According to an email which was forwarded to info@bugandapost.com by a Boston resident, UNAA is swimming in debt. We have independently confirmed that new UNAA president, Mr. Moses Wilson did send the SOS email telling the organization’s current and past leaders that they were over $50,000 in debt.
Based on Mr. Wilson’s email, it appears like the future of UNAA Washington DC in September 2009 is questionable. He specifically mentions that he sees problems with paying certain deposits in time.
Mr. Wilson’s email is reproduced I full below:
From: WILTEC10@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:20:55 EST
Subject: Urgent appeal for help with fund raising
Members of UNAA Boards of Directors 2007-2009 and 2009-2011,
It is unusual for the current UNAA President to jointly address both the current and immediately past UNAA Boards of Directors, but circumstances make this necessary.
The current UNAA BOD inherited an outstanding debt of over $50,000 (outstanding debt to the Chicago Marriott hotel, registration refunds, etc.)and a severely depleted bank account. It is encouraging to note that several members of the immediately past UNAA BOD are working with the Marriott to identify and eliminate unauthorized charges or, in some case, duplicated charges on the bill. However, the reality is that the current BOD will still be left with a an outstanding debt in excess of $45,000.
Last week, the Chicago Marriott issued a notice demanding immediate payment of their portion of this debt but the simple fact is that UNAA does not have the resources to cover it. We have promised the Marriott a payment of $10,000 this week while we try to negotiate a scheduled payment plan.
In addition to this debt, the current BOD also needs to secure funds to pay for deposits and other ancillary expenses associated with next year’s convention in Washington DC. Most urgently, an $8,000 deposit for the boat cruise is due within the next 7 days. Just so you all understand the urgency in this respect, of the 3 possible boats that could have accommodated our needs (minimum 300 passengers leaving from National Harbor), two have already been contracted for on that date leaving us with just 1 alternative. If we don’t contract for this boat in the very near future, we may find ourselves without a boat big enough for us to host a boat cruise at next year’s convention.
To this end, I am appealing to every member of both the current and immediately past UNAA Boards of Directors to help with fund raising so we can meet these urgent financial obligations.
As the current UNAA President, I took the initiative to lead by example and made a personal loan of $5,000 to the organization this afternoon. However, with what limited resources we do have in our account, we still need to raise another $7,000 within the next few days.
Not since the 2001 convention has UNAA faced financial challenges such as it is facing now. Back then, several members of the outgoing BOD loaned the organization funds to cover the outstanding debt and several members of the incoming BOD loaned the organization funds to make the initial payments necessary to host the subsequent convention in Las Vegas. The need today is equally urgent and I am appealing to you for help.
For those of you who have asked to see the UNAA financial records for the past few years so as to better understand how the organization got to this state, I am happy to report that the UNAA Treasurer will be releasing the organization’s 2008 statements in the next few days and the 2009 (as of September 30th) soon thereafter.
Sincerely,
Moses R. Wilson
President (2009-2011)
Ugandan North American Association
