The head of a Los Angeles nonprofit that supports domestic violence survivors and homeless people has reportedly lived in Hawaii for at least a decade while receiving costly benefits from the organization, including a luxury apartment in Santa Monica and a BMW.
Carol Adelkoff, CEO of the 1736 Family Crisis Center, received about $1.6 million over a two-year period, making her the highest-paid homeless services executive in Los Angeles, according to the LA Times.
Adelkoff told the newspaper that nearly half of that total came from a payout for unused vacation time accumulated during her more than 40 years with the organization.
However, her compensation was not the only expense that drew scrutiny.
The nonprofit, which runs domestic violence shelters throughout Los Angeles, reportedly paid $6,500 a month for an upscale apartment near the beach in Santa Monica for Adelkoff to use when visiting Southern California.
Records reviewed by the outlet also indicate that the organization leased a BMW for Adelkoff’s personal use in Hawaii, where she has lived for at least 10 years. The nonprofit has no shelters or clients in the state.
The organization’s board approved the Santa Monica apartment in 2018, while financial records show that the nonprofit was paying the rent the following year.
It remains unclear how long the arrangement continued or whether the nonprofit is still covering the apartment’s costs, the LA Times reported.
In a letter defending the expense, the organization’s attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, said maintaining a residence for Adelkoff was more affordable and predictable than repeatedly paying for hotel stays during her trips to Southern California.
Wright also argued that the property offered the CEO added security because she had concerns about her personal safety.
Employees had raised concerns about the nonprofit’s spending well before the expenses came under wider scrutiny.
In 2019, three senior staff members hired attorney Dorsey Kleger-Heine to question what they viewed as the improper use of charitable funds for Adelkoff’s personal benefits, according to the LA Times.
Kleger-Heine detailed the employees’ allegations in a letter sent to the nonprofit’s board in December 2019.
Several weeks later, she brought the issue to the California Attorney General’s Office, filing a complaint with its charities division over the organization’s spending practices.
The 1736 Family Crisis Center operates domestic violence shelters, crisis hotlines and homeless programs across Los Angeles and Orange counties. According to its latest tax filings, it receives about $15 million in annual revenue, with approximately 94% coming from taxpayer-funded government grants.
Adelkoff defended the approximately $1.6 million in payments, saying the figure was primarily driven by the cashing out of decades of unused vacation rather than a sharp increase in her salary.
“The salary didn’t jump like that,” Adelkoff told the LA Times.
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She said her base salary had remained around $405,000 for several years and that about $824,000 of the money paid over the two-year period reflected vacation time accumulated over decades.
The organization’s finance director, the next-highest-paid employee, earned $206,000.
“It was simply a matter of reducing accrued vacation liability on the books and paying it out,” Adelkoff said.
The nonprofit’s attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, said the board worked with legal and financial advisers to reduce the growing vacation liability before Adelkoff’s eventual retirement.
Wright said the executive had accumulated the leave because the demands of leading the organization made it difficult for her to take time off over her 40-year tenure.
Still, nonprofit governance experts questioned both the payout and the oversight behind it.
“The bigger question is, was it appropriate for a person to be able to accrue that much money and suddenly get it paid out?” said Brian Mittendorf, an Ohio State University expert in nonprofit accounting.
Laurie Styron, CEO of nonprofit watchdog CharityWatch, called the payout “highly unusual.” “How was this decision made?” she asked.
Experts also noted that while California employers cannot force workers to forfeit unused vacation, most nonprofits cap how much paid time off employees can bank.
The Times reported 1736 Family Crisis Center capped vacation accrual for other employees — but not for Adelkoff. The executive has also been living far from the nonprofit’s headquarters.
Adelkoff has listed the Big Island of Hawaii as her primary residence for more than a decade, according to the outlet.
Property records show she owns a 3,700-square-foot, four-bedroom home, and court records include testimony from her daughter that she was raised in Hawaii and that her mother lives there “year-round.”
Adelkoff declined to confirm where she lives, telling the newspaper that revealing her location could pose a security risk because the nonprofit serves victims fleeing abusive situations. She also did not answer questions about how often she travels to Southern California for work or who pays for those trips.
Other nonprofit leaders told The Times that while some executive duties can be handled remotely, regularly visiting shelters and meeting with staff, donors and clients is a key part of running community-based organizations.
“I’m sure that that’s an operational challenge,” Mittendorf said. “My big question would be, does it create more of a financial burden on the organization?”
The nonprofit said Adelkoff works an average of 70 hours a week and that her pay has returned to its historical level now that the vacation payouts have been completed.
The Post reached out the the non profit for comment.