The Wyoming Historical Society has divorced itself from its longtime fundraising partner, the Wyoming Historical Foundation, saying the breakup is necessary for “diversified funding” and other changes.
The two nonprofits have been closely associated for about 30 years; the society collecting and preserving Wyoming history since 1953 with the foundation raising money and supporting an endowment to promote those efforts.
Now the two entities are at war.
The Historical Society, which publishes the highly regarded Annals of Wyoming, says membership has lagged and that the old organizational structure hamstrings it in supporting all Wyoming organizations interested in preserving and interpreting the state’s history. The foundation contends the new leadership is ripping the nonprofit away from its grassroots base that’s centered on individual county historical groups. At least two of those have reportedly cancelled summer events over the spat.
The fundraising foundation heard complaints from the society’s member chapters — which represent various counties — that the society’s executive director was unresponsive and delinquent in her tasks, Historical Foundation President Ann Chambers Noble of Cora said. The Historical Society hired executive director Alexandra “Aley” Philp a year and a half ago after Executive Secretary Linda Fabian retired.
“Many of the members were disenfranchised.”
Ann Chambers Noble
The transition hasn’t worked, Noble said.
“Members would send in a check for their dues, and the check wouldn’t be canceled for six or seven months,” Noble said. “Phone calls would go unanswered. The chapters did not get their tax documents.”
The new Historical Society director Philp said any delays were due to changes the society made as it found itself facing a funding crisis, including sending her out of the office to raise money. To set a new course, the Historical Society is changing from a member- and chapter-based organization, that once included chapters from 22 Wyoming counties, to a donor-based group.
“It was only sustainable for another 3-5 years,” Philp said of the organization’s structure and budget. “Something had to change.”
“Hijacked!”
A bruising battle is ongoing, with Historical Foundation supporters launching a Facebook page that proclaims Philp has “hijacked” the organization. Critics of the Historical Society say that the group’s board, reconstituted after resignations, has broken bylaws as it changed them to allow the society to ditch its membership structure and raise funds independently.
For its part, the Historical Society has distributed emails and statements blasting the critics. The Historical Society and its board members, Philp said, have been subject to resistance, hostility and threats.
Historical Foundation supporters “have expressed their dissatisfaction to change in a very negative manner,” she said.
Depending on who you ask, the spat began last fall either because of Historical Foundation complaints over Philp’s performance or Historical Society efforts to redirect the Historical Foundation’s annual $30,000-$50,000 in donations. That money had been aimed toward savings or an endowment, but the Historical Society wanted to use the funds for other things, Philp said.
Amid the turmoil, the fundraising foundation proposed an audit. The Historical Society said it couldn’t afford one.
The proposed change in use of Historical Foundation funds “was met with a lot of resistance and eventual hostility that led to the attacks on the way we needed to move forward,” Philp said.
In February, the troubles hit the Historical Society executive board as the board passed a no-confidence vote against board president Jessica Flock. The Albany County business owner, educator and historian then resigned. Other board members quickly followed, Philp said.
Those remaining on the Historical Society board began to fill the vacancies, as advised by an attorney, Philp said. On March 12, the society announced its separation from the foundation.
The Historical Society sought to change its bylaws to enable its new course, asking members to vote for the change from a membership organization to a donor-based one. Noble said she and others didn’t get an invitation to vote and called foul.
“Apparently, it was set up on some kind of Google document,” Noble said. “If you don’t have a Google email address, you couldn’t vote.
“Let’s be real,” Noble said. “A lot of our members are elderly. We have members that don’t even have computers.
“It was deeply frustrating for me that we were having this major, major vote which was against the bylaws,” Noble said. “Many of the members were disenfranchised.”
90-year-olds voted
“It’s unfortunate if they could not figure it out,” Philp said. She was available to help anybody with problems and did so the four or five times she got calls asking for assistance, she said.
“We had members in their 90s who were able to vote,” Philp said. It was accessible to anyone with an email address.”
The vote for new bylaws passed with 589 in favor, Philp said.
Meantime, at the urging of the fundraising Historical Foundation, 146 Historical Society members signed a statement of no confidence against society leadership and Philp, according to documents Noble provided. The statement alleged an illegal process to change bylaws, “secret meetings, and systematic retaliation against concerned members.”
That “retaliation” includes about a dozen cease and desist letters, Noble said, including one to her.
Noble and others “have been led astray with a misinformation campaign, inflammatory remarks, erroneous accusations, and inaccurate claims regarding our Executive Director Aley Philp and other members of the Executive Committee,” the March 11 letter from the executive committee reads. “We wish to remind you that any actions taken to libel, defame, slander, or retaliate against current or former board members, staff, or volunteers of the Wyoming Historical Society will not be tolerated.”
The Historical Foundation said the bylaw change should be nullified. It’s also girding for more conflict and passed its no-confidence statement criticizing the Historical Society on to the foundation’s own attorney.
I am a former board member of the Natrona county chapter and have been involved with history with my wife for many years. The issue is the transparency with which Alie has changed the whole organization and the firemen and the financial implications associated with that It is now to the attorneys which will be costly, but evidently the what has to be done to resolve it&.
One way to learn more about any nonprofit is to review their 990 forms. Here is a link to the Historical Society’s return, viewable on ProPublica’s website.
Viewing a notable mountain journal’s publication website is how I learned that its past publisher paid himself over $190,000 at least one year, while paying all his contributing writers nothing. http://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/836002697
The Historical Society should open its books to WyoFile. If Philp won’t do this, then the foundation, or the state, should force them open. It is a public charity and its handling of money can not be kept secret.
Gee. Mismanagement of money? It always blows up when money gets tight.
Click on the link to the Statement of No Confidence and decide for yourself.
Exactly!
The Historical Society should be audited.
I hope WyoFile will ask to see this public nonprofit’s books. They should be available.
For organization’s that review or remember our history, it’s a shame that the elders are disregarded so easily. We paid our dues and bought a book online in February, money was taken out immediately but we still haven’t received the book.