Sebastopol nonprofit board member investigated after money goes missing

A board member of a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for two Sebastopol-area schools is being investigated by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office after allegations she illegally siphoned money from the foundation’s bank account surfaced earlier this month, a school official said.

Twin Hills Union School District Superintendent Barbara Bickford learned of the allegations Dec. 5 after members of the Twin Hills Apple Blossom Educational Foundation came to her with evidence of the missing money, Bickford said.

The discovery was made two days before, prompting a call to the authorities, according to an email sent Thursday from the board’s leadership to family members of students at Apple Blossom Elementary and Twin Hills Middle School, the campuses that benefit from the foundation.

Neither Bickford nor the email sent to parents named the board member suspected of taking the funds, who is no longer involved with the nonprofit. They also did not detail the amount of money allegedly taken from the foundation or the scope of the suspected embezzlement, with Bickford saying she did not want to jeopardize an ongoing investigation by providing that information.

The foundation puts on several fundraisers every year with the goal of raising $35,000 annually to cover partial costs for enrichment programs at each school, such as art and music classes, the nonprofit’s website says.

Liz Johnson, the foundation’s chair, declined an interview Friday. Emails sent to the four other board members listed on a cached version of the foundation’s website were not returned Friday.

“Everybody is devastated and working hard to move forward,” Bickford said, adding that the enrichment programs will not be affected. “The parent and community response has been positive, with people asking how they can help.”

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was unable Friday to provide any information about the reported missing funds, Sgt. Juan Valencia said.

The nonprofit raised almost $56,000 in 2017, according to documents filed with the IRS, the most recent available on the revenue service’s website. The foundation’s balance totaled about $93,500 at the start of the year, though the figure depleted to almost $74,300 by the year’s end. The bulk of the nonprofit’s expenses that year, about $72,000, went to grants.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.