Although the Tufts Feminist Alliance (TFA) generated about $2,000 last year to benefit Respond, a battered women's shelter in Somerville, the charity will not receive most of the money because the student government Treasury did not obtain the appropriate paperwork before June 30, the end of the last fiscal year.
TFA members realized the error at the beginning of the semester, when sophomore Kelly Sanborn, TFA concert committee co-chair, contacted Respond, Inc. to organize the third annual benefit concert and was told that the organization had never received last year's check.
Last year's performance was Tufts' second to benefit Respond and featured Somerville's own Kris Delmhorst and Catie Curtis. Tickets cost $10.
Despite the error, TFA and Respond will sponsor another benefit concert on Dec. 10. Tickets will again cost $10 and all proceeds will go to Respond.
According to Sanborn, a form authorizing the money to be released to Respond at the end of last year was misplaced. The $2,000 remained in TFA's University account, and after June 30, was returned to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasury.
According to TCU Senate Treasurer Ben Lee, whenever an organization holds an event and donates earnings to charity, it must fill out a charity events request form. TFA did not submit the form, Lee said, "so the money from the concert went into their account and the check was never cut."
According to Lee, the Senate has no documentation that TFA requested that the money go to Respond and without the form, there is no proof that the money was earmarked for the organization. "It went back into the surplus, and was eventually dispersed back into the TCU," he said. "Almost a year after, [Respond] came and said that they never got their check."
Now that the money has been returned to the Treasury, Lee said he cannot retrieve it for the shelter.
After learning of the error, Sanborn and other TFA members worked to locate Respond's money. "Respond was obviously upset, but we're still working with them to try to work something out," Sanborn said. "We're trying to come to some type of agreement. But they're not going to see the majority of the money."
TFA hopes to at least reimburse Respond for the services it provided for last year's show, including food for the artists and paper for table tents and fliers. But it is not clear where TFA will acquire the funds.
Ray Rodriguez, budget and fiscal coordinator for the Office of Student Activities, worked with TFA to address the missing donation. "My office regrets that this occurred, but we must follow bylaws set by the Tufts Community Union," Rodriguez wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
The TFA is taking extra care with this semester's concert, which will feature Pamela Means, Meghan Toohey, and Deb Talan together on the Goddard Chapel stage. "We're keeping close track of all the paperwork, and decided to have the check cut at the end of the semester as opposed to the end of the year... to ensure that Respond has their money as soon as possible," Sanborn said.
Music is an integral part of Respond's fundraising efforts. In 1999, the organization released Respond, a compilation CD, organized by Boston-area songwriters Jess Klein, Lori McKenna, and Mary Lou Lord, among others.
Respond offers a 24-hour hotline, an emergency shelter, counseling, and support groups for women and children.
