Deloris Watson listens to her grandson P.J. Allen's neurologist during an appointment in Oklahoma City in October. P.J., who is the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing, has continuing medical problems and could require a lung transplant. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World file
Learn more
Read past stories and view documents related to the Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Fund.
Read the statement by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation about NBC’s “Rock Center” show.
A foundation in charge of an Oklahoma City bombing relief fund says a national network show used a "sensationalized approach" to portray the foundation's handling of the $10 million fund.
"We are disappointed the March 1st, 2013 episode of 'Rock Center with Brian Williams' failed to provide a more balanced approach in their story about the Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Fund," says the statement on the Oklahoma City Community Foundation's website.
Founders of a group formed to represent survivors of the April 19, 1995, bombing said the NBC broadcast, which follows a Tulsa World investigation, accurately portrayed their concerns.
"I think that the piece is very fair and it told the truth," said Deloris Watson, featured in the show with her grandson, P.J. Allen. At 18 months, P.J. was the youngest survivor of the America's Kids day care center, where 15 children died.
The nonprofit foundation manages the $10 million fund, intended to help survivors of the bombing, which killed 168 people and injured hundreds. The NBC show Friday follows a World investigation that began in November into the foundation's handling of the fund.
"Not only did the news staff fail to document the accuracy of the erroneous claims made in the story but it also excluded footage of individuals who voice support for the administration of the fund (such as former Gov. and Mrs. Keating)," the statement on the foundation's website states.
"Stories such as this serve to spread misinformation and suspicion rather than provide the public with an understanding of the actual facts."
When interviewed by the World in October, Keating said he was surprised to learn the fund still held $10 million. Keating, now president of the American Bankers Association, said then: "The focus should be on helping people" rather than preserving the fund principal.
The foundation's statement does not detail any factual errors in the show.
It claims the network did not interview "even one of the hundreds" of survivors who received assistance from the fund. The foundation has said it has provided assistance to about 1,000 people injured in the bombing or their survivors with medical bills, education expenses and related needs.
Amy Lynn, a spokeswoman for NBC Communications, provided a statement via email to the World defending the network's show.
"We believe that the piece on-air and online was fair and accurate. Although Nancy Anthony, president of the Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Fund, declined to comment on specific cases, we took into account Ms. Anthony and the Foundation's responses to the victims' specific allegations, and those responses were reflected in the story," Lynn's statement says.
More than $40 million in donations poured in after the bombing and the foundation received $14.6 million from the state after the funds were consolidated. In 2005, the foundation earmarked about $4.4 million for other causes, including donations to other disaster funds and a long-term study, which has not been done.
In the past five years, the foundation reported on federal forms it earned just more than $2 million in interest on the bombing fund, spent $2.2 million on services and spent about $530,000 on administrative and fundraising expenses.
Several survivors told the World the foundation denied their requests to pay for medical care, education costs and other needs they believe are related to the bombing. Others said they had no clue that $10 million in donations remained while they have been struggling to pay their own medical costs.
Other survivors said the foundation paid for educational costs and medical costs as requested.
"We continue to provide both services and financial assistance to approximately 50 active cases with unmet needs," the foundation's statement says.
The foundation has said it has no record of how many people asked for help and were denied.
In response to the World's investigation, the foundation contracted with an auditing firm based in Springfield, Mo., to conduct a review.
"We are even more confident the results of this audit will refute any claims of impropriety and reveal that we have operated the Disaster Relief Fund in accordance with the IRS guidelines, being the best stewards possible of the donated funds which were entrusted to us," the statement says.
Holly Sweet, a Tulsan who helped found the Survivor Tree Committee to advocate for bombing survivors, said the NBC show "fairly addressed" concerns about their treatment by the foundation.
"I don't think that anybody can defend the indefensible and a lot of their claims were simply the way they have been treated by the foundation," Sweet said.
Anthony stated in an email in November that the foundation worked to preserve the fund for future needs while other funds "rolled up their tents and moved on." Anthony has since declined interview requests from the World while a spokeswoman, Cathy Nestlen, has only answered questions submitted in writing.
Watson and Sweet say they don't believe the audit will address the central concerns survivors have raised - the foundation denied legitimate requests for help and urged survivors to seek assistance elsewhere, including government programs.
P.J. Allen and several other survivors who suffered severe injuries are on Medicaid, a federal program that insures the poor.
Watson said while the fund has paid for some of her grandson's medical costs and college expenses, the foundation refused to pay for an out-of-state surgery to remove his tracheotomy tube. She and others say they worry about what will happen to the youngest survivors in the future.
"It's not how much they've spent on the victims," Watson said. "It's what they didn't do. It's the little things that they didn't do that add up."
OKC Community Foundation
The foundation is an umbrella organization established in 1969 that administers more than 1,200 nonprofit funds with combined assets of more than $632 million. Among those funds is the Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Fund.
Ziva Branstetter 918-581-8306
ziva.branstetter@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: OKC charity decries report
