Mike Ditka Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund (1 Viewer)

[fatness]

USA Today

Payouts to ex-players small from Ditka's charity

Twice this year, pro football legend Mike Ditka has blasted the National Football League and its players union, telling Congress that both groups are "delaying or denying" requests by needy retired players for help.

Ditka formed a charity in 2004 to aid those players. The Mike Ditka Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund has collected $1.3 million and netted about $315,000 after expenses. But it has given only $57,000 to former players in need, according to federal and Illinois tax records.

The trust paid more in fees to induce former stars to appear at a 2005 fundraiser than it gave needy ex-players in its first three years.

The charity has spent $715,000, the bulk of the money it raised, to put on three annual golf tournaments, records show. That figure includes payments of about $280,000 to a Chicago firm that organized the tournaments and at least $65,000 in honoraria to ex-stars. The tax filing doesn't list the stars who received fees.

The Ditka fund projected that it would make $890,000 in grants to needy football Hall of Fame members or their families in its first three years, according to papers filed with the IRS when the charity sought tax-exempt status in 2004.

And then a couple days later: Star Tribune

In related news, former NFL head coach Mike Ditka – who sits on the board of directors for Gridiron Greats – announced he is dissolving the Mike Ditka Hall of Fame Assistance Fund, which has come under criticism this month for its relatively small payouts to retired players. You can find a recent USA Today article on the fund here.

Ditka said half of the fund’s $600,000 assets will go to Gridiron Greats. Ditka also made a personal $25,000 donation to Gridiron Greats.

From PFT:

Said Carl Francis of the NFLPA, a regular target of Ditka's ire: "At some point it's got to be about more than holding yet another press conference and blasting people. You ought to be announcing 'We just gave away a half a million.' Unless, of course, you didn't."

Or unless Ditka really doesn't care about whether individual ex-players get the money they need. Some league observers believe that Ditka's entire effort is merely a public soul cleansing for his role in creating the problem by encouraging injured players to get back on the field before they were ready to return.

We're not quite sure what to think about Ditka's motivations at this point. But we're skeptical.

 

[BusterTBronco]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.

I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

 

[Newslang]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

He mismanaged the whole thing apparently.

 

[Wadsworth]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

I agree, it can be tough. But when you blast people trying to do the same thing to anyone who will listen for 3 years, perhaps more is expected. Ditka made his own bed here.

 

[BusterTBronco]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

He mismanaged the whole thing apparently.

Probably. I think it's very misleading to say that his foundation raised $1.3M and only distributed $57K. It takes money to raise money and they spent a lot on the golf tournaments, etc.. It would be interesting to know how much money they raised from those events.For this thing to be successful, I think they would have needed to raise $10M so that it could become self-sustaining. I think Ditka finally realized that was just not going to happen and decided to quit while he was still ahead and distribute the remaining funds to another charitable org.Like the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[[scooter]]

Ditka raising money = coaching the Bears

Ditka distributing money = coaching the Saints

 

[Alex96]

The money he gave to the stars at the golf tournament went to the players who were in need as I understand it. That should be added to the total that has been distributed. It was just distributed through a honoraria.

This is just a smear job by the NFLPA because they don't want to do what is right by these former players.

Ditka is going beyond reproach by dissolving the trust. But, don't misinterpret that to think that Ditka is giving up. He is going to continue beating this drum. The money is just going to be handled by an organization that has more experience and track record of handling and distributing the cash. That's all.

But, no. The NFL needs less of this kind of pub and more players getting arrested every weeknight.

 

[EdwardCat]

Ditka raising money = coaching the BearsDitka distributing money = coaching the Saints

 

[massraider]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

He mismanaged the whole thing apparently.

Probably. I think it's very misleading to say that his foundation raised $1.3M and only distributed $57K. It takes money to raise money and they spent a lot on the golf tournaments, etc.. It would be interesting to know how much money they raised from those events.For this thing to be successful, I think they would have needed to raise $10M so that it could become self-sustaining. I think Ditka finally realized that was just not going to happen and decided to quit while he was still ahead and distribute the remaining funds to another charitable org.Like the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

I think maybe he's just a blowhard that attacked the NFLPA constantly, and as it turned out, didn't have his own house in order.You give him props for trying? Swell. Maybe he should just give the NFLPA props for trying.Ditka's a putz.

 

[John Mamula]

Ditka raising money = coaching the BearsDitka distributing money = coaching the Saints

 

[Warpig]

You'd think that the "stars" he got to appear would be willing to bypass their appearance fee. I mean...it's for a good cause and all. But I do realize they have 8 kids with 8 different women to feed.

 

[Max Power]

PFT: We're not quite sure what to think about Ditka's motivations at this point. But we're skeptical.

:X

They must know nothing about how things are run. I am not an expert by any means, but I would love to hear why they are skeptical.

So they netted $315,000 and gave $57,000 to players. leaving $260,000 to operate for the next year. After spending $715,000 to operate for one year, I can understand the need to keep more more money on hand for future events.

Now, Yes, Ditka needs to work on his business skills. It is his first year doing this and he should be able to get things operating smoothly over time.

It irks me to read this junk from Papers... trying to make Mike out to be the bad guy or dishonest about his intentions.

 

[Righetti]

what, if anything, have shows like PTI, Mike & Mike, Sportscenter, NFL Live said about this.

I'd would say if they have not commented because he is a regular contributor

 

[Righetti]

Ditka raising money = coaching the BearsDitka distributing money = coaching the Saints

 

[BoulderBob]

Ditka is fighting the good fight...of course, there are people who want his cause to fail, hence this report...

 

[flapgreen]

what, if anything, have shows like PTI, Mike & Mike, Sportscenter, NFL Live said about this.I'd would say if they have not commented because he is a regular contributor

 

[Alex96]

You'd think that the "stars" he got to appear would be willing to bypass their appearance fee. I mean...it's for a good cause and all. But I do realize they have 8 kids with 8 different women to feed.

The ""stars"" are the ones he's trying to help. He started out by focusing on hall of fame players who have fallen on hard times. And Ditka has said he's not going to be the judge to decide whether or not these guys did this to themselves or not. He's just trying to help out the guys who paved the way for the NFLPA and its members the chance to make millions of dollars.

 

[Foosball God]

PFT: We're not quite sure what to think about Ditka's motivations at this point. But we're skeptical.



They must know nothing about how things are run. I am not an expert by any means, but I would love to hear why they are skeptical.

So they netted $315,000 and gave $57,000 to players. leaving $260,000 to operate for the next year. After spending $715,000 to operate for one year, I can understand the need to keep more more money on hand for future events.

Now, Yes, Ditka needs to work on his business skills. It is his first year doing this and he should be able to get things operating smoothly over time.

It irks me to read this junk from Papers... trying to make Mike out to be the bad guy or dishonest about his intentions.

I think if his operation costs 715k to operate for the year and only generates 57k in payouts to needy players then his operation needs a serious overhaul. That has nothing to do with his motivations, which I believe are very genuine.

 

[cstu]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

The charity has spent $715,000, the bulk of the money it raised, to put on three annual golf tournaments, records show.

I know for a fact that charity golf tournaments happen all the time that don't cost anywhere $283,000. This is extreme mismanagement and I'd venture to guess that there's fraud as well.

 

[Ron_Mexico]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

The charity has spent $715,000, the bulk of the money it raised, to put on three annual golf tournaments, records show.

I know for a fact that charity golf tournaments happen all the time that don't cost anywhere $283,000. This is extreme mismanagement and I'd venture to guess that there's fraud as well.

INVESTIGATION

 

[az_prof]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

I have raised money for charities before and it is hard work, but when you have NFL players and coaches to highlight your fund raising events it couldn't be that hard. It was much harder raising money for a high school football field, trust me... Plus, it sounds like they DID raise money--they just didn't distribute it.

 

[redman]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

He mismanaged the whole thing apparently.

Probably. I think it's very misleading to say that his foundation raised $1.3M and only distributed $57K. It takes money to raise money and they spent a lot on the golf tournaments, etc.. It would be interesting to know how much money they raised from those events.For this thing to be successful, I think they would have needed to raise $10M so that it could become self-sustaining. I think Ditka finally realized that was just not going to happen and decided to quit while he was still ahead and distribute the remaining funds to another charitable org.Like the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

I think there's actually a lot of validity to this viewpoint. This doesn't look at all like a situation where Ditka had his hand in the till or was shady. It looks like a failed business venture.

 

[az_prof]

I'd be curious to know if the OP has ever tried to raise funds for a charitable cause. It is extremely challenging and not always successful.I give props to Mike Ditka for trying.

He mismanaged the whole thing apparently.

Probably. I think it's very misleading to say that his foundation raised $1.3M and only distributed $57K. It takes money to raise money and they spent a lot on the golf tournaments, etc.. It would be interesting to know how much money they raised from those events.For this thing to be successful, I think they would have needed to raise $10M so that it could become self-sustaining. I think Ditka finally realized that was just not going to happen and decided to quit while he was still ahead and distribute the remaining funds to another charitable org.Like the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

Well he is "transferring" $600,000 from that vventure to some other organization he runs... Why not distribute that $600,000? To me it looks a bit shady.I think there's actually a lot of validity to this viewpoint. This doesn't look at all like a situation where Ditka had his hand in the till or was shady. It looks like a failed business venture.