The previous head of UCLA’s soccer identify, picture and likeness collective on Thursday denied any impropriety associated to a report that exposed efforts by the college’s athletic division to funnel NIL donations via his nonprofit charity.
The story printed by the muckraking faculty soccer web site foiaball.com confirmed e mail communications from UCLA athletic division officers directing funds meant for Bruins for Life, the onetime NIL collective of the college’s soccer program, via Shelter 37 Inc., a tax-exempt charity that purports to empower dwelling possession and assist native youth via a wide range of actions.
Donating via Shelter 37 would supply a tax deduction not obtainable to these giving on to Bruins for Life — a normal apply within the NIL sphere — nevertheless it additionally raised questions on a possible battle of curiosity and the management of funds given James Washington ran Bruins for Life till just lately and stays the president of Shelter 37.
The story additionally questioned Shelter 37’s charitable endeavors and instructed that UCLA athletic division officers inspired the evasion of Inner Income Service steering concerning so-called donor-advised funds, directing cash to Shelter 37 that couldn’t go to different companies taking a extra conservative strategy with regard to NIL guidelines.
Emails obtained by foiaball.com via a public data request confirmed practically a half million {dollars} of donations meant for Bruins for Life going via Shelter 37, with faculty officers requesting that anybody who despatched their cash via the latter group to specify that or not it’s earmarked for soccer NIL.
Washington stated there was nothing untoward about an association that was accepted by UCLA and concerned full transparency.
“There’s nothing that’s occurring between Shelter 37 and UCLA and Bruins for Life that’s within the closet,” Washington, a former UCLA security who went on to win two Tremendous Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, instructed The Occasions. “Every thing has been mentioned, each transfer, each act that I’ve taken towards the NIL, each step — bookkeeping and all the things — has been dealt with and handed over to UCLA.”
In a press release, a UCLA athletic division spokesperson stated that “UCLA athletics operates with integrity and transparency, in a fashion that’s in keeping with business greatest practices. Our improvement staff educates potential donors on a variety of giving alternatives, together with avenues to assist our student-athletes.”
In what Washington described as an unrelated transfer confirmed by an athletic division official, UCLA just lately shifted its soccer NIL operations to new management, permitting Bruins for Life to pivot into an alumni membership for soccer. Washington stated the Bruins for Life web site was quickly inactive as a part of that transition and that it will nonetheless have an NIL part offering group outreach alternatives for soccer gamers.
Alongside longtime UCLA donor John Manuck, Washington had spearheaded the fundraising efforts of Bruins for Life when it debuted in October 2024 as the brand new NIL arm of UCLA soccer.
“It’s actually thrilling,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond stated on the time, “as a result of it’s going to assist our soccer student-athletes in an actual constructive approach.”
The foiaball.com story contended that the Bruins for Life web site said that it was not a 501(c)(3) group, that means that any donations it accepted weren’t tax deductible. The web site directed these wishing to donate to Shelter 37, a 501(c)(3) group that stated it might obtain tax-deductible contributions.
The story reported that Shelter 37’s 2024 IRS 990 tax kind, printed by ProPublica, confirmed a income bounce to $4.8 million in 2024, up from $800,000 the earlier 12 months. The doc said that $3.6 million had been raised for the Bruins for Life NIL program however solely $200 for scholarships for at-risk youth.
Washington stated that latter quantity was deceptive as a result of Shelter 37 was not a scholarship-based group, despite the fact that it assisted at-risk kids via a wide range of group companies. The Occasions reviewed one Shelter 37 tax doc reporting practically a mixed seven figures spent on scholarships, teaching programs and housing.
“That is when persons are not fact-checking,” Washington stated, “and so they’re simply placing stuff on the market and so they’re simply making an attempt to make the story larger than what it must be.”
Over time, Washington stated, Shelter 37 has held many community-based occasions comparable to turkey drives, soccer camps for inner-city children and “I’m going to school” days through which the group paid for buses to move college students to soccer video games on the Rose Bowl.
The foiaball.com story contended that Shelter 37 was used as a workaround for donor-advised funds that have been in limbo. One UCLA athletic division worker, knowledgeable of a denial of 1 donor-advised fund, forwarded the message to different inside fundraisers, together with a message saying, “Simply as an FYI. Right here is information for Shelter 37 for DAF presents.”
A brand new dwelling for donor-advised funds was wanted after one other NIL agency, Blue Print Sports activities, ceased its charitable operations within the wake of the IRS advice, its authorized counsel citing “no path ahead.” In keeping with the paperwork reviewed by foiaball.com, a UCLA athletic division official despatched an e mail to Washington not lengthy after the IRS steering was issued, informing him of a $15,000 donation via Financial institution of America that ought to be directed to Bruins for Life.
Washington stated there was nothing unlawful about accepting donor-advised funds and that each transfer made by his organizations was throughout the guidelines.
“Any greenback that was given to me, there’s a observe file and we’ve a communication doc that reveals what got here out and the way it was acquired,” Washington stated. “They [UCLA athletic officials] know precisely what got here into accounts, they know precisely what got here out as a result of all the things was disclosed and we have been speaking and I used to be appearing as a vessel through the time of the Wild, Wild West to attempt to assist UCLA’s soccer program succeed on this new period of what we name the NIL.”
