Tif_Ann, according the the Ohio Ag’s suit, she’s not registered as a non profit. Are you sure about that, or did she claim to be registered?
According to the paperwork, “Defendants failed to register as a Charitable Trust…”
[QUOTE=LauraKY;7443441]
Tif_Ann, according the the Ohio Ag’s suit, she’s not registered as a non profit. Are you sure about that, or did she claim to be registered?
According to the paperwork, “Defendants failed to register as a Charitable Trust…”[/QUOTE]
She was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation up until a few days ago. According to the complaint, however, she never registered as a Charitable Trust with the state to be able to solicit donations, nor did she ever file any financials. I actually researched this issue extensively last night again and had found this online, which while directed to South Dakota laws really explains the requirements for most states in good, plain English. We JUST filed our 501©3 paperwork this week and I was already reviewing the laws because one of the reasons you have to file is 501©3 regardless of income, so it is just more of in impetus to “do it right” if one of the rescues I’ve always considered “one of the good guys” can find themselves in this position.
http://www.lawforchange.org/images/lfc/SouthDakotaFundraising.pdf
But really, it should be common sense to anyone that if you get money, somehow, someway you have to report it. If she hadn’t been an incorporated not-for-profit I imagine it would be the IRS coming after her for never reporting the donations as personal income (with appropriate deductions of course). Especially these days, with rescues under so much scrutiny, you just HAVE to run it as a business.
[QUOTE=LauraKY;7443441]
Tif_Ann, according the the Ohio Ag’s suit, she’s not registered as a non profit. Are you sure about that, or did she claim to be registered?
According to the paperwork, “Defendants failed to register as a Charitable Trust…”[/QUOTE]
And yet when I searched the Ohio Sect’y Charities website I found:
Organization Details:
Organization Name: Frog Pond Farm, Inc
Employer identification number (EIN): 20-0611371
Address line 1: 64385 Larrick Ridge Road
Address line 2:
City: Cambridge
State: Ohio
ZIP code: 43725
County: Guernsey
Country: United States
Telephone: (740)255-0853
Web address:
Date of formation: 03/05/2004
Organization type: Other
Description of Organization’s Purpose:
Is the organization’s registration status current? No
The financial information below is from the organization’s most recent filing within the on-line system. If the items below are blank, the organization has not yet filed information on-line or they may be exempt from filing an annual report.
Reporting Year: 2011
Reporting Start Date: 1/1/2011
Reporting End Date: 12/31/2011
Total Revenue: $97,720.78
Total Expenses: $90,336.62
Total Program Expenses: $90,336.62 Percent of Total Expenses: 100%
Total Assets: $7,384.16
Director or Boardmember List:
Lisa Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Again not an excuse but I know rescues who bring in WAY more money, who haven’t filed paperwork with the state or sent in their 990s in YEARS, and I mean more than 2.
And if she had an EIN and was registered as above, what else did she have to do and why did it take until now [since 2004 when she incorporated per this] to determine she had not done it?
I don’t know the answers to that, except the complaint alleges failure to file as a charitable trust and/or file financials for years 2004-2009 (I believe) and then again for 2013. Sounds like maybe she WAS doing right in 2010-2012?
Maybe she made less than $25,000 in donations between 2004-2009? She’d possibly be exempt from filing then according to the law of Ohio.
I still haven’t read through the whole PDF that I printed- it’s in my bag to read while DS swims at practice tonight, so it may be what I am throwing out there is not applicable/accurate…
ETA though I did look and can not find where one can see the 990s that would be on file… not on GuideStar as they were not a Fed 501c3… and the Ohio website is ‘different’… and slow.
A charitable trust is a different entity. The EIN is filed for not for profit organizations, not to be confused with 501c3, non-profit. The EIN is essentially for tax filing purposes.
I have had red flags up about this organization since well before 2009 when she was raising money for rescues out of Sugarcreek and an involvement with some horse supposedly in danger on a cliff somewhere in Ohio, huge media nonsense and horse just walked off it by itself. She has been under investigation for a longer period than just this recent mess. It was pretty well known by people she was using the money to live on.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/horse-stuck-on-cliff-saved/nGbqP/
Charitable Trust in Ohio information:
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business-and-Non-Profits/Charity/Charitable-Registration
You need to read the complaint to know in what areas she was deficient.
I don’t believe she was eligible to file a 990. She’s not registered with the IRS except with an Employer ID #.
Regardless, she lied under oath.
[QUOTE=LauraKY;7443547]
Charitable Trust in Ohio information:
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business-and-Non-Profits/Charity/Charitable-Registration
You need to read the complaint to know in what areas she was deficient.
I don’t believe she was eligible to file a 990. She’s not registered with the IRS except with an Employer ID #.[/QUOTE]
Yeah what I meant was at the link you provided that I used to get the info I copied/pasted, there was no where to look at the information they summarize.
While it says ‘Is the organization’s registration status current? No’ there’s nothing else to say ‘hey these people are not presently able to collect donations’ to the public who looks them up there. I mean looking at what came up when I put in their name didn’t say to me ‘don’t donate’… I mean status not being current could mean a myriad of things, from they filed for an extension to submit what we require to… we haven’t gotten around to updating.
And how is this information verified, if not with a 990?
I see that they have the charity enter the info., but then what?
That’s why I like Guidestar, you can see the actual documents submitted.
You got $90K coming in, you’re having financial problems, the temptation to take it hoping you wouldn’t get caught–money overcomes even the best intentions.
It is never a good idea to have board members = family members when you have a small board.
Looking at groups who have gotten in trouble, family board members appear to be a common occurrence.
There is nothing wrong with family members being active in the organization, but somehow having a title seems to be more important than being part of the mission to some.
Angela, she couldn’t file a 990, her org wasn’t an IRS exempt org. I assume she had to file a regular corporate tax return.
Ohio Sect’y Charities website I found:
Organization Details:
Organization Name: Frog Pond Farm, Inc
Employer identification number (EIN): 20-0611371
Address line 1: 64385 Larrick Ridge Road
Address line 2:
City: Cambridge
State: Ohio
ZIP code: 43725
County: Guernsey
Country: United States
Telephone: (740)255-0853
Web address:
Date of formation: 03/05/2004
Organization type: Other
Description of Organization’s Purpose:
Is the organization’s registration status current? No
The financial information below is from the organization’s most recent filing within the on-line system. If the items below are blank, the organization has not yet filed information on-line or they may be exempt from filing an annual report.
Reporting Year: 2011
Reporting Start Date: 1/1/2011
Reporting End Date: 12/31/2011
Total Revenue: $97,720.78
Total Expenses: $90,336.62
Total Program Expenses: $90,336.62 Percent of Total Expenses: 100%
Total Assets: $7,384.16
Director or Boardmember List:
Lisa Gordon
Jeff Gordon
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business-and-Non-Profits/Charity/Charitable-Registration
The form, Verification of Registration with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, is no longer available. Instead, charities and donors can use this page and search for a charity. The resulting information will indicate whether the organization is registered and current [does that mean you can be registered but not current, or if you are not current you are no longer considered registered?] and can be printed as verification of registration.
[QUOTE=Tif_Ann;7443475]
I don’t know the answers to that, except the complaint alleges failure to file as a charitable trust and/or file financials for years 2004-2009 (I believe) and then again for 2013. Sounds like maybe she WAS doing right in 2010-2012?
Maybe she made less than $25,000 in donations between 2004-2009? She’d possibly be exempt from filing then according to the law of Ohio.[/QUOTE]
DH and I read through the pdf last night and can’t understand what the Ohio Att’y Gen. means that they were not registered… clearly they were at some point, because their info is on the website [see my note above in italics]
*15- Defendant failed to register with the Ohio Att’y General as a charitable trust established or active in Ohio within 6 months of creation of the charitable trust from 2004-2012 [i][But, she did, because she’s listed on the website, no? And there are dates below that say she had some paperwork done… so…][/b]
17- Defendant mfailed to file Registration Statement with the Ohio Att’y Gen before engaging in solicitation
18- Defendants failed to file a copy of the current charter, articles of incorporation, agreement of association, instrument of trust, constitution, or other organizational instrument, and a copy of the bylaws of Frog Pond Farm, Inc. with the Ohio Att’y Gen before engaging in solicitation.
19- Defendants failed to file a statment setting forth the place where and the date when Defendant Frog Pond Farm was legally established, the form of it’s organization, and it’s tax exempt status, with a copy of it’s federal tax exempt determinations letter, [but if they are not a Fed 501c3, they wouldn’t have that letter, would they? and you can be registered in the state and solicit and not be registered Federally… correct?]with the Ohio State Att’y Gen before engaging in solicitation
20- Defendants failed to file registration fees with the Ohio Att’y Gen for Fiscal years '04-'08 and 2013 [so assuming they did for '09, '10, and '11? Which leads to confusion about the other issues with failure to register or send in documents… how was she listed on their website since '04, and submitted some documents for the middle years of being legit., but not all of them?]
What I do not understand is, well she must have done something because she WAS listed on their website. Since 2004.
And also see what I bolded? It’s confusing.
That doesn’t make it incorrect, but it’s confusing.
And how does one navigate the Ohio website and determine what orgs. are legit, if an org appears on their website, and yet has all this vital documentation missing that in the end gets the org. in major hot water… again how does a individual find out who is/isn’t legit. in Ohio?
Does that make sense to anyone? What am I missing about this registration process in Ohio?
Well, date of formation isn’t the same as the date she filed with the Charitable Trust. For example - our rescue’s “date of formation” is 12/14/2010 but we just filed for 501©(3) and we have yet to take in over $25,000 so those dates would by much later. Obviously we don’t have the info for Frog Pond, but I don’t think you have to file if you take in less than $25,000, so it’s possible she was exempt from filing before that. But the AG did have her financials so I assume there was some merit and she should have filed, or he wouldn’t have charged her with not charging.
Is there a registration fee due every year? I’m not sure. If there is, that would explain failure to register.
ETA, it appears the fee must be paid every year, it’s a sliding scale based on assets and/or contributions.
So failure to register would mean for every year that she failed to pay the fee.
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/FAQ/Charitable-registration-deadlines-and-fees#FAQ240
Well it appears this is a new Att’y General as of '11 as well, perhaps he’s cleaning house of charities that were previously allowed to ‘skate’ and not face the consequences of failing to comply with requirements… or I wonder how those requirements have, perhaps changed since he took office?
You all remember Ollie? He was a horse that was pretty famous, based on his conditions, most horse owners would have put him down immediately. She didn’t she fund raised on him for ages, then finally he was put to sleep. I’d like to know ho much was raised for him specifically.
At that point I stopped following them as a rescue, as they didn’t have the horses best interests at heart, and he was a fundraiser.
[QUOTE=AlexS;7445379]
You all remember Ollie? He was a horse that was pretty famous, based on his conditions, most horse owners would have put him down immediately. She didn’t she fund raised on him for ages, then finally he was put to sleep. I’d like to know ho much was raised for him specifically.
At that point I stopped following them as a rescue, as they didn’t have the horses best interests at heart, and he was a fundraiser.[/QUOTE]
That would have been the same Ollie who’s breeder attempted to contact her about her willingness to take the horse back when she found out he went to Frog Pond and LG ignored all her posts.
And yes she fund raised for him even after she made it clear they were “soul mates” and she’d be keeping him vs adopting out. At that point to me at least it seems he was a personal horse not a ward of the rescue.
I just have to say that she did claim to be a 501c3 when she wasn’t. Then she switched it to she was Federally Pending. And then she had filed with the Mullins Foundation. Then switched it to she had an attorney helping her file it. And then in 2011 they were awaiting their federal status letter. Then she admitted to NEVER filing it and said it wasn’t worth the money. I have screen caps to show all of the above as well as a load of other information. I’ve been following this rescue for a few years (ever since she drug my name through the mud).
She was always quick to drag people through the mud if they said anything she didn’t agree with. I never liked how she would go off on people on FB then delete from her feed. I made a remark, on here or another forum, about her keeping Ollie and promoting him, and was told her promoting him for her rescue was good for rescues in general due to bringing it light the kind of horses who end up in rescue. It didn’t matter that he had a backup, his breeder who didn’t know he fell into a bad spot, and once she found out who he was there was nothing that could pry him out of her hands. I feel she exploited him for her own gains. It would have done the rescue just as good to send him home to his breeder, or adopt him out and keep following his story. For me, that is what rescue does.
I’ve watched her say she was getting out of rescue due to personal reasons, being all mysterious about it, then come back begging for donations. Lots of quiet times, but then drama with others who didn’t agree with her. I’ve Ben waiting to see trouble with rescue for a long time. Just happy to see so far that no abuse is being shown.
I adopted JJ from her the second time he was place (before his current owner got him). JJ is the draft that she is backing to go to Equine Affair under the Competitive Versatile Horse competition (or something like that). Before I got him I took in Ella, the craigslist draft, to foster til she could deliver JJ. It took her several weeks to get to me. She kept putting off the delivery even though I repeatedly told her that Ella needed to see a vet and farrier, offered to take her to my own but she told me not to. Finally she came on one of the iciest days of that year. Pulls into the driveway with JJ and I tell her to pull up to the front gate so if he got loose he’d be in the front yard and she told me that he was fine to unload on the driveway. And of course he slips coming out of the trailer. She puts a chain over the soft part of his nostrils and starts yanking him around everywhere. It honestly looked like she was afraid of him.
Then she loads Ella and tells me she is going straight Valley View. But I guess somewhere on the way she decided she didn’t need to go. Even though she had open infect sores on her face. Anyway… I had JJ for almost a year when it became apparent he wasn’t going to work here. He was mounting my much smaller mares, taking down my fences when I separated them and going after my aunt’s colt and so on. I asked for her advice first on what to do she immediately told me that if I sent him back she was euthanizing him. He was going straight to Valley View and being put down. I was horrified and told her I’d rather him stay here. She had a trainer call me who told me I was doing everything right… to get his testosterone levels tested. In the mean time I had asked her if he could possible go to the guy who has him now and she refused. Said no way! And not to ask again. At the time I had a lot of things going on so I had scheduled with the vet to get his levels checked but she called in and had to reschedule. Before she could come out Lisa messaged me saying that I could send him to the guy who owns him now.
So I contacted him and told him he needs his hooves done. He was 2-3 weeks overdue. My farrier had just gotten married and was on his honeymoon. I told him when he was due to come out and that he could wait. He said no that he did them himself and it was alright. We scheduled him to come out. As soon as he got here I pointed out his hooves, showed him the crack my farrier had been working on and he told me his hooves looked fine. I told him then and there that Lisa would probably say something about them because she has a history of making people who return horses for whatever reason out to be bad people. She was making this clear through her messages to me.
Anyway… he gets him home and posts a picture of him unloading and she posts that she wants close ups of his hooves. I post back that he does need his hooves done and I had told her and Adam that but that Adam had said he would do them himself. I had a farrier willing to testify to the fact that my guys are done every eight weeks and I have photos of my other horses at the time as well as the photo of him stepping off the trailer. She relentlessly bashed me, I argued back, she had her followers go after me and then sent me a threatening email that said if I didnt shut up she’d show me what would happen.
Because of all the messages from her followers and emails and drama I let it go. I stepped back and gave up, blocked her from my facebook and anyone else who was causing drama and gave up. Didn’t want to hear about it anymore. That is until someone sent me screenshots of her on a personal Frog Pond group with a bunch of her BODs and others bashing me. Calling me really bad names, saying I neglect my kids, other animals and my husband and that my place was a mess (anyone is welcome to add me to facebook and see pics of my place, it may get muddy at times but it is NOT as bad as she was making it out to be). Needless to say since I have spoken out about her as often as I can. I’m not afraid of her and I am not going to let her continue to drag me through the mud when she has a dozen closets full of skeletons.
Funny thing is as soon as I posted my story about dealing with her I had a LOT of people message me with their stories telling me of all the wrongs she’d done. Including adopters, ex followers and even BODs. I had someone tell me months ago that she sent an email to all of her adopters releasing them from the adoption contracts!
