Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History

Started only in 1993, this Columbus, Ohio-based “AEF” says it’s now approaching $3 billion assets.  Its latest tax return gives just a whiff of the size (but not rate of expansion; a three years-worth table is further down in this post). Also involved in this same AzBio roadmap is another Ohio-based, well-known entity, ‘Battelle Memorial.”

Like the Cummings Foundations, my background reading on the AEF (only discovered within the past month) shows many family relationships among the own board; a key indicator of purpose may be found in the background of Thomas J. Tobin (briefly touched on here in context of the tax returns).

Other than I was personally busy and writing on other urgent topics, I am now wondering how it is I failed to look up the EINs of the Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Foundation (est. 1994 in Nevada) and  Cummings Foundation for Behavioral Health (est. 2004 in Nevada) and keep monitoring them year by year after I first noticed the founder(s)’ stated goals and behaviors OVER SEVEN YEARS ago (in 2012). Early 2012 puts awareness of this connection to the ‘Battered Mothers Custody Conference’ regular and vocal presenters (at least one in psychology, another in law) early on in the course of this blog.

Debts and liabilities relating to some real estate among the Cummings-controlled entities, which  are housed or held in at least three other entities which aren’t labeled non-profit  (shown below).  

The general theme of my current posts is Arizona, specifically “AzBIO” and behavioral health ecosystem build-ups (this century, and the last decade of the 1900s).

I already showed an AFCC connection to a University of Arizona’s “School of Mind, Brain and Behavior” (through Connie J.A. Beck expounding upon mandatory mediation with IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) involvement), and previewed other major foundations behind turning at least Southern Arizona into a regional BioScience economic hub.

There’s open admission that this has been coordinated in large part by the Flinn Foundation in association with Battelle Memorial  out of Columbus, Ohio.

Flinn Foundation has no problem publicizing its roadmaps, and progress towards the private collective goals targeting an entire state ecosystem, whether by state, by year and quarter, or part of Arizona (Southern, Northern), or by metropolitan area.

What it does, obviously, have a problem with is posting any of its own financials ANYwhere on the website https://flinn.org/bioscience/

Having seen this BioScience / Behavioral Health (related) sponsored drive for the State of Arizona, I then felt it necessary to include and remind us of the role of the Cummingses (elder:  Nicholas A. and Dorothy) and dedicated daughter (Janet L.), (and (relationship?) an Andrew Cummings in Greenwich, CT, not usually mentioned on the websites but showing in the tax returns).

Nicholas A., throughout seems well aware of (and typically found citing to) his prior leverage as former President of the APA (American Psychological Association) and for twenty years (1959-1979) Kaiser Permanente  HMO (“Health Maintenance Organization”) or its predecessor, as Chief of Mental Health, following the famous LSD-dispensing Timothy Leary.

For example in one of the three featured Cummings-named non-profits on this post (more details below), despite how small, recent, and specifically tailored to his own business model it is, the “history” page casually calls it a “university” and cites its inspiration from a meeting of Silicon Valley Tech entrepreneurs who dropped out of college — because they knew more than their teachers — and “revolutionized society.”  The text then goes on, citing his own credits, to state his plan to revolutionize the healthcare sector…. Talk about “grandiose” — while casually deficient in basic state-level compliances, sloppy in providing specifics on the descriptive websites, and tax returns in poor format, once a person can locate them (off-site):

Our History (url: https://cummingsinstitute.com/history/)**

Founded in 2015, the Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies is one of a handful of universities worldwide that grant the distinguished Doctor of Behavioral Health (DBH) degree,*** and is the only university that exclusively focuses on the growing field of integrated healthcare. CGI credits its origins to the work of Nicholas Cummings, Ph.D, Sc.D (1924 — ), an American psychologist, author, and former president of the American Psychology Association (1979)….

[all emphases mine, quote continued below]

**The word “graduate” not included in web domain name; it could’ve been — why not? the word “institute” without further definition is just about meaningless).

***This’d be a great place to list or link to ANY others in the handful to support such a statement, but it seems the sentiment was why bother?  It just keeps on talking…. and assumes the reader is content to be a passive consumer of the storytelling.  Where’s any respect for the intended readers?

Grouping this degree-granting nonprofit set up only a few years ago the designation “university” seems to be grasping at importance:  Typically university websites at least in the USA as we commonly understand them carry the suffix “_____.edu” whether public or private, and the term “university” hasn’t yet been fully degraded to “anyone who can pull a nonprofit together and get accreditation for granting a few degrees…”

Who and What this nonprofit (and family line) is may be better viewed by looking closer at the various financial (tax) and corporate filings it doesn’t care to post in between the news on its achievements.

Actually — see nearby image or its website — having just in June and September 2019 obtained certain kinds of accreditation, it announces the launch of a “CGI.EDU” website in January 2020.  (The full legal name is CGI in Behavioral Health Studies” which’d be a more honest representation of what it’s doing; retaining the reference to “Cummings” and losing the references (BHS) to what it’s actually promoting).

CGI-BHS announces ‘CGI.edu’ is ‘Coming soon’ (Jan 2020) ~~Screen Shot 2019-12-16

The text then launches a recitation of his brilliant innovation, and eventually only in passing and never separately from HIS accomplishments mentions his own daughter,  Dr. Janet L. Cummings.

Janet L.’s voice is not expressed here as in any way distinct from his, nor anything she did separately from him, although it’s likely she’ll be outliving both him and his wife Dorothy M. Cummings, not mentioned either, here, as actually DOING anything. Janet L. will be with other leadership (few outside Cummings on the various entities show up — you’ll see, below) “carrying the torch” on this enterprise.  It doesn’t specifically mention a father/daughter relationship and I don’t know whether Dr. & Mrs. Dorothy Cummings is Janet’s (or Andrew’s) biological mother, stepmother, or not.  It could be found out, I just do not know presently.  Judging by the photo, she resembles Nick Cummings and looks a whole lot younger. Was that a graduation photo?

(Nevada Board of Psychologist Licensure look-ups:  Janet L. (“..rID1064”) has a 1992 Psy.D.  from Wright State University, but is not active in Nevada because “Registration status:  Closed.  Incomplete Application.”  Psychboard.Az.Gov searches Behavioral Analysts and Psychologists separately. I couldn’t get the search to load currently, but before doing so, a pop-up message warns it directs away from a government site to a non-government site.  Therefore, the process of looking to a government site (and the licensing board at Arizona) seems to simply direct away from it; disclaimers beyond that warning are not mentioned in the pop-up.

Our History (url: https://cummingsinstitute.com/history/), cont’d.

… In the early days of the technical revolution, Dr. Nick Cummings was invited as the CEO of American Biodyne to attend a luncheon*** where he would meet innovators and entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Dr. Cummings was inspired by the brilliance of these entrepreneurs, and was struck by a similarity he noticed among the group: a particularly high college dropout rate. The tech giants of Silicon Valley had either enrolled in college and quickly dropped out after learning they knew far more than any of the faculty, or never enrolled at all; choosing instead to spend all of their time inventing the new technologies that would absolutely revolutionize our lives. Dr. Cummings realized that what healthcare needed was a similar revolution, and he saw an opportunity to teach behavioral health providers to disrupt the ineffective, fragmented healthcare system from within. There was only one problem: no university existed that was out-of-the-box enough to create both the curriculum and the environment that would stimulate the kind of innovation that healthcare needed. The choice was clear.

In some world views, anything “fragmented” is bad or regrettable, although the purpose here is to “fragment” (disrupt) from within to shift the paradigm for the “entrepreneurial” among the behavioral health practitioners (and psychologists)…  [I noticed the State of Arizona has separate licensing links and presumably requirements for behavioral health analysts and psychologists.]]

In 2014, Dr. Cummings along with his daughter, Janet L. Cummings, Psy.D, created## the Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies  to fill the educational gaps for innovative and entrepreneurial healthcare professionals wishing to disrupt healthcare from within or for those looking to launch new ventures. Drs. Cummings designed the DBH program at CGI to address three critical needs behavioral health providers would need to be successful in this aim: medical literacy, efficient and effective delivery of behavioral health interventions in medical settings, and entrepreneurship and innovation in the healthcare marketplace.

[all emphases mine, end of this quote]

## “CREATED…”: The word “created” is generic, however, the links I gave above to Nevada and Arizona business entity search sites lead to documentation of who actually ‘created’ as in ‘incorporated,’ and Nick C’s name isn’t on the filing paperwork.  As I recall from recent lookups (but, you have the links)…hers and one non-family member’s, Brett Sabatini, is.

*** “A LUNCHEON…”: Conveniently vague and no context given:  approximate year (even decade), geography (which state), ANY name of “luncheon” other than “a luncheon” and how many other innovators were involved, or special invitees.  Was this within a conference, at a pay-per-plate fundraiser, or what?  We all know luncheons can be “tete-a-tete” (intimate, small) or parts of any hotel- or resort-based conference with up to a thousand or so attendees.  With no other info, the statement is basically just boasting.

The carelessness of the text so few internal links or footnotes to validate any claim, and such vague language as to make fact-checking most claims tricky, assumes a storytelling, “take our story on faith” approach.  Though no Ph.D., I never put out posts with so few links and so little supporting evidence.  Even children listening to stories — which readers shouldn’t be treated as — should get to ask questions.  Yet the dynamic here is, DON’T ask questions, and avoid direct connectings to anything which might show the fiscal, corporate, or anything more than the most basic summary of who they (the Cummings entities mentioned) are and what they are doing.

From another part of the site, a sense of how many degrees granted so far:  As of Sept. 2019, only TEN:

As of September 2019, CGI has graduated ten Doctors of Behavioral Health who are located across the United States practicing in a variety of capacities including healthcare leadership, private practice, and university education.

cummingsinstitute.com/contact-us/ (Viewed Dec 6, 2019. History page says the CGI was started in 2015, a spinoff from a DBH program (but privately controlled) at Arizona State Univ.; Nicholas Cummings (bottom left) was born 1924 so would be about 95 yrs old now…

When and by whom were its various accreditations granted? (Stated on-site HERE)

AZ-SARA (State Authority Reciprocity Agreements with other states, which then apparently lets it be a member of the National Council (“NC”)-SARA:  Sept., 2019.

DEAC ( a Washington, D.C., nonprofit referring to post-secondary education) — only June, 2019.

A large banner announces that its “CGI.EDU” website will launch in January 2020 despite having only granted ten graduate degrees so far, total. (It seems that an undated (and no-names) photo I show again below, may show the first three, or possibly four.  They may be staff, but they’re wearing robes, and three of the (standing) four, caps…

TWO EXISTING BLOG MEDIA LIBRARY PDFs (2013, 2008) LEAD TO MORE VITAL INFO: 

The next two pdf links come from this blog’s existing “Media Library” and were not created from scratch during my current investigations (look-ups) for this post.

I include the first (May, 2013), because it reflects Cummings stating his own qualifications for legal expert witness-type purposes in a specific civil case; I include the second, (2008 and a J Contemporary Psychotherapy article), a short piece ‘…Our Inadvertent Vow of Poverty..‘ because it reflects intention to build the financial resources for the field. It’s well-written.  Of course it also ignores entires fields of basics on the family court system and how the Dept. of Health and Human Services runs specific legislated funding streams to impact outcomes in family courts, although those courts are under state, not federal jurisdiction.  The desired impact includes increased “noncustodial” (primarily fathers’) time and settling differences out of court, i.e., steering litigants away from normal civil or criminal courts where specific rights and procedures exist, or that overall,** this family court system is having a “field day” providing revenues for those in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, etc.  It also shows two co-authors (daughter Janet and William O’Donohue).  [[**Sentence in this color added post-publication 12/17.]]

On researching tax returns for this post, I’d noticed that William O’Donohue also shows up as a CEO on one of the Cummings foundations. Presumably he is or was a colleague and/or business partner of like mind on the enterprise/s, the footnote shows he was (and seemingly still is) a professor in the University of Nevada-Reno Psychology Department with a specialty interest in treating children adults who have been sexually abused, and has been supported (per a vita with footer stating only “January, 2010” posted on his U-Nevada Reno, faculty page now, Dec., 2019, and that he’d had significant, ongoing grants supports from the NIJ, since degrees obtained (up through PhD) in psychology in the 1980s, and one, in “Philosophy of Science” in mid-1990s.

• (1) See Para. 4 and His Experience, May 3, 2013 Certification of Nicholas_Cummings_Declaration

(The link’s label is mine; it’s a short read, makes 30 statements in as many numbered paragraphs, and the case –in Hudson County, NJ, with defendants in California — possibly deals with the issue of characterization of sexual re-orientation therapy as legitimate (vs. “de facto” unethical) where those engaging in it are fully-informed.  My main interest here, however, are his stated credentials.  Why, as late as 2013, no supporting links or footnotes are included to his claims (such as might be find in any article in, for example, a law review) I do not know.  It was a random internet find.   But, Please read!)

Looking for who was on (as it claimed to have been on) President Kennedy’s Mental Health Task Force (no year mentioned on the Certificate above), I found this page at the JFKLibrary.org which, being a brief summary, doesn’t name those on the Taskforce, but does describe how many (27) when they met with him at the White House (Oct. 18, 1961) and the context of constituting it (as supported by his sister Eunice Shriver Kennedy and in light of “Mental Retardation” (now, “intellectual disabilities,”) being an issue directly affecting the Kennedy family — his own sister, Rosemary, less than two years younger than himself).  This links to CarterCenter.org (associated with Emory University in Atlanta), “Mental Health TaskForce“, but reflects a 501©3 and doesn’t readily lead to identification of who was on the Carter Task Force while he was in Office.

I looked for the earliest tax return:  FY2008 is listed as “initial” and may be found here:  “Interesting…” First Exec. Director, Wm. T. O’Donahue; $929K held in BofA (Bank of America), not showing screenprints here, though.  Other than O’Donahue, there are four “Cummings” listed (Nicholas, Dorothy, Janet L. and Andrew, this year in NY, not CT)… Major contributors (a) N&D Cummings and (b) NDC Holdings (both at the same street address in Nevada). It seems to be based on the ability to depreciate commercial real estate  (building)… with minimal reference to anything “Behavioral Health.”

Just testing whether the FY2008 “initial return” was in fact the first one.  Tweaked the year and found CFBH’s FY2007 990PF here showing transfers to/from a controlled entity “NDC Delta Realty (in similar amounts) and the ability to lose money in rental income through “depreciation.”  Sounds to me like the main purpose of CFBH is as the Cummings’ personal tax-reduction enterprise, with many parts.  But, I’ve never been a real estate investor or CPA, so that’s no expert opinion…

Street address in 2015 and in 2017: 4781 Caughlin Parkway, Reno, NV.  Director (one of 4 cummings) Andrew Cummings shows Greenwich CT address.

2017:  Note (see Page 1, Line 1):  Contributions were $1.146M.  (Page 1, Line 23).  Most ($1.13M) from American Endowment Foundation.  Major expenses were “Other Expenses” at $1.07M.

How? Instructions on Page 1, Line 23 say “attach schedule” but none is showing here…

Exempt purpose (Page 7, Part IX):  “Education of the public and research regarding Behavioral Health issues” Expenses $1.01 M.

Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Foundation is EIN# 88-0321190, per APPS.IRS.gov/app/eos/

From Candid.org, searched Dec. 5, 2019

Total results: 3. Search Again. (N&DC Fndtn, EIN# 880321190, FYE=Dec.31, FYE 2015-2017 )

Street address in 2017: 4781 Caughlin Parkway; In 2015, 561 Keystone Ave. #305, both in Reno.

Of note:  FY2015 (bottom row) shows inbound $239K from 3 different sources (per its Schedule B), all named “NDC” something, and $238K going out, i.e., “expenses,” leaving just the small amount shown above remaining ($19.8K, total gross assets).

NONE of the expenses are in the form of grants or contributions to others; being a 990PF filer (not 990, i.e., not a public charity), it gets to count basic administrative expenses, apparently, as part of its charitable activities, including the salary to (daughter) Janet L. Cummings, any other staff, accounting, travel, etc.  Look at Page 1 of an year’s return to deduce this.  JL Cummings was paid $71K in 2015, only $38K in 2017 (but compare with the CFBH, as both have the same board members).

[EDITOR (BLOGGER’s) NOTES to SELF, a.k.a. MY DISCLAIMER: DOUBLE CHECK whether following statements refer to CFBH (Below, EIN#47-2153698 or the ND&C 880321190, because 880321190 FY2017 shows these figures too.  Also the latter adds another major contributor, “NDC Investments“.  As I am working either from on-line pdfs of the tax returns and screenprints of them (not paper printouts or hard copy for easy reference) it’s easy to get mixed up when not looking right at them at the time…]

It files 990PF and has a FYE of December.  Its FY2017 (latest up there) filing shows website CummingsFoundation.com and Sabatini & Associates hold the books, four board members are all Cummings, and Janet L. Cummings is paid (only) $38,085 (40hrs/week) to manage it.  The exempt purpose is described only as:

Education to Professional Psychotherapists who are working on and promoting cutting-edge behavioral health treatment through webinars (Expenses: $51,700).

Unclear from that statement whether “through webinars” refers to the treatment or the education to professional psychotherapists… Either way its total assets (on Header), which references “End of Year” are only $28K, with Contributions (line 1 of the return) being $128K.  “Go figure…” and the street address matches the CFBH above in Reno, Nevada.

“The foundation makes distributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds…”  It’s amortizing the Biodyne Trademark (at $750) and lists “Trademark” as an asset worth between $4,000 and $5,000 only.  Its major contributors (i.e., to be listed on a Schedule B)– ALL showing the same street address, are:

• (contrib $47,000) NDC Enterprises, Inc.
• (contrib $20,000) NDC Gamma LP
• (contrib $61,699) NDC Holdings, LLC

Presumably NDC stands for the elder couple’s names (Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings).

American Endowment Foundation: (1993ff, assets FY2017 were $2.0 billion):

Established 1993ff, functions to encourage “Donor Advised Funds” but not as a regional community foundation, or a charity directed towards a specific cause.  Note:  posts ONE YEAR’s only Form 990, and a way to request their audited financial statements (not one is offered voluntarily).  I looked through (all of), their FY2018 public disclosure Form 990 to better understand it, as well as (generally) the website in Ohio.

Total results: 3. Search Again.  (American Endowmt Fndtn, EIN# 341747398, YEDec, FY2015-2017)

Public Disclosure Copy FY2018 (obtained from website AEFOnline.org) shows $1.1B Gross Receipts (and Revenues), mostly contributions, and Total Gross Assets (year-end) of $2.6B, on its front page. In otherwise, an increase of about ½ Million.  Of these I identified $279M as coming from just six contributors, per its Schedule B (images shown on this post).

The AEF reports several hundred million dollars (over $300M) of grants in a single year, over 6,000 individual distributions the year I looked, recorded 9/page in NO particular order — not by size of grant, not by state of recipient, and not alphabetically.  Some (not most but some) are to government entities, some to church entities (which don’t have to file tax returns), which is quickly (but wrongly) characterized on the AEF website  (omitting the “government” part) as:

[cn find my screenprint or re-locate the place on the AEF website… Dang!] 

By paging through FY2017 Schedule I listings (presented only 2/page, versus 9/page) I did find the $1,136,000 stated gift to “Cummings Foundation for Behavioral Health” that year, as well as some for the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.   It was a slow process and not searchable by name on-line or as a pdf printed from the on-line source (Candid.org).

These grants WERE listed alpha by grantee name, so what happened with the public-disclosure on FY2018 that they weren’t? AEFonline.org | FY2018 AEF (Ohio, EIN# 341747398, Public Disclosure (only Yr posted, no Audited FS posted) Form 990 (printed 2019Dec5)

Miscellaneous (sort of..) but still relevant:  There are Two “Tobins” on board (Gail B. and Thomas J. Tobin).  Two (whether staff or board, I DNR) other Tobins (Phil and Josh) referenced in Sched O as receiving severance pay (hefty). …  All related?  Thomas J. Tobin’s bio (undergraduate:  Jesuit (Canisius College, Buffalo, NY) and a variety of other colleges with emphasis on distance learning (including distance learning evaluation), library science and “pre-Raphaelite literature” etc.  I can see why the Cummings would be interested, for sure.

• Thomas J. Tobin Salary FY2018:     $317,920+ benefits $19.7K.
• Gail B. Tobin Salary FY2018:           $190,022 + benefits $19.2K
• Philip T. Tobin, former officer:         $225K + 0 benefits*
• John W. Tobin, former officer,        $175K + 0 Benefits*

That’s out of a Section VIIA Total of $2.6M — almost $1.0M to the Tobins;that’s a hefty chunk.  (*severance pay, per Sched O).

The above page counts shown are outrageous for ANY tax return.  The public disclosure 2018 990 was only (sic) 131pp and I note had its Schedule I grants listed at least clearly, 9-up (9 entries per page on the actual IRS forms, not hand-made or generated alternate layouts).  They were completely without any discernible order WHATsoever, all (about) 130 pp of them (!!), but they were at least 9 per page.  I suspect that the earlier years’ high page counts didn’t do what with grantees, resulting in such page counts.

In other words, if I hope to find the grant to CBFH (which is alleged in ITs tax return) I might have to go through, somehow, over 2,000 pp of tax returns, or hope a computer-search of the pdf leads to it… (I actually did find it…)

Total results: 3. Search Again.

(Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health, EIN#472153698, FYE Dec., Founding Yr 2014 (per 990), FY2015-2017 (FY 2015 marked “initial filing” on its header)

FY2017 Exempt Purpose as stated on Page 1, Part I (Summary), Line 1:

[Form 990 2017] “Cummings Graduate Institute of Behavioral Health Studies is dedicated to disrupting healthcare by preparing entrepreneurial integrated care professionals through innovative & affordable quality distance education programs, grounded in the Biodyne Model, and focused on delivering human-centered care, population health improvements, and medical cost savings”

[Form 990 2016] To educate integrated care professionals to best deliver whole-person healthcare to diverse communities and to improve access to quality healthcare for all people. [This form also leaves “principal officer” blank on header]

Interesting, that year no mention that the Biodyne Model was how to “best deliver whole-person healthcare” or (in this opening statement) that the focus was psychotherapy…

[Tax return (per Candid.org, above) for 2015, which was a 990EZ and marked “initial filing”] purpose (shown on pg. 2 due to different form) was the same wording.

Other Signposts (avoidance issues) on the very first tax return for CGI-BHS:

On this filing, it shows an immediate run-up of debt of $638K (Janet L. Cummings Salary:  $122K; Cara English’s $70K).. It splits its enumeration of “Other Expenses” across SIX pages of two-line items each on a Schedule O (completely unnecessary).  The very final, bottom-line mini-page of this 990EZ, last sentence, under “other liabilities” lists:

Unsecured Notes and Loans Payable-Beginning $0

Unsecured Notes and Loans Payable-Ending $900000

On Page 2 when asked, by the pre-printed (or electronically available) IRS form to answer —  as a SCHOOL — “what are you doing, exactly?” in these terms:

[IRS Form 990EZ instructs:] Describe the organization’s program service accomplishments for each of its three largest program services, as measured by expenses In a clear and concise manner, describe the services provided, the number of persons benefited, and other relevant information for each program title

The filed return first avoids answering this anywhere near that description of the question, but instead (needlessly) goes “See Additional Info” and enters a $238K in the bottom of the “total expenses” column for that section, which is left otherwise completely blank. See next image (left side of page, annotated):

cf Cummings Entities | CGI-BHS, Initial Form 990EZ (YeDEC, 2015) EIN#472153698 ~ 2019Dec08 Sun [IRS Form]

cf Cummings Entities | CGI-BHS, Initial Form 990EZ (YeDEC, 2015) EIN#472153698 ~ 2019Dec08 Sun [‘Additional Info’ still evasive…]

• Took a quick trip through available information on the institute’s (current) website and all three of the only three tax returns available at Candid.org
• Saw the “Three of the Five Board of Directors have a Family Relationship” admission (Mother, Father, Daughter)
• Noticed that a related entity of the other foundations (listed above), “NDC Gamma LP” in Reno, Nevada, shows up as a Schedule R-related entity (“taxable as corporation or trust),”  here;
• Noticed that the tax filing itself displays major “avoidance” traits (i.e., lots of “see additional information” needlessly) and some errors
• Noticed that CGI=BH so far is running in the deficit (expenses exceed revenues by hundreds of thousands of dollars)
• Saw liabilities to unknown third parties (showing $1.0M liabilities under “unsecured notes and loans payable” by 2016 (latest tax return available is only 2017 on this database)
• Saw Schedule O’s  financials available “on request” while its website shows a map of the US with it seems certain kinds of authorization in all 50 states, and its partners include UK (Scotland) and Canadian connections with further connections to the EU and WHO (etc.);
• Quickly saw the international mindset in being (a) focused on electronic delivery of degree and (b) specific listed partners (take a look yourself, clicking on the logos shown enough to get a sense of where they are and what doing…)
• Per its website, the Leadership (board of directors) includes one non-Cummings woman only, Cara English CEO, one man I remembered (John Caccavale) from the “Our Broken Family Courts Initiative” conference of 2012 + Treasurer Brett Sabatini (where the CPA for the other Cummings Foundation also had last name “Sabatini”), however CGI’s Administrative staff was all-female.

CGI-BHS FY2018 (just found over at the IRS) is mostly blank; it dn even enter the name of “Principal Financial Officer.”  Under “Other assets” it lists $2.2M of “Pledge Receivable Non-Current Portion.”  Just an odd, odd filing.  (You have the link).

I made screenprints, but have enough work just to upload (should I get to it) with the tax returns alone, attempting to keep straight who borrowed what from whom when, and is owed what by whom, characterized as “assets.”  This information resides on different parts of any individual tax return and needs to be checked or connected to (again from different parts of corresponding tax returns) on the other end.  For example, where CBFH says AEF granted it $1.1M (its mainstay funding in FY2017), does AEF tax return for that year agree (actually, yes)?

---

I’d say this latest school (it is one, technically speaking) — a Cummings-branded, Cummings-controlled and [Identity Not Shown]-backed” non-profit 501©3 vehicle for promoting his genius money-making (?) model targeting healthcare systems for his colleagues in the “psych” fields  — is fully in character with what I’d become aware of previously.

He seems quite the controlling (if not narcissistic) character, and especially successful at controlling young and some older women not likely to challenge the failure to show financials on the associated websites and related foundations.  Why would they, when a DBH conveys the opportunity to use the word “Dr.” when advertising services (see “Silver Linings Counseling” in Oklahoma, one of the ‘partners’). Also note: historic interest of the patriarch here in the field of hypnosis (Ericksonian, etc.).

FOOTNOTE/S:

Last-minute “Good Grief!!” footnote:

Footnote: Benevity, I mean Versaic, Inc., I mean American Onling Giving Foundation, in Canada, The UK, California — I mean, Delaware, and Florida — (from the State of Georgia), I mean… (ad infinitum)…”

The other one, in Florida, I just got an EIN# for (by address search) from Pro Publica, naming an “American Online Giving Foundation with EIN# is 81-0739440 for “Benevity Community Impact Fund.”  Said organization has a fiscal year beginning, conveniently for USA taxpayers, April 1.  While it may have been founded (as it says) in 2015, its first FISCAL year was 2016 and by 2017 it’s “new address,” has raised it says $606 MILLION, granted most of that out, expensing somehow $16M under “Other,” and showing Benevity (lead staff) Bryan de Lotteville (of Canada) as its principal officer.  It showed 352,225 donor advised funds (“DAFs”) and moved (so it says) well over ½ million THROUGH those funds, leaving just $9,000,000 at the end of the year.  These are a “micro-donation DAF” model, says the Form 990.

Oh yes — and the Florida Address AOGF shows legal domicile Georgia.  Get the general idea? This is ridiculous (and red-flaggable):

The Georgia entity only incorporated Dec. 2015.  It then incorporated as a Foreign entity in Florida in 2017, failed to file its second annual report (2018), had to get re-instated in 2019 and amended (change of directors) in 2019… I’ll footnote it.

Image from Sunbiz.org: @$@$@$

Copied with links from the bottom of “Sunbiz.org” re: American Online Giving Foundation (President:  Bryan de Lottinville) Document Images

03/11/2019 — AMENDED ANNUAL REPORT	View image in PDF format
02/06/2019 — REINSTATEMENT	View image in PDF format
01/09/2017 — Foreign Non-Profit	View image in PDF format

Notice anything odd about this “last three years’ filing” profile from Candid.org for this entity whose street address in FLORIDA is listed now (Dec. 2019) as an “office” of Benevity, Inc.” which office was also paid ((per one FY2017 return I looked at)) over $14M as only one of two subcontractors for AGOF?  (the other, “Heartlands” in Jefferson IN was paid $1M+ but combined both together came short by about $0.6M of the total “Other Expenses” listed on the tax return’s Page 1, “Expenses” category.  While the main expenses were grants to other, this is still a lot of money — and for the involved organization to fail to fill out IRS (note: a USA contractor with USA government) tax instructions to describe “Other Expenses” when they are of a certain amount, on an attached “Schedule O” and such description should match the total shown (Part IX Line 11g) — but here doesn’t …. within two years of its existence… well…

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Total results: 3. Search Again.  FYEnds March 31, so the years displayed in column “YR” are the prior fiscal year (i.e., top row is for 2016).  This means, nothing up yet (in this database) for FY2017 ending March 31, 2018, OR for FY2018 ending March 31, 2019, and I searched this over eight months later, mid-Dec. 2019.

ORGANIZATION NAME	ST	YR	FORM	PP	TOTAL ASSETS	EIN
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC	FL	2017	990	30	$43,854,331.00	81-0739440
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC	GA	2016	990EO	4	$0.00	81-0739440
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC	FL	2016	990EZ	12	$0.00	81-0739440

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Footnote: Universal Healthcare | Kaiser Permanente | First 5 California and George Halvorson:

WHY EVEN INCLUDE THIS FOOTNOTE? (in plain color scheme, next paragraphs.  Below that, in my more typical footnote color scheme, as it came up in the post.  In looking at my Media Library for anything ‘George Halvorson,’ I also noticed him on the board (or some list of directors or such) of “BACF” (Bay Area Council Foundation).  Bay Area Council relating to the metropolitan regional planning schema in San Francisco, California Bay Area (ABAG, etc.).  As a type, it’s basically regional economic development by existing business leaders to direct the future of a region as affecting major infrastructures (especially: housing, transportation, and health-and-human services) (get it?) and doing this somewhat OFF the public radar where control is concerned.

http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/about/organization.html#members, he chairs First5 California, appointed in 2013.].

The relevance of this “Kaiser-First5-Halvorson” information to this post:  Like many, the Cummings family above seems to understand very well the VAST resources available to individuals and their private business es (plural!) by connecting psychologists, psychotherapy (briefly intermittent or otherwise) and the future of inter-related ‘psych-‘ professions to ongoing public resources in the healthcare arena, and how to monetize this.

The “DBH-granting entity (CGI-BHS, above) spun off Oct. 2014 from (?) Arizona State University where it’d been originally funded by the same family resources, per the available PR, exists to position new doctorates — professionals run through on-line certification by this DUBIOUS foundation of the many names and chameleon composition (based in Nevada, or Arizona, or both; shared EIN# between one revoked and another active entity, one entity started with $2.00 capital, the other with $75.00; yet running a degree-granting post-secondary school to position its professionals to engage in work based on primary healthcare resources (i.e., insurance-based, federally-supported).  This echoes, pretty closely it seems to me, what the same leader (Cummings) describes himself setting up as an enterprise system, decades ago utilizing Medicaid funding in Hawaii (i.e., WELFARE-based experiments on this new model)..  and, to go with it, INDEPENDENT professional schools of psychology, as, for example, the California School of Professional Psychology, later absorbed and now functioning under (last I checked) the umbrella of “Alliant INTERNATIONAL University,” main base San Diego, California.

Meanwhile, the California Protective Parents Association and mutually self-referencing groups, some in Northern California, maintain close alignment and referrals to resources by “IVAT” (Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma) which is itself a dba of Alliant International, but associated with a sort of lone-ranger personality’s 501©3 “FVSAI” Family Violence Sexual Abuse Institute” or similar name, under Robert Geffner.

Their hallmarks are NOT exposing AFCC, or (fully, adequately or any tools for individuals to fact-check the summary information they continue to put out) the US DHHS federal grants related to Welfare Reform of the mid-1990s, which ARE related to AFCC’s main lines of work, and taken together with the networked nonprofits, could also be called an enterprise.  Potentially a RICO-based one, operating “below the radar” where it suits them, and above it where it suits them.  The behavior is cult-like, and I must remind us, one feature of many acknowledged/major cults is sexual abuse and exploitation of its followers, with the ultimate (agenda), however religiously or affectively presented, in a single word:  PROFIT.

For readers who may be (separately) also interested in following things “First 5” from California (tobacco-revenues supported; I’ve blogged it), be aware that a current First 5 bigwig at the state level is George Halvorson, formerly top leader at (as I recall; the specific entity should be looked up, though) Kaiser Foundation.  Before Halvorson was in this capacity in California, he was in similarly high position in Minnesota.  [[**My children were (both) born at Kaiser Oakland.  I also had a long-term friend about my age in the area with an interest in the family court situation (but no children of his own) who’d had a long career working for Kaiser (senior project management), from which much anecdotal information on the corporate climate. The stress levels seemed to be nearly lethal; I witnessed this person’s very close call with cancer, after which he was pink-slipped.  I saw the man looking like a ghost, then later recovering, and looking MUCH better once out of that corporate environment.  There are pro’s and con’s to being HUGE and STANDARDIZED.  The medical aspects of it I also found (unfortunately) “aggressive” with a “cut-first, ask-later” policy.   To have the leadership of a controversial (though obviously well-off and highly influential, historically significant organization, i.e., “Kaiser” (in its various entities, which I DID look up, in part for the friend above) now being in charge of  state-wide commission intent to standardize and regionalize (rates for) young children (pre-school, child care, etc.) and — I’ve already posted this — participating in “fatherhood-promotion” as taking federal grants for it to saturate social services with trained personnel with this philosophy — and with a parallel statewide nonprofit network, VERY similarly named, to coordinate throughout the state… is, disturbing.  

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First 5 California’s website is low on producing its own financials and within the last year or so, I found it had not produced an AUDITED financial statement (“CAFR-style”) since 2014.  There are many issues involved her.

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Further look-ups: Dec. 16, 2019:  The FIRST paragraph on his bio blurb at First5 (California commission — that’s a part of government) leads to indicators of possible cheating, definite withholding, definite so it seems late-filing (or failure to file, so far, IN CALIFORNIA as an entity which has indeed received assets years ago), and misleading names.  The website is also selling NINE Halvorson books or at least advertising them, as a non-profit.

Taken from CCFC.ca.gov (California’s First 5 Commission, Members/Chair’s bio blurb) however as quoted and with emphases in the main body (i.e., above footnotes) of this post

The first image here (with thumbnail portrait) is from further on on this post, pasted here for context; see its caption.  The other two are from the website:

Actual business name seems to be The Halvorson Institute for Intergroup Understanding. How deceitful! to use a generic name to imply it’s about “us” when the legal business name (Note: I haven’t looked for any legitimate dba filing yet, which’d be at the county level, not state) on an outfit by a very wealthy, and historically well-paid CEO of Kaiser (and a group in MN before that) couple living in the VERY expensive SF Bay Area. Included here to show the street address  & Suite# matches that on (many) of the 990PFs (more recent) as well as, if you check it, the California Business Entities Search site, which I just checked today. THIS MAN is Chair of the First 5 commission (taking Tobacco tax revenues from Californians); which I found  and to my recall also posted separately (earlier) hasn’t produced financial audited statements (the near-equivalent of a “CAFR” although the commission comes under the state of Calif, whether blended or discrete component, or other, I DNR) SINCE FYE June 2014– in other words, since about when this man became its chair.

 

GEORGE & LORIE HALVORSON’s Referenced in his First5 Bio Blurb) pattern of NON-filing within the State of California timely, and a few discrepancies on which corporate entity actually belongs to the IRS EIN# shown associated with the website and a similar (but NOT) identically name entity:

In my about 20 minutes ONLY of looking into this, there’s already ‘Looks a little Shady!’ a back-story, including it having first filed as a 90PF with a Minnesota address (but the Halvorsons, both of them) with a California address, in 2013 — (EIN#463428382, FYE Dec; Started only Aug. 2013 (short year filing) the same year he was appointed head of First 5 California, above.  It apparently was late filing with the MInnesota Attorney General in 2014, and did not incorporate in CALIFORNIA but as a Delaware Entity allegedly incorporated only July, 2019) until this past SEPTEMBER 2019.  The legal name has the word “Halvorson” in front of it, its two directors are George and his wife Lorie, as are the main contributors (tax returns were found back to 2013 through “Candid.org” after locating the EIN# at IRS.gov.  Having only just now, FALL, 2019, Incorporated in California after the Halvorsons were reporting addresses in California since 2013, it’d seem reasonable that it hasn’t yet registered EITHER with the State of California Office of Attorney General Registry of Trust (as it didn’t, apparently, earlier — timely — with the Minnesota Attorney General).  What’s particularly irritating to me is that the website name lacks the family name “Halvorson,” is written in present tense only (doesn’t admit to any founding date), while separately, the tax returns reference the website shown above.

Nicholas A. Cummings et al. seek to access this treasure trove of primary healthcare for the profession of (especially) psychology and has demonstrated in their own handling of their own “business models” (the entities) an inability to summarize accurately, file consistently, or stay incorporated locally.  Putting this together with the overall narcissistic tone, despite some things for which I believe his accomplishments are noteworthy and some of the writing sensible– I cannot excuse the “failure to report” in involvement of the “Our Broken Family Courts” initiative things we all, by now, should reasonably know about those courts.

I also wonder whether his daughter Dr. Janet L. Cummings has been able to develop her own individual voice, learning curve, and personality within such circumstances when even a summary of their latest (?) project cannot name her contributions as a psychologist or as a person in any way separate from “Dad.”  If she is not independently strong, then who will stand up in such situations where “DBHs” are being run through the internet-based credentialing mill?  If the entire mentality is based on
“BioDyne Model,” who’ll counter any flaws for the same model — especially when no audited financial statements are even offered the public without specifically pleading for this.

To go back to the top of this post, click on its title! Three Tax-exempt Cummings Entities (Inc. 1994 and 2004 (co-located) in Reno, NV, and 2014 in Phoenix, AZ) and Their Family-Controlled Personal Agenda: Taking Former Arizona State U’s ‘DBH’ Accreditation International, Con’td. (#2 in a Pipeline, Publ. Dec. 16, 2019). (Short-link ending “-bLg,” about [now] 15,000 words…)