Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio Spends More for Salaries than Homeless

Executive Director Bill Faith Has No Moral Authority to Attack Lenders

WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by Activist Cash:

Bill Faith and his Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) are actively lobbying to ban payday lending in Ohio. While putting payday lenders out of business means the loss of 6,000 jobs and hundreds of millions in total loss to Ohio's economy, Bill Faith and COHHIO seem to make their own compensation, most of it provided by taxpayers, their top priority.

Under the guise of advocacy on behalf of the low-income people of Ohio, Faith has publicly "admitted it was his intention to put these payday lenders out of business." Faith's six-figure salary is nearly eight percent of COHHIO's total revenue.

Here are the facts about COHHIO:

-- COHHIO spends more money on salaries than it does on programs to help
low-income people;

-- In 2006, of the $1,352,631 in total revenue, less than one-third ($420,838) was spent on programs. $529,568 was spent on salaries. According to Give.Org, a group that sets guidelines for charities, a group should spend at least 65% -- not 32% -- of its expenses on programs.

-- COHHIO receives most of their funding from state and federal
government agencies;

-- In 2006, COHHIO received $412,318 from the OH Department of Development, $74,320 from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, $59,300 from Ohio's Department of Mental Health and $22,265 from the Workers Compensation Administration.

-- COHHIO's so-called "coalition" includes some organizations without
phone numbers, organizations that are listed multiple times, and
organizations that have confirmed they have not supported the group's
position against payday lending.

"People in debt need more credible advocates than morally challenged organizations that spend more on overhead than on helping the poor," said senior research analyst Kristen Lopez Eastlick. "The consequences of their smear campaign will be job loss for Ohioans while leaving low income borrowers with fewer options to resolve their debt."

Activist Cash, created by the Center for Consumer Freedom, is committed to providing detailed and up-to-date information about the funding source of radical anti-consumer organizations and activists. Learn more at activistcash.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Activist Cash

CONTACT: Tim Miller of Activist Cash, +1-202-463-7112, +1-202-262-7110

Web Site: http://activistcash.com/

2008-05-13 18:40:27 0360881 PRNEWSWIRE