A charity under scrutiny after receiving a contract to administer a $900 million government program has gone through an organizational upheaval over the past few months, CBC News has learned.
A charity under scrutiny after receiving a contract to administer a $900 million government program has gone through an organizational upheaval over the past few months, CBC News has learned.
The chairs of both the Canadian and U.S. boards of directors for the WE Charity resigned in the spring. The vast majority of the other board members in the two countries have been replaced as well, and staff have been laid off in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flurry of changes began about two months before the federal government announced WE was the only organization in Canada able to administer the multi-million dollar Canada Student Service Grant initiative.
Changes at the top
The reasons for the resignations in WE’s upper ranks remain unclear. The former Canadian chair of the board of directors, Michelle Douglas, tweeted that she resigned on March 27 and that “almost all” of those on the Canadian and American boards resigned or were replaced around the same time. She declined to explain why when approached by CBC News.
Michelle Douglas resigned from the board of directors of WE Charity on March 27, 2020. I am no longer associated with WE.
Almost all of the board of directors of WE Charity in Canada and the US) resigned or was replaced in March 2020. https://t.co/jtKInVhNa0
An earlier tweet from Douglas does hint at a push for more transparency from the organization.
In April, a tweet from Douglas directed at WE co- founders Marc and Craig Kielburger raised questions about work done in Kenya. WE said it had provided “life-saving #COVID19 prevention information” to more than 84,274 people in Narok County.
“Great work @WEMovement. But what are the details? How is it possible to have managed to reach so many? Such a specific number. Wow! How did you do it? Share info on your efforts so they can be replicated by others!”
Great work @WEMovement. But what are the details? How is it possible to have managed to reach so many? Such a specific number. Wow! How did you do it? Share info on your efforts so they can be replicated by others! @marckielburger @craigkielburger https://t.co/FtIFmzz3Jd
Many board members approached by CBC News did not respond to a request for comment. A few indicated that their terms on the board had simply come to an end. But filings with the Canada Revenue Agency show all the board members’ terms were slated to run until Aug. 31.
The WE Charity’s new board chairs say the organization simply sped up planned changes “in order to best position the organization to respond to a predicted multi-year global pandemic.”
That statement comes from a letter from the two