Students get only $16K of $170K raised by ‘Dancing’ fundraiser

Less than 10 percent of the money generated from the Dancing with the Horry County Stars fundraiser directly benefits Horry County Early College High School, according to tax records reviewed by The Sun News.

All proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Horry County K-12 Foundation, which was created to solely provide money and resources for the high school and its students.

In 2015, the Dancing with the Horry County Stars fundraiser generated over $169,000, but only $16,083 went to students.

The Horry County K-12 Foundation is run in part by Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, former Burroughs and Chapin CEO Doug Wendel, the foundation’s chairman Richard Lester, and its president Dr. Joseph Moyer.

The organization’s executive director, Marsha Griffin, is paid $48,000 and organizes the event, which accountant Bob Calliham called a “bargain,” and said the fundraiser wouldn’t happen without her. She helps students in the early college high school program and also recruits dancers for the fundraiser.

“There’s no money that doesn’t go directly to the students, what I call ‘in-kind,’ other than my salary,” said Griffin, who was hired in 2006. “There is no other expense that we incur.”

According to tax documents, the foundation spends around $75,000 on the event — with almost $30,000 “primarily” for advertising, Calliham said, $42,000 on rental and facility costs and $2,214 on “food and beverages.”

“They do a fair amount of television advertising prior to the event,” he said.

This year’s fundraiser will be held Saturday, and Griffin said the foundation has raised over $100,000 so far.

“The event is more than a money-maker,” Griffin said. “It’s an awareness piece. We run a live telethon, and it really lets the public know what Horry County College High School is about.”

Records and receipts from Horry County Schools show that of the $16,000 the foundation donated, $2,276 went directly to the high school in the form of meals and field trips. Griffin said the rest of the charitable giving covered other expenses such as textbooks, testing fees, resume development and tutoring.

“We spend a lot of money on tutoring,” Griffin said. According to tax documents, of the $16,000 in charitable expenses, $6,583 went to tutoring costs.

The foundation’s total profit during 2015 was more than $20,000 after all charitable donations and expenses like bank fees, travel and insurance.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding, I think, from the general public and the media area as well, that a not-for-profit should zero out every year,” Calliham said. “Well okay, if that doesn’t work for a for-profit business, why would it work for a not-for-profit business?”

The $20,000 brought the foundation’s net assets total to over $483,000 in 2015, which Calliham said provided stability for the foundation in case of natural disasters and other events which could lead to fewer donations.

“I think there’s a level when you can have more reserve than you need, but I don’t think the Horry County K-12 organization has gotten there,” he said.

This year, the foundation required the non-professional dancers to bring at least $3,000 to the table in order to perform. But that may change.

“I read in an article the other day in Arizona, they have to bring $25,000 for the kidney association,” Griffin said. “So I might up my ante next year.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Students get only $16K of $170K raised by ‘Dancing’ fundraiser."