For kid's sake

The Dec. 10 issue of Forbes magazine list features a Knoxville non-profit under the heading of "This Is Charity?"

The magazine says the Knoxville-based Youth Development Fund of Richard Bowen raised $3.1 million, but only had 19 percent left after fund raising expenses and only spent 18 percent on its mission.

The average for the largest 200 U.S. private charities is 90 percent is available after funding raising and 85 percent goes to the mission, Forbes says.

It wouldn't be the first time Bowen, whose charity paid him a $363,100 salary in fiscal year 2005, has gotten some media attention.

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly sent an O'Reilly Factor show producer to Knoxville in the summer of 2006 to investigate the charity. In a blog posting,  producer Jesse Watters asks if it is the "worst charity ever?"

Charity Navigator has this info on the group and here's a copy of last tax form I could find the gorup on GuideStar.

Holy John Wayne! White-hat donning Marshal Andy (Andy Smalls) is listed as a director of the group on Rick Bowen's Web site. There goes another role model.

WATE's Web site has a article by anchor Gene Patterson from November 2005.

Here's perhaps the most detailed account of the charity I found googling around: "Cadillacs for Kids."

(WATE photo).