In May 2023, the Board of Go Fund Bean discovered some financial discrepancies related to our Disaster Relief Fund. We conducted a thorough investigation and found that someone involved with Go Fund Bean had misappropriated tens of thousands of dollars from this fund. After consulting our legal options, we parted ways with this person in September 2023. We began the process of disclosing this financial loss to the coffee community in September 2023, and created this page to hold updates and more information about the investigation. 

Timeline: 

• A member of the board brought concerns to the rest of the board in April 2023.
• We conducted an internal investigation from April - August. 
• Many of our assets were frozen as the investigation continued, to protect them. 
• In July the total amount lost was realized. The amount misappropriated represents only about 15% of the money ever donated to Disaster Relief.
  
• As a 501c3, we were required to report this to the attorney general as well as the police in July 2023.
  
• In August we created new oversight mechanisms to prevent something like this from happening again.
  
• In September GFB officially parted ways with the person responsible for this. 
  
• We are currently attempting to recover the money from the person responsible.

While this has been a devastating loss for Go Fund Bean, both emotionally and financially, we were still able to uphold our mission this summer. We were able to give several grants to hourly coffee workers impacted by the Maui wildfires in August 2023. 

In October 2023, we are hosting three public forums to allow people to ask questions and discuss the future of Go Fund Bean. 

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is missing and who is responsible? ​

• Tens of thousands of dollars were misappropriated. We are not disclosing the name of the person involved, but GFB has parted ways with them. 
• Our financial state is extremely precarious; due to this financial loss and not fundraising while we were investigating, we will have trouble paying for our operating expenses going forward. Our current Interim Executive Director is working on a volunteer basis while we see how Go Fund Bean can move forward in partnership with the community.

Why did the investigation take so long? 

• The person responsible for the misappropriation was the primary account holder. They removed and blocked board access to the funds and didn’t cooperate with our investigation. It took a while to regain access and see the account statements.
• We also tried to approach this in the most compassionate and least carceral way possible. In alignment with GFB’s values, we did not want to take police action unless there was no other option. We gave the person responsible multiple chances to come clean and work with us to rectify the situation, but they chose not to. ​

What did GFB do in response to this loss?

• We’ve created new oversight mechanisms to better prevent this from happening in the future. Our board has to approve any transaction over $250 and has more insight into the current state of our bank accounts. 
• We have parted ways with the person responsible and are trying to recover the money from them. 
• ​Radical transparency has always been one of our values, so we are being very open with donors and the public about what has happened.
• We are also open to suggestions about how else we can improve our community's confidence in us. Feel free to reach out! 

Why did you have to file a police report? 

• As a 501c3, we are required to report to the IRS and states Attorneys General when we experience any mishandled funds. The California Attorney General also required we report the loss to the police if it totaled over $900. (It did.) 
• Additionally, our insurance carrier would not consider our case unless a police report had been filed. (They denied us support anyway.)
• The LAPD declined to pursue the case, citing jurisdictional issues. 
• We have not filed a police report anywhere else. ​

What will happen to GFB's current programming? 

• Our programs have been severely impacted by this financial loss. While we have been able to finish mentorship for this year, other programs like our Calibration Notes publication, Bean Development classes, Financial Aid Grants, and of course Disaster Relief have been frozen.
• Nevertheless, we were able to help coffee workers during the Maui wildfires. We were also able to complete paying for mental health care for previously enrolled SGI recipients. ​
• What happens to our programming going forward is up to supporters. If people continue to donate to Go Fund Bean, we’ll be able to restart our programs and continue helping folks. Without further donations, we will not be able to continue programming in 2024.

What will happen to GFB going forward? 

• The board is still attempting to recover the money lost from the person responsible. 
• GFB only survives if donors continue to support us. We believe that we are still in the best position to support hourly coffee workers.