Lung association cuts ties with Northwest chapter
Charity challenges transfer of assets
SEATTLE – The American Lung Association has cut ties with its Northwest chapter, saying the affiliate veered from its mission – and sold its multimillion-dollar Seattle headquarters for $10.
The national charity said Friday that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to the American Lung Association of the Northwest, which represents the organization in Alaska, Washington and Idaho. The letter demanded that the affiliate stop using the American Lung Association name, turn over its financial assets and take steps to get the building back.
The American Lung Association, founded in 1904, gave the Northwest affiliate notice in mid-September that it was in violation of several of the organization’s policies. If those issues weren’t fixed in 30 days, it said it would cut ties with the Northwest affiliate.
The alleged policy violations included that the Northwest affiliate had tried to change its mission statement and forbid its staff members from speaking with national staff, hindering day-to-day operations of both organizations.
Most troubling, the American Lung Association said, was that without permission, the regional affiliate’s chief executive set up a separate corporation called the Pacific Northwest Lung Cancer Foundation.
Real estate records show that in August, the Northwest affiliate transferred its $3.2 million Seattle headquarters to the new lung foundation for $10. In addition, the American Lung Association of the Northwest then transferred $600,000 to the new foundation in exchange for five years’ rent in the building it used to own, Mike Alderson, president and chief executive of the affiliate, acknowledged in a court deposition.
Alderson started with the Northwest chapter in June, and according to Steve Nolan, chair of the American Lung Association, that’s when things turned sour.
Alderson directed that all calls from the national organization to staff in Washington, Idaho and Alaska be routed through his assistant to keep the national charity from “meddling.” His assistant also sent out an e-mail declaring a new mission statement – a change the Northwest affiliate’s board never approved.