards for setting up charities and as far as I can tell, Danny’s isn’t living up to it. Just guessing that Carrie has a board and a director. Let me know if I’m wrong and I’ll rag her too.

I agree that there are unanswered questions, and it is (esp if I am considering donating) absolutely appropriate to have more answers – most obviously listing the Board.

In regards to the scholarships…that info does appear on the website – the requirements & application, that 24 scholarships would hopefully be given out this year – just not who would be deciding, or when. It does have the app deadline as this past April 30th…my memory is not good tonight – is this scholarship part of something that was just Sophia related, not Danny influenced/President of Org…as the deadline was before the end of Idol?

Here is the scholarship link on the site: http://www.sophiasheart.org/action.aspx#scholarship

I sound like a bitch

You don’t. Your points are very valid. :)

NM

“I sound like a bitch”

If so, than I’m a bitch, too, because I agree with you.

The $1,000 will be appreciated by the 3 kids, and that’s a good thing, but there are just too many unanswered questions so far. I do think that Danny’s intentions are good, but there is too much missing information.

So, there was at least $110,000 donated so far, (not counting what individual fans have donated), and they gave out $1,000 to each kid? I realize that they want to do more with the donated money, but seems like they could have at least doubled the amount given. Hard to know, with no information available on what is going on.

It’s nice, but I also would like to know how it went down. Was there an application process? Or did they just choose three kids from the church? It’s also not a lot of money and won’t go far. How much have they raised?

Charity is great and I hope this is on the up and up but if these were just three random college age kids from his church then he needs to be upfront about it. There isn’t anything wrong with awarding some money to kids who could use the financial help but there is a lack of transparency in the process thus far that I’d like to see SHF fix.

Sophia’s Heart Foundation is registered as a Charitable Organization in Tennessee. Danny’s brother-in-law, Ivan Santiago, is listed as the contact person. They haven’t filed a year-end financial report yet but since the entity was created on December 3, 2008, they will probably do so this December.

http://tnsos.org/charitable/CharitableOrgReports.php?find=Sophia

http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/soscorp/details.jsp you will have to enter in Sophia’s Heart Foundation to find the filing.

I agree that they need more transparency on their website and hope the new site will address this problem. I also hope Danny seeks professional help with running the foundation because it’s such a huge, complicated undertaking. Family and business rarely mix well.

someone said:

Yay d.b.cooper ur back! I missed my fave h8r.lol:)

Huh?

I am sure the website will eventually get fixed…I helped a friend raise money for medical treatment outside of the US and at times it took days, weeks to get the website udpdated. It really depends on who is working the site, if they are doing it for free (meaning do they have other work to tend to?), how many people are involved (the more, the messier), etc. With any charity, there will be doubts as to how honest the organization is being run. However, I will say that I worked in fundraising for 7 years and the shadies individuals I encountered typically worked for large nonprofits such as Special Olympics, RedCross and UnitedWay.

I sound like a bitch, but there is some really important info missing from the SHF site. I have to wonder who is running it. That kind of info is really easy to update on a website. Is that such a bad question to ask?

Well, we can be bitchy together, because that is a question I’ve been asking for a while. SHF has been around for quite some time now, nearing a year and it’s taking them this long to properly get their information together? Hope Danny finds a way to be more organized about his foundation. Until then, I can’t trust it yet.

Awww..way to go Gokey!! That’s really cool

Thanks for posting MJ – it was the very pic I was anxious to see.

I’m so proud of Danny……………..he will always be my AI Hero!

The fact that he used his public forum to promote his foundation has really given it an excellent start!

Unlike MADD who had difficulty getting off the ground & running! It is all about honoring the memory of loved ones – turning painful loss into something good & helping others!

and Sofia’s Heart :wub_tb:

Please provide info on how I may contribute as I want so much to put my money where my mouth is :) Thanks anyone!

Great job, Danny!

I’ll join those with the “bitchy” questions. Danny’s great, and I believe his intentions are good. But the lack of clarity is troubling to me, and his church affiliation does nothing to comfort me. Quite the contrary actually.

Danny, hook up with some good, independent, knowledgeable folks, and soon!

Congrats to the kids though! That’s a good think in my book no matter how it happened. I would love to hear their stories too. (And I also would like to see a bit more “diversity” down the road as well, but I suspect that’s a product of the notice problem mentioned by others and will be remedied soon.)

Great Job Danny. All he idols involved with charity work have a good heart and they are all just starting out. some major celebrities don’t do charity work so i am proud of my idols.

I’m really glad for Danny. But I see a lot of people have similar questions as me.

My first thoughts were (1) what criteria was used to compare the scholarship winners against others, (2) were they chosen at random or did they “win” based on something like an essay, (3) what is the $1000 to be used for (there is usually a stipulation, i.e. for books or tuition). As someone who won a couple of scholarships in the distant past (yikes, have more than 25 years really passed?)I had to fill out lengthy applications and submit essays and be judged against many other qualified kids. It wasn’t just that we were below a certain income and I was smart (insert “overcame adversity” here if you like – I won’t be so bold as to say I had a difficult upbringing, just a lower income than many of my friends). So, I’d be really interested to see how this was done so that it can be sustained longer-term.

Scholarships are fantastic, without them I would not have had the educational opportunities they afforded me. BUT when giving grants and scholarships there needs to be a set of publicly disclosed rules and criteria against which a standard can be met.

I hope that this is the start of great things for Sophia’s Heart. But I sincerely believe that a good deal of information needs to be made public – before they start awarding money and garnering publicity. It just raises more questions, and puts Danny in an awkward position if he doesn’t have the answers.

I am agree with Pj here and no Pj you are not a bitch that is my job.. Yeah it seems like a very nice thing to do to give to those kids and I am sure the organization does very good things to help out the community..Question is before I will give money is this how much goes o the organization and what % goes else where?

I am kind of with the people who have misgivings. This foundation has likely brought in a ton of money already; it’s had priceless advertising through Idol and Danny’s fans. I volunteer as a board member allocating scholarships on behalf of a non-profit, and it just seems weird to me that he would make out such giant ‘cheques’ for such a small amount. It’s almost like a ‘see, I’m doing good – look at this’…mind you, I’m sure that wasn’t his call; he’s just in the photo.
I really believe Danny has a good heart but personally this charity isn’t really something I would feel comfortable with yet; definitely not enough information about who does what and what money goes where. It all needs to be completely transparent, with any recipients being fairly selected. I’d be ticked if they were just his own church kids.

MJ, thanks for this article. And congrats to Danny.

AndreaH, thanks for posting this info regarding the State of TN filing for SHF.

It all needs to be completely transparent, with any recipients being fairly selected. I’d be ticked if they were just his own church kids.

First, it is clear that SHF is not only giving money to members of Danny’s church. They have selected a local, non-religious charity, SEDA, to receive money to hepp establish a music program for developmentally challenged kids. Info is on the Website.

That said, I wish that there was more information about this organization, that it had more professional management, and that there was more transparency. Even the filing is from a residential address in TN. Merely the appearance of anything hidden, improper or beneficial to Danny could really hurt Danny. AND I AM NOT SAYING ANYTHING IMPROPER IS GOING ON.

Remeber when Clay Aiken was the subject of a lot of bad press because of the high level of travel and expense reimbursements to him from his charity and speculation about his non-profit group’s improper spending in 2005 based on its 2004 filing? The non-profit finally opened up it’s books to a North Carolina TV Station and allowed an independent audit to show they had distributed money properly — which it had. Link to article about audit: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/118557/ I really don’t want anything similar to happen to Danny.

That said, I wish that there was more information about this organization, that it had more professional management, and that there was more transparency. Even the filing is from a residential address in TN. Merely the appearance of anything hidden, improper or beneficial to Danny could really hurt Danny. AND I AM NOT SAYING ANYTHING IMPROPER IS GOING ON.

Thanks for this post Q3 as it really was some of the info I was seeking………I have a tendency to hesitate before I spend on charity as I’ve been burned in the past with funds not going to those stated & utilized properly. In Danny’s case I don’t feel the vibe, but would prefer a more formal means of contributing. No online stuff for me!!

I’m not an expert on charitable foundations and how they work though I know I have a niece-in-law who actually worked for a lot of charitable foundations and as an “exec” made pretty good money (and rightly so since it was a high visibility and pretty stressful position). So I know that most “charities” have pretty high overhead costs and if Danny has received about a $110,000 so far that would barely cover the costs of running his foundation.

I do know that I make my choices about “giving” based on the actual beneficiaries of my donations.

I have a hard time with large fund raisers, especially medical where a huge percentage goes into research and then the pharmaceutical companies or medical equip. companies reap the profits. I would rather see my money used to help the people directly affected and their families. I love ides like “Ronald McDonald houses” because that is a true “gift” to very distraught parents.

The idea of helping “inner city and disadvantaged youth” is admirable but I would rather see my money providing items that could help more than 1 or 2 individuals. For the $3000 that was given to 3 people (which wouldn’t even cover the cost of books) musical instruments could have been provided for an entire junior high orchestra…that would be enriching a lot of lives and would have been along the lines Danny talks about.

ETA…and I did feel the picture with the “huge” checks was way OTT. A simple announcement would have garnered my respect a lot more. Hopefully Danny will learn that simple is much better when advertising charity IMHO.

As one of the many who has to watch my spending these days, one thing that stood out to me is that these kids are probably from Milwaukee — where Danny will be performing on Friday — and they brought them out to Ohio to give them the checks. Since they’re high school kids, (if I read the website application correctly), at least one adult probably had to travel with them as well. If they attended the concert, (I’m assuming so, since they were backstage), did they then stay overnight as well?

I have to assume that the foundation picked up the tab for travel, meals, etc. That money could have been saved by presenting the checks on Thursday or Friday, (maybe the Idols arrive in WI on Thursday? It’s a day off), and then the money could have been used to go towards another scholarship.

I doesn’t make sense to me that they brought the kids out to OH. If Danny wanted to have this be part of the hometown press that he’ll be getting, it still would have been, even if the presentation was Friday.

For a new foundation, just getting off the ground, they probably really need to watch these unnecessary expenses.

I’m assuming that Danny has little involvement right now in the decisions being made by the foundation, since he’s rather busy on the road, but I hope that they’ll get some good management, and do some really great work.

and if Danny has received about a $110,000 so far that would barely cover the costs of running his foundation.

If wouldn’t even start. And forget years 2 through 50.

On the other hand, 100K given to a Boys & Girl’s club -or any existing arts or after school program, or even a school – would make a GIGANTIC impact.

Of course, there is nothing improper going on. But the reason there are so many official, legal hoops for an entity to qualify as a 501c3 non-profit (federal, makes you tax deductible) is so no one has to even wonder.

Carrie Underwood makes so much money she wants to direct it. Doesn’t mean she’s going to run programs. She may just be regranting more.

Danny wants to honor his wife. He hasn’t thought through the most effective way to do that. He wants it to be “his”, perhaps thinking that makes it more “hers”. Much luck for all his hard work. Hope all works out well for him. But also hope he considers simply gathering money through his being well-known then efficiently redirecting it to exisiting orgs. That will help more children.

“if Danny has received about a $110,000 so far that would barely cover the costs of running his foundation.”

That amount was just from 2 donations. Fans, I’m sure, have been donating throughout the Idol season, and there have, it appears, been some fund-raisers as well.

Unfortunately, the lack of information about the foundation has probably created some lost opportunities for donations. I looked into donating during the Idol season, but won’t donate when I know so little about the organization. I’m sure I’m not the only one who decided against it due to lack of information.

They hopefully will have things better organized a year from now, but I have to admit that I might not remember who Danny Gokey is a year from now. As Kris said, we as a country have ADD, and I might not remember about this organization by then. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will have moved on, which might make it hard to sustain the foundation.

So I know that most ‘charities’  have pretty high overhead costs and if Danny has received about a $110,000 so far that would barely cover the costs of running his foundation.

Small grass roots non-profits can operate for much less that $110,000 annually, especially if they have limited overhead expenses such as rent, utilities, etc. The Board of Directors for these types of NPs usually don’t get paid. They are generally volunteers from the community who are donating their time and expertise. Many times staff are volunteers as well. Usually for these small NPs there is usually only one or two paid staff positions.

While I think it is great that these kids are $1000 richer and thereby closer to their educational goals, I wouldn’t give a penny to this “foundation” until certain concerns are properly addressed.

What i don’t get is your a truck driver and your wife dies,you start a national foundation.Was this danny or familly and friends who wanted it this big?Then you want a office buildings in nashville and LA.He could of done so much with the money raised for Milwaukee and Wisconsin.So many bad mistakes made this far.The only way this foundation stays national is if danny makes it big in music.I hope danny knows that if any familly member or friend crosses the line it comes back on him.It would kill his chance to make it in music.Just like going for the big note(he could never hit)this is going for more then he should.
I do feel danny’s heart is in the right place.I HOPE HIS FAMILLY AND FRIENDS HEART STAY IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

D.b. Cooper:

I think it was the Pittsburgh show u were talking about how bad Adam is so yeah I made u my favorite h8er. Kind of weird I know but I was bored that night. And I said ur back becuz I haven’t seen ur posts in a while.sorry should have explained myself better:)

Changed my mind about giving donations online – the Donors Choice website was wonderful. The way I feel about it now is – if MJ posts its availability & provides a means to donate……….then I’m in since I trust her judgment! I feel I ‘know’ her more than Danny & the people he has working with him. :smile1_tb:

probably better in another thread.

nvm

A simple Google search gave me these results:

Billie Kathleen Ford ‘“ TN
Lipscomb ’13 ‘“ A faith based university
Ezell Harding Christian School ’09

Justin Rodak ‘“ Akron, OH
Justin also received a four year scholarship from the Paul and Carol David Foundation. He will receive 5,500 a year for four years. Obviously, a very smart boy’ ¦

This info puts to rest the worry that these recipients are only from the Milwaukee area.

I still have great misgivings about Danny’s foundation. The lack of transparency is glaring.

SHF has been accepting donations since Danny appeared on Idol. If Adam’s fans donated almost 40,000 dollars in a few days, then I would assume that Danny’s huge fan base has donated double or perhaps triple that amount. Add to that the 110,000 in corporate funding, plus Danny’s original investment and you have a sizable chunk of money.

Danny needs to report on the amount of donations from fans and give some tangible goals that will be met in the near future.

Bringing the scholarship recipients to the Idol show and the pics of the HUGE checks just reeks of a PR stunt, IMO.

Danny’s heart seems to be in the right place but he is also a bit clueless and naà ¯ve. I would hate to see this come back and bite him in the arse.

SHF has been accepting donations since Danny appeared on Idol. If Adam’s fans donated almost 40,000 dollars in a few days, then I would assume that Danny’s huge fan base has donated double or perhaps triple that amount. Add to that the 110,000 in corporate funding, plus Danny’s original investment and you have a sizable chunk of money.

That would be adam’s fans that are still following him after AI show.If adam did this from the start of the season how much money we talking about then.A hell of a lot more then double or triple.I would bet danny took in millions over the season.I mean 25-30 million viewers and his story.I love to see people giving(i have a good reason)but i hate to see it wasted.Danny will never see the amount of money he took in this year next year.He won’t have the number 1 tv show talking about SHF.

Small grass roots non-profits can operate for much less that $110,000 annually, especially if they have limited overhead expenses such as rent, utilities, etc. The Board of Directors for these types of NPs usually don’t get paid. They are generally volunteers from the community who are donating their time and expertise. Many times staff are volunteers as well. Usually for these small NPs there is usually only one or two paid staff positions.

thank you. small organization are mostly run by volunteers, especially family and friends. people who do the work on the side in addition to their regular lives. thats why at times you will find the website & press materials incomplete or in need of updates.

btw, 100k to a large organization doesnt gaurantee it will do a ton of good….that money passes so channels, that by the time it reaches the proper hands, there isnt much left. (percentage wise). whereas smaller organizations dont have much overhead or people to deal with, and most of the money is used for their reported cause.

im so jaded having worked in fundraising, that now i rarely give money donations. food, clothes, blood, helping hand, yes…..cash or checks, not so much. (those damn girl scouts and their evil, calorie filled cookies are an exception)

I think that it is very nice that Danny’s foundation has helped out these kids.