sdsoccerdad

Congressional Youth Leadership Council - cylc.org legit?

Can't dispute the good experiences of the participants, but the operations are not open. Did some research and found this:

1) Non-profit CYLC contracts almost everything to a for-profit company - Envision EMI.
No staff listed on website, administration costs hidden.
Why does a private company have such a major role?
2) CYLC:: Congressional Youth Leadership Council uses a virtual street address in Washington DC.
1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400
The address is shared by other businesses and a virtual office company.

From the research below, I have concerns in supporting CYLC as a public good non-profit organization.

San Diego Soccer Dad

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More details:


1) Non-profit CYLC contracts for almost everything to a for-profit company - Envision EMI.
A non-profit for the public good should have fairly paid staff and reasonable fees, with no
personal gain. CYLC is not open about how they operate financially.

From GuideStar nonprofit reports and Forms 990 for donors, grantmakers and businesses (a searchable library of non-profit IRS returns)
$48.1 million expenses in 2005 form 990
of which
16.1 program management fees to Envision EMI
7.7 million lodging and travel
5.3 million printing and postage

Wikipedia discusses criticism and support of cylc.org.

Guidestar provides open transparent viewing of how non-profits operate, since they
exist for the public good. CYLC.org website lists no staff, which is unusual.
Envision EMI (Envision EMI - Educate, Motivate, Inspire) appears privately-owned by Richard Rossi.

2) Can't support that CYLC.org uses a virtual address in Washington DC.
1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400

Google the address and other organizations also use this address such as ...
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network, 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue
Global Energy Alliance Corporation

And they reference this business:
Executive Suites and Virtual Offices in DC, VA, MD - Preferred Offices
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Good luck.

truthteller007

Having worked for this organization, I have to chime in. CYLC is marketed as a non-profit. However, Envision EMI is a for-profit consulting company that runs CYLC and all of their conferences. In addition, Envision is headquarted in Delaware, the most business friendly state in terms of litigation. I think most of the students had a good time at the various conferences that they run, however, I don't think it is appropriate to market this conference as a non-profit when for all practical intents and purposes, it is a for-profit.

truthteller007

Great article about CYLC/Envision

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...14685572/print

alisdad

My daughter attended one in New York and loved it. Now she received the inaugural celebration one. Is it overpriced? Yes. But it could become a turning point in her life and I would hate to pass it up. She will be doing all her own fund raising, which I believe will teach her a few more lessons. Of course I'll chip in if she falls short, but I want her to feel the accomplishment of doing it herself. As far as the non-profit debate. I never received anything that said they were non-profit and in the fund raising section, they make sure that you do not represent donations as tax deductable. There is a section that says that need-based scholarships are provided by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council FOUNDATION, which IS a non-profit organization.

Miacomet

This has been very useful (my first post on CC). I agree with Alisdad: nothing in the materials says it's nonprofit, but references to the CYLC Foundation (a charitable 501(c)(3)) are undoubtedly intended to create impression that entire program is non-profit. Make no mistake: profit or not, it's big business. My 9th grader's invited to NYLC. My plan's to task him with researching the organization to make a judgement about whether it's worth it (let's see if he finds this thread), including comparing it with other options for that amount.

theoneo

Personally I don't believe in paying to experience the turning points in my life. Although you'd be sure to have a great time (they would in any scenario when a couple hundred high school students spend a few days away from home over the summer). I would say it adds something between zero and 0.75 attractiveness points to an application. So if $2000 means nothing to you then by all means go ahead because it'll be a fun experience.

As for it being "non-profit", that really doesn't mean anything. All that matters is how much you're paying, what you're getting out of it, and how sketchy or legit the program is. In this case, it's legit, and that's all that matters. I know 3-4 nonprofits (501(c)(3)'s) founded by some friends that still make money off their customers/participants/users and provide all kinds of services.

Savencash

Whenever I get anything in the mail I turn to the Better Business Bureau. So despite all the back and forth from the pros and the cons in this thread, I simply rely on the professionals to tell me if a company is honest or not. The BBB states that the CYLC has an unfavorable file...that's all I need to know.