American Dunes ( Nicklaus renovation) in Grand Haven, MI to open May, '21

[Joel_Stewart]

I wish I could start a charity and pay myself $450thd+/year while developing golf courses.

What's stopping you?

My moral compass?

He makes $468,232 according to the form 990. He also collects his military pension and his generous speaking fees on being a patriot and how much good he has done. Four others makes over $150,000.


There has been very little on who is getting this money.  They trot out some child occasionally saying they received a scholarship but the reality is they give the bulk of the money to the Tulsa Community Foundation ($16,491,776 on the last tax filing) which primarily gives money to organizations in Oklahoma.   


Something isn't right on this foundation.  Take a look at the form 990, especially page 33 and 36.

[Ira Fishman]

I do not know the Folds of Honor organization, but I do know a lot about non-profits. The Tulsa Community Foundation is a completely legit organization, and it is not out of whack for one group to administer a scholarship program on behalf of another given the logistics/paperwork involved.


Ira

[Steve Lang]

   Yeh, 29000 scholarships given since 07, something going on there!

[Joel_Stewart]

I do not know the Folds of Honor organization, but I do know a lot about non-profits. The Tulsa Community Foundation is a completely legit organization, and it is not out of whack for one group to administer a scholarship program on behalf of another given the logistics/paperwork involved.


Ira

I agree but the list of recipients doesn't show the kids or schools. 


Also from the web site:


 "Award Amount: Awards range from $500 to $5,000 annually, based on the student's reported unmet need for educational expenses for the academic year. Scholarships are disbursed in equal installments for fall and spring semesters".

$5K per year doesn't buy a lot and kids have to reapply every year. 

To me the Evans Scholarship is the gold standard, awarding 300  four year, full ride including housing scholarships per year. 

[Ira Fishman]

Joel,


I agree completely about the Evans program being terrific. In the small world category, we had a young man on our staff a few years ago who was an Evans Scholar. It turned out that he carried for my Father on occasion at Bryn Mawr. My Dad was a supporter of the program—I often wear his Evans Par Club hat as a tribute to him.


Ira

[V_Halyard]

A hole by hole photo tour from my recent visit to American Dunes:


http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/AmericanDunes/index.html

thx Dr

[Craig Sweet]

Meh...cut down some trees, dump and spread a bunch of sand.  One hole looks like another to my eye.

[Mike Schott]

I'm in a Michigan Golfer's Facebook group and they love the place. Much of their emphasis is on the patriotic aspect which is fine. Few of them have an interest in GCA. The original course, Grand Haven Golf Club was a fun place to play, a nice layout, heavily treed. I expected American Dunes to use the waste areas in a much more strategic way. The greens complexes look bland and generic.