Upset about recent news coverage of anti-war storefront

Denise-Marie Santiago,

I was disappointed when I read your story about "anti-war activists open 'store' to sell ideas, information." On behalf of Friends Helping Friends, a small, grassroots organization, I'm all too aware of the difficulties faced when coordinating programming with little to no funding. I find it frustrating when well funded/monied organizations work to decieve the public about the status of their funding to generate additional income or achieve other goals.

Metro Justice's most recent tax return that's available online (2005) shows that Metro Justice had an annual income of $385,984. Approximately $181k (almost half) was left over at the end of the year, without being spent on program expenses or to any community benefit, just to accumulate in Metro Justice's coffers. The purpose of a nonprofit is to fund raise to invest back into the community & not to stockpile money. In addition, I understand that Metro Justice also recently recieved a million dollar bequest that became a the "Metro Justice Education Fund" that hasn't really dierectly benefited the greater Rochester Community. I couldn't find a tax return online for the incorporated Metro Justice Education Fund (probably because it's too new), but have attached a 990 for Metro Justice.

http://www.metrojustice.org/aboutus.htm

As I understand it, the Anti-War Store Front is a direct project of Metro Justice, so the depiction of the storefront as a "barebones campaign headquarters" put on by a handful of private citizens, just isn't true. The Anti-War Storefront is a small project bankrolled by a deep-pocketed nonprofit activist organization with money to burn. Most grassroots charities could fund a number of impressive endeavors with the annual money that MJ has leftover and doesn't spend on its mission ($181k for 2005).

I've been against the war since its inception, but find it frustrating that the Democrat and Chronicle prints such misinformation when real grassroots organizations like Friends Helping Friends can't get any coverage for any of our issues or programming. Although I'm sure Metro Justice is making a tiny fraction of what weapons manufacturers and other war profiteers are making, the war agasint Iraq has been profitable for MJ, as well.

I've attached a copy of Metro Justice's tax returrn for 2005, the most recent tax return available online.