The posts' title and accusations in the original post is over the edge, but I still think this post can be turned around in to fruitful discussion.
Glancing through (read: scan through, not a in-depth reading) the audited report, it feels just like a tax return form. Just a lot of numbers and a lot of room for things to "hide" under.
For instance the operating cost of FRC in 2009 was $25,259,844. The revenue from "Program Registration Fees" was $15,535,666. "Contributions and Grants" were $15,900,906. The surplus at the bottom of that table was $506,264, which is a WHOLE lot less than 2010's figure.
Those seem like valid numbers, and then I read on page 8 "Unrestricted Contributions recorded as program expenses" which for FRC in 2010 was nearing $4 million. That could be
anything. Lobbying, bribing, corrupting.
(sarcasm, please)
I'm not on the same boat as the original poster as to say that the way FIRST uses money is in any way sketchy, but I think we could allow for some imagination and "creativity" (non-slander and non-libel!) and use it as an opportunity for discussion. FIRST does handle a lot of money.
I know that they have tried to help the teams out every year, by lowering the registration fees by a $1000 for example from the past. I don't really think FIRST is in any way corrupt. I also have no basis of reason to believe or even imagine so.
But this discussion is interesting! Like those price breakdowns lists of iPods/Wiis/etc they have online, maybe we could go through the KOP and price how much FIRST pays/(gets donations) for them and investigate?
Whatever it is, I guess the most important thing is to keep it all straight in facts and keept it free of libel.