The Lucie Care endowment fund is singled out by the Court of Auditors.
The use of the expenses of this aid fund for young visually impaired people, created in 2015 by the association National Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (Unadev), was the subject of a declaration of "
non-compliance
" on Tuesday.
by the sages of rue Cambon.
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"
While he has carried out a few projects for young visually impaired people in accordance with his social purpose, he has above all devoted most of his expenses to fundraising
", points out the institution.
"
For these reasons, the Court of Auditors certifies that the expenses incurred for the financial years 2017 to 2019 by the Lucie Care endowment fund were not in line with the objectives pursued by the public appeal for generosity
", she continues in its report made public on Tuesday.
The fund collected, over the period studied, donations of around 400,000 to 850,000 euros per year, indicates the Court of Auditors.
In quantified terms, the fundraising costs of the Lucie Care fund - which received an initial endowment of 3 million euros from Unadev - represented 62% of its resources in 2017, 60% in 2018 and 62% in 2019. Against less than a third (30% in 2017 and 2018, and 27% in 2019) for its social projects.
The Court of Auditors cites, for example, the granting of scholarships for the financing of stays or companions, the purchase of specific equipment or even for occasional medical aid, or even the establishment of a sensory journey within of the Aquitaine Museum in Bordeaux.
Threat to the tax advantages of the fund
The institution thus asks the fund to “
rebalance the use of resources collected from the public for the benefit of social missions
”.
This report could have serious consequences for him.
It is indeed now up to the Minister responsible for the budget “
to decide on whether or not to maintain the tax advantages attached to donations, legacies and payments that may benefit the fund in the future
”, writes the Court of Auditors.
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In his response to the report, which appears in the appendix, the president of the fund says he does not understand the decision of the Court of Auditors.
He says his opposition to the “
recalculation method chosen by the Court of Auditors ”, and insists on “
transparent
” communication
on the use of the Unadev allocation.
For him, this decision raises more broadly the question of “
the capacity of structures benefiting from public generosity to invest to generate fundraising
”.
"
A structure created 5 years ago and having 4 employees cannot be evaluated through the same prism as an old association supporting a highly publicized cause and collecting 50 times more for years.
Otherwise, it means that there is only room for established causes or those benefiting from strong media coverage
,” he believes.
Contacted, the fund was not able to answer us.
