New information about the Rotaract club’s request for $10,000 took ASISU members by surprise. Based on ASISU bylaws, the club may not have been eligible for money from the student government’s contingency fund at all.
The club’s effort to build a school in Mali, led by member Brandon Comish, was described to ASISU throughout the 2012 spring semester. However, club members failed to mention during months of ASISU meetings that the school’s construction is actually a project of Comish’s own nonprofit organization, Hope For a Better World.
“I don’t know why it wasn’t mentioned,” said ASISU President Matt Bloxham. “I don’t necessarily think that that’s a make or break, but the non-disclosure there kind of paints the wrong picture.”
Bloxham also expressed his concern that ASISU’s main contact with the club has been through Comish, rather than the club’s president or other members.
Additionally, Comish told the ASISU finance committee on multiple occasions, including Feb. 29 and March 21, local Rotary groups would help Rotaract fund the project. Gene Hoge, chairman of the Rotary Foundation for Idaho, said that was untrue.
“It’s not a chartered club, so they don’t get any match,” said Hoge.
Comish declined to comment.
ISU’s Rotaract club hasn’t been activated with Rotary International since 2006, according to Hoge.
Additionally, in order to receive matching funds from Rotary, a series of criteria would need to be met by Rotaract. According to Hoge, none of those criteria were filled.
“The goal is to match funds but Rotary has tough laws,” said Hoge.
The club’s adviser and past Centennial Rotary Club president, James “Byrd” Yizar, said Comish presented his funding request to each Pocatello Rotary club in 2010. Comish’s request was turned down by all four clubs.
In 2012, when Comish and the Rotaract club were asking ASISU for funding, Comish repeated his claim that the local Rotary groups were aiding his project financially.
ASISU’s finance committee told the Rotaract Club that money from the contingency fund cannot be given to charities.
On March 21, Comish told ASISU’s finance committee the money would not be used in partnership with Rotary International to avoid conflict with those bylaws. He said the local groups would help instead. He did not mention the project’s ties to his own non-profit at all.
Rotaract Club President Danielle Swenson confirmed that the club is raising funds for Hope for a Better World’s school construction project.
“It’s a good project,” said Bloxham. “I just don’t know that the way it’s been approached is the best way to go about it.”