Now in this case I am definitely an outsider looking in, so I can only speculate on some of the facts. But in any case it is an intriguing idea and possibly maybe even borderline criminal.
It starts with a Board of Directors (BOD) for a Not-for-Profit (NFP). As with most NFP BOD’s they are a group of people looking to do good things for their community. Only this one had an exception, a board member has plans of their own.
The long time Executive Director was suspended from their position causing all sorts of rumors to flow. Then after months of uncertainty the Executive Director is fired causing more rumors to flow.
Next, the BOD hires a relative of the director with their own agenda as the new Executive Director. I do not have access to their by-laws but this is typically frowned upon in a big way by just about every NFP.
Now the new Executive Director has no knowledge of how any of the programs work, nor how they are funded, and no practical experience in a similar area. Then the department heads and managers are trickled out of the agency. Some leave because they do not like what they are seeing and others leave because they have been let go. Remember this is all under the purview of the Executive Director; BOD’s are to look over the global aspects not the day to day aspects.
I think it is fascinating. One strong Board Member can actually take over complete control over an agency in very few steps, with little to no opposition. If other Board Members disagree and leave, they just bring on other like minded family members or friends to repopulate the BOD. They then have control over all of the agencies assets including cash, computers, buildings and it is essentially legal. They can even amend the by-laws any way they wish to be to their best advantage.
So long as they meet the minimum requirements the funders are obligated to adhere to the contracts and so they are powerless. The scary part is targets can be screened because NFP financials are open to the public, it would not be hard to ascertain which ones say have half a million is liquid assets and a listing of all other assets on a 990 listing.
Even if they close down the NFP the remaining assets are left to the BOD to deal with as per the by-laws.