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Martin: History Center financial disclosures would boost public trust

Daryl Black, Caroline Sunderland and Carl Henderson participate in a walking tour of the new Chattanooga History Center on Friday, January 15, 2015 which needs $4.2 million to open its doors. There is no opening date set as of yet. Black is the director of the CHC.
Daryl Black, Caroline Sunderland and Carl Henderson participate in a walking tour of the new Chattanooga History Center on Friday, January 15, 2015 which needs $4.2 million to open its doors. There is no opening date set as of yet. Black is the director of the CHC. Daryl Black, Caroline Sunderland and Carl Henderson participate in a walking tour of the new Chattanooga History Center on Friday, January 15, 2015 which needs $4.2 million to open its doors. There is no opening date set as of yet. Black is the director of the CHC.

By David Martin 4 min read

photo Columnist David Martin

Almost any other year, the Chattanooga History Center’s

financial struggles

would draw much more of a spotlight than they have to date. But this is 2016, and the squandering of $10 million can’t compete (headline-wise) with the

ever-unfolding

Ooltewah High School saga and chaotic presidential primaries.

No, this commentary will not be littered with potshots at the board and staff. They’re good people who undoubtedly feel horribly about the current state of a project that has enjoyed overwhelming community support for roughly a decade. Instead, I simply want to make a suggestion about what I see as an essential first step to regaining public trust and securing the finances to complete the overdue buildout – if it’s not already too late.

Without trust, maintaining public goodwill and raising funds are impossible tasks for a nonprofit organization. And when $10 million evaporates with little to show for it; well, let’s just say it’s left a massive confidence crater. For reference, $10 million would have funded the nonprofit where I used to work for a quarter century. We wouldn’t have known how to spend that much moolah. Neither would 95 percent of this town’s 501(c)3s.