JANUARY 2023
On Friday, January 20, 2023, the Pensacola News Journal published an article by Kamal Morgan, “James plaza nearing construction.”
- Cris Dosev, chairman of the General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. Memorial Foundation, announced that his group had received funding for the three major elements of the plaza: a 10-foot bronze statue of James, a restored F-4 Phantom II fighter jet, and the flagpole and flag. The construction would begin by April 1 or early spring.
However, the Foundation’s Form 990 (2023 Form 990 ) shows that the organization was insolvent in January 2023, with only $17,867 in its checking account and owing Dosev $100,000 (see page 11 of Form 990) – a negative fund balance of $82,133 (page 1 of Form 990). No one on the Foundation Board came forward to correct the chairman.
FEBRUARY 2013
The PNJ article helped the Foundation convince Montway Auto Transport to donate $50,000 to erect the 50-foot flag at the memorial plaza a month later (PNJ: “$50,000 donation will go to memorial plaza”).
This time, Dosev said the plan was to break ground on the memorial “sometime around May 1.” He added, “The project should take about 90 to 120 days based on weather delays and accounting for weather.”
- The $50K still did not make the organization solvent—fund balance was a negative $32,133—and it was nowhere near having the $1 million he told the PNJ a year earlier (PNJ: “James memorial to get fighter jet”) was needed to build the memorial plaza. Again, no Foundation Board member came forward to correct the chairman.
MARCH 2023
Based on the Form 990, Montway’s donation gave the Foundation the money necessary to pay for a fundraiser ($44,022—on Page 10) that raised $65,037 (page 9) at Artel Gallery in late March. The largest single donation was $50,000 from Florida Power & Light. However, the Foundation was still insolvent because it had to buy the flag pole ($24,624—on page 10), putting the nonprofit’s fund balance even further in the negative, $35,742.
- On April 19, WEAR-TV reported the gift, but Dosev said the estimated cost to build the memorial would be “close to $2 million.” He added that they were halfway toward raising the funds without mentioning the Foundation’s negative fund balance.
SAVED BY BROXSON, SORTA
The 2023 Florida Legislative Session ended on May 5. Sen. Doug Broxson, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, got $700,000 in the budget for the memorial plaza. The following month, the appropriation survived Gov. DeSantis’ veto pen. However, the Foundation didn’t receive any of the money in 2023 and showed the funds as a receivable (Form 990 – page 11) at year-end.
- Still, the Foundation continued to spend money – $1,577 on printing, $1,470 on a tree survey, and $1,160 on other expenses (Form 990 – page 10). The nonprofit received $93,964 ($143,964 on Page 9 less Montway’s $50,000) in other contributions and grants, which I suspect was part of the City of Pensacola’s $250,000 grant.
END OF 2023: The other contributions, less the additional expenses, left the Foundation with $154,012 in the checking account, but it still owed Dosev $100,000. However, the nonprofit was no longer in the hole – $54,015 in positive, plus $700K coming from the State—but still far short of the $2 million needed to build the plaza. The Form 990 does not list any receivable due from the City of Pensacola.
TODAY
With Dosev now telling the Tourist Development Commission and the Escambia County Commission that the Foundation needs $1 million to complete the project, it appears he and his board did little or no fundraising over the past 15 months. We don’t have the Form 990 for 2024 to confirm this.
- Even with the county’s $850,000, the Foundation may still be $200K short for construction and has no funds for the $250,000 endowment that Foundation secretary Ken Pyle last month said his group had for repairs and maintenance. According to the balance sheet provided this week, Dosev’s loan has been repaid.
We will know more when the Foundation submits its annual report to the City of Pensacola and after city officials inspect its books. The group’s lack of transparency has made it difficult to find out what is actually happening with donations, grants and taxpayers’ dollars. Sadly, this appears to be a house of cards.
RECAP OF NUMBERS
| 1/1/23 Checking Acct | $ 17,867 |
| Dosev Loan | $ (100,000) |
| Fund Balance 1/31/22 | $ (82,133) |
| Montway Donation | $ 50,000 |
| Fund Balance 2/28/22 | $ (32,133) |
| Fundraiser Donations | $ 65,037 |
| Fundraiser Expenses | $ (44,022) |
| Flagpole | $ (24,624) |
| Fund Balance 3/31/22 | $ (35,742) |
| Other Grants (City?) | $ 93,964 |
| Printing | $ (1,577) |
| Tree Survey | $ (1,470) |
| Other | $ (1,160) |
| 12/31/22 | $ 54,015 |
| State Grant Receivable | $ 700,000 |
| Fund Balance 1/1/23 | $ 754,015 |