Clinton Foundation raised more than $124M in 2007

[November 19, 2008]  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton's nonprofit foundation raised more than $124 million last year as his wife sought the Democratic presidential nomination, according to tax forms recently filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Donations to the William J. Clinton Foundation face increased scrutiny as Hillary Rodham Clinton is under consideration for secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama, her former political rival. The foundation's forms were signed and dated by the foundation's chief financial officer on Friday, a day after Obama met with Hillary Clinton in Chicago.

The foundation reported that donations only dipped slightly since 2006, when it reported raising more than $135 million.

The foundation reported more than $252 million in assets and $140 million disbursed. The nonprofit funds the former president's efforts on HIV and AIDS prevention and environmental policy, as well as programs at his presidential library in Little Rock. The $165 million glass-and-steel library complex opened in November 2004.

Annual contributions to the foundation have nearly tripled since it raised $44.5 million in 2003, the year before the library complex opened.

Clinton's foundation is not required by law to release donor information and the tax forms did not identify contributors by name.

During her run for the White House, Hillary Clinton faced questions over whether her husband's foundation should reveal the names of its donors.

Bill Clinton's foundation is one aspect of his finances and business relationships that are reportedly being examined as part of the vetting process for the secretary of state post. Since leaving the White House in 2001, he has amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune and built the foundation through his ties to corporations and foreign governments.

The foundation's board of directors includes Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic Party boss who chaired Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. McAuliffe did not receive any pay for his post with the foundation. The board also includes Skip Rutherford, a longtime Clinton friend who is dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

Bruce Lindsey, a longtime adviser to the former president and the foundation's chief executive, was paid $248,620 last year while the foundation's financial officer Andrew Kessel was paid $138,515. Deepak Verma, chief executive of the Clinton's initiative on HIV and AIDS, was paid $150,000 last year.

More than $132 million of the foundation's expenses went toward program services and nearly $3.7 million was spent on fundraising, the report said.

The foundation reported its total liabilities increased from $7.6 million to $55 million over the year. The library raised $1.2 million from its museum store, which sells Clinton-related souvenirs and books about the 42nd president.

The foundation reported paying $358,000 in grants to the American Heart Association for a program to address childhood obesity and $225,000 to the Clinton School of Public Service for a speaker series.

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On the Net:

Clinton Foundation:
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/

[Associated Press; By ANDREW DeMILLO]

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