Tag Archives: mibon consulting

Mikey Weinstein Brings in More Cash…for Less Work?

The accountant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation seems to have finally found his stride, as Weinstein’s charity has filed its last two public disclosures in relatively record time.

That said, the rest of the story is just about the same. Despite the fact the finances of Mikey Weinstein’s “charity” have been publicly criticized (and again, just recently), his ethically suspect practices continue.

As in prior years, in 2019 the largest expense for Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” was his own compensation, totaling $364,241. That’s in line with what he paid himself in 2018. The MRFF’s total ‘take’, however, actually fell to $663,335. Though the “charity’s” income was down substantially, Weinstein’s pay remained essentially the same, meaning the direct compensation for his “work” at the MRFF was a solid 54.9% of its revenue, one of the highest percentages to date.

(In defending his exorbitant salary — which the Military Times previously called “unheard of” — Mikey said

My salary is perfectly in line with a ton of other folks that do what they do.

However, Weinstein failed to Read more

Mikey Weinstein Admits to Hiring Himself, and Gets a Pay Raise

There’s nothing “charitable” about Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s “charity” — the awkwardly named Military Religious Freedom Foundation. But, since it is categorized as 501(c)3, Weinstein must publicly file his organization’s tax form each year — though he manages to be almost two years behind. Weinstein has finally released the report for 2018 indicating his MRFF brought in about $720,000 that year, which is about the same as the previous year.

As in prior years, Weinstein’s largest expense was his own paycheck, though this year was a bit unique. Up front, he paid himself $296,393, but he also reported $72,000 in “other Read more

An Alternate View on NASIC and Mikey Weinstein

[S]ome employees of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base could use some counseling on what diversity really means when they are ready to go to court over a charity’s religious affiliation…

Mikey Weinstein may have a wonderful second career as boss of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and he probably believes that he represents “victims” of religious intolerance. Thus, he is empowered to enforce his view that religion has no place in the military…This is diversity? This is tolerance?…

Weinstein’s strafing mission Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Charitable Salary Total Reaches $1.95 Million

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein seems to be making a comfortable living doing little more than attacking Christians in the US military.

The most recent financial disclosures for his Military Religious Freedom Foundation (from 2014, released nearly two years later) reveal that he paid himself, as the sole employee of the “charity” he self-founded, $244,232 in compensation from the tax-deductible donations his organization received.

While it is a slight reduction from the $299,634 he paid himself in 2013, it still accounts for a sizeable 35% of all contributions to his MRFF.

Since he founded his laughably-categorized “non-profit” in late 2005, Mikey Weinstein has Read more

Mikey Weinstein Rakes in $700,000 in Donations

Late in 2014 Michael “Mikey” Weinstein filed his required IRS documentation for 2013 — and it revealed he had a banner year. For the first time, his Military Religious Freedom Foundation topped $700,000 in total income.

MRFF Total Revenue: $701,535

For his part, Mikey Weinstein gave himself a nice raise (literally, since he says he votes on his own pay package), for his highest take home pay ever from the “charity” he founded:

Weinstein compensation: $299,634

In other words, 42.7% of every “charitably donated dollar” the MRFF brought in during 2013 went to Mikey Weinstein’s compensation. That’s slightly less than the 46.8% he took the year prior.

To be “fair,” Weinstein also claimed an increase in work hours, saying he puts in 105 hours a week.  That’s up from 80 hours a week the year prior, and works out to 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, every single week.  That’s what Weinstein filed; given the low output of the MRFF, it is difficult to say what he actually does for 105 hours a week.  (It is also unclear whether Weinstein dissolved his other company, MIBON Consulting, which presumably also takes up a substantial amount of his time to bring in more than $100,000 a year.)

The general breakdown of funding below his paycheck is Read more

Mikey Weinstein Scrambles to Defend Huge Paycheck

As previously noted, last week the Air Force Times highlighted the fact Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” pays its sole employee — Mikey Weinstein — nearly half of the money it brings in. This has been noted here every year, though it picked up significant steam in the past few months.

The original story spread quickly, getting picked up by the Stars and Stripes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, NonProfit Quarterly, and even Foreign Policy.  Charity rating organization Charity Navigator, which participated in the original article, tweeted their disbelief about Weinstein’s pay scheme, in which he is part of the “board” that approves his own salary:

Weinstein scrambled for a response, calling the article “character assassination” — though he notably did not rebut its veracity.  If the article is factually accurate, as it appears to be, who is responsible for the impact to Weinstein’s character: the person who reported the conduct, or the person doing it?  Weinstein’s acolytes, teaming up to comment on some of the articles, derided the revelation as an “attack,” part of a Christian conspiracy, Read more

Mikey Weinstein Claims Victory in Lawsuit

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein recently claimed victory in a lawsuit — which is no small thing for a man who has lost 5 of the past 5 lawsuits he’s filed over the past decade in his attacks on military religious freedom. The announcement, though, was subtle.

One of Weinstein’s favorite media advocates, local journalist Pam Zubeck, included a nearly irrelevant reference to Weinstein in an article about Fort Carson:

Mikey Weinstein leads the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which won a settlement in a lawsuit against the Air Force Academy superintendent on behalf of a former employee.

Weinstein’s ego knows no bounds, so it is significant that this Read more

Mikey Weinstein, the MRFF, and MIBON Consulting

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein sometimes tries to make the MRFF — the group he created and runs — seem bigger than just him, citing the number of people associated with his “charity.” However, he quietly admits to the IRS the MRFF has only a single employee — Mikey Weinstein.  That admission seems to contradict claims by others, like Chris Rodda, who say they work for the MRFF.

Normally, personnel costs are not considered “program expenses” in IRS lingo (program expenses are “those incurred while performing its tax-exempt activities”). However, that seems to be how Weinstein framed payment for Rodda’s services. Rodda once admitted the MRFF “Research” expense line item — about $25,000 — was her annual pay (though she has faded from the MRFF scene in the past year or so).  Presumably, the legal explanation is Weinstein treats her as a kind of independent contractor, rather than technically an employee.  The characterization of the use of that $25K on “research” — or Rodda — is not something a potential donor would know if Chris Rodda hadn’t spoken out of school.

What else don’t you know?

While Weinstein itemized such administrivia as Internet ($143) and Bank Fees ($14), he declined to explain three of his charity’s top 5 expenses totaling more than $100,000.  One of those is Rodda’s “research.”  Weinstein pays two other repetitive and predictable (and strikingly similar) annual expenses:  “support” and “consulting.”

Weinstein’s third largest expense in 2012 ($43,000) was vague “support.”  While Read more