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Musicians Relief Fund??

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#41
BigMikeW said:
The charity is still in the works. All monies for it were sent to Mike and then Tom for setting it up.
Click to expand...

So has all of the donated charity money been spent? That would explain why no one's heard about it in a while :D
 
#43
MikeBass said:
Have you read through this thread????:hmm:
Click to expand...

Of course I did- where do you think I got the quote? :eyebrow::p

And no one's heard anything in about two months, so no one's heard about it in a while. What in my post would make you think I didn't read the whole thread?
 
#45
tombowlus said:
Mike had to head off to Nashville, and I missed seeing him on Fri/Sat. Bummer (we had a dinner planned and everything). :hmm: But, we have had e-mail and telephone correspondence. I am going to get with the CPA again (once I recover from NAMM) and get Mike a clear list of what we need from him. I'll do my best to keep this thing moving, and when I last spoke with Mike, he promised to do the same.

Tom.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm sure Tom's last post about a month ago would clear a little up.

Mike can speak for himself on this really. I'm not directly involved in setting this up at all.

He is tearing his house apart in L.A. to move to Nashville next month though. So a PM into him might not be a bad idea either.
I'm gonna......

So that would bring things in about 3-4 weeks ago.
Not 2 months.
And given that Tom has a schedule to keep and getting to the CPA may have taken a week or so after the NAMM recovery (trust me- you NEED to recover after that!!) that brings things up to about maybe 3 weeks??

+1 to Bryan for what exactly??
 
#47
MikeBass said:
So that would bring things in about 3-4 weeks ago.
Not 2 months.
And given that Tom has a schedule to keep and getting to the CPA may have taken a week or so after the NAMM recovery (trust me- you NEED to recover after that!!) that brings things up to about maybe 3 weeks??
Click to expand...

That brings what they're up to up to date to about a month ago, but the money status, which is what the thread was made about, was last spoken of two months ago. If all the money is spent, then that's the answer to the original post.
 
#48
This is why I don't make donations to people over the phone or to some nobody on an internet site. There's no way of knowing that your money gets to where it's supposed to. I only donate to known, reputable charties. Hopefully this isn't as sketchy as it appears.
 
#50
Here we go again......:rollno:

I'm 100% sure that Tom wouldn't be involved in ANYTHING crooked or sketchy.
As a lawyer, I'm sure that he values the same integrity that we all do and I would assume even more so. All jokes aside about lawyers that is!;)
And I can also say with confidence, that Mike is a straight up guy.

So, call it what you will, but as Mike has said all it takes is a PM or e-mail to him.

Has anyone done that? Or does post about "sketchy" things seem more like the right thing to do??

I thought so........

I'm bowing out of this as it can only lead to inconclusive speculation and comments questioning those who are involved, their integrity, values and morals.
All IMO.

But it is right for Junior to bring it up. I support him 100% on that.
 
#51
What good are PM's if the person answering is sketchy? What was said about actions speaking louder than word? I'm sure Tom is a straight up guy. Mike might be as well. It seems he wasn't prepared for what he had to when he started this thing. good intentions, poor execution, perhaps?
 
#52
Peter Parker said:
This is why I don't make donations to people over the phone or to some nobody on an internet site. There's no way of knowing that your money gets to where it's supposed to. I only donate to known, reputable charties. Hopefully this isn't as sketchy as it appears.
Click to expand...

Peter Parker said:
What good are PM's if the person answering is sketchy? What was said about actions speaking louder than word? I'm sure Tom is a straight up guy. Mike might be as well. It seems he wasn't prepared for what he had to when he started this thing. good intentions, poor execution, perhaps?
Click to expand...


Edited - Rule #1 - address forum members with the utmost respect. ~Mod.


I stated where we were, that all funds collected were dispersed or used. I paid for stuff out of my own pocket too.

I put it on hold last year for personal reasons. I am getting ready to move to Nashville right now.

Once I get a concise list from Tom we will get it done, have our 501 done and have the website back up.

Until then, sit tight and don't make veiled accusations or run me down. If you have a question, PM or Email me. I am not hard to ge a hold of.
 
#54
BigMikeW said:
I stated where we were, that all funds collected were dispersed or used. I paid for stuff out of my own pocket too.

I put it on hold last year for personal reasons. I am getting ready to move to Nashville right now.

Once I get a concise list from Tom we will get it done, have our 501 done and have the website back up.

Until then, sit tight and don't make veiled accusations or run me down. If you have a question, PM or Email me. I am not hard to ge a hold of.
Click to expand...

Good for you, Mike. I hope your efforts truly helped out those in need. Just for the record, even if this whole thing is on the up and up, and I'm sure it is, I still find you sketchy... no offense:)

Mod edit: to be consistent with the original edit.
 
#55
First, off, I apologize for the delays on my part. I am crazy busy, but that's no real excuse. I did talk to the CPA, who needs to get his file out, review where we were, and then let me know what we need to move forward. Unfortunately, it's tax time, so he is slammed. But, he promised to try and work me in, so we shouldn't have to wait until after the tax rush.

I want to be very clear, though, in saying that I have made contact with Mike, and at this point, we are not waiting on him at all. I (and the CPA) am (are) the holdup at this point in the game, and again, I apologize for the delay. I'll bug the CPA on Monday, and will do my best to keep things moving forward.

Tom.
 
#56
MikeBass said:
Here we go again......:rollno:

I'm 100% sure that Tom wouldn't be involved in ANYTHING crooked or sketchy.
As a lawyer, I'm sure that he values the same integrity that we all do and I would assume even more so. All jokes aside about lawyers that is!;)
And I can also say with confidence, that Mike is a straight up guy.

So, call it what you will, but as Mike has said all it takes is a PM or e-mail to him.

Has anyone done that? Or does post about "sketchy" things seem more like the right thing to do??

I thought so........

I'm bowing out of this as it can only lead to inconclusive speculation and comments questioning those who are involved, their integrity, values and morals.
All IMO.

But it is right for Junior to bring it up. I support him 100% on that.
Click to expand...

I think there is a bit of a conflict of interest on your part since you were a major beneficiary of this effort. I'm not against you or anyone getting help it just looks "sketchy" to me when you're standing up for folks honesty and integrity and you've been a beneficiary of their actions. This doesn't mean they are not on the up and up...to me it has a questionable feel about it and I'm sure to others too, hence this thread.

Now if you or the other Mike want to get all frisky with words, don't post them here, PM me if you like with any vitriol and I promise to do the same. :D
 
#57
Phil Smith said:
I think there is a bit of a conflict of interest on your part since you were a major beneficiary of this effort. I'm not against you or anyone getting help it just looks "sketchy" to me when you're standing up for folks honesty and integrity and you've been a beneficiary of their actions. This doesn't mean they are not on the up and up...to me it has a questionable feel about it and I'm sure to others too, hence this thread.

Now if you or the other Mike want to get all frisky with words, don't post them here, PM me if you like with any vitriol and I promise to do the same. :D
Click to expand...

Nah... no need to PM you.
I'll just approach you here in public.

Just so your in the loop.
I was NOT a beneficiary of this effort.

This was brought about AFTER my situation.
The thought was, "look at what we did for Mike, wonder if we could expand this to a larger scale??"

And why would it look odd or sketchy if someone who has received a blessing like this from some people who, for all intents and purposes, really had zero to gain from helping me and my family- of course I, or anyone else would speak up in their behalf.
I feel that in would be in bad taste not to.

Now, if things looked weird or out of the ordinary, trust me, I would be the first to say so.
Because I wouldn't want my name associated with anything, well basically immoral (people taking advantage of others for personal gain on this type of level).
That doesn't fit in to my fabric.

Now, you don't know me from Adam or his brother. And you don't know Tom or Mike either.
So believe what you will on this.

Myself, I believe it's on the level until I see otherwise.
Up to now, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.

And I guess Tom's explanation of the time frame wasn't good enough. Or his involvement in this isn't in question like Mikes.
Now, why is that??
Because Tom is one of the most respected guys on these boards???
I'm not trying to drag Tom into question- even though it may appear that way.
Tom is about as trusting worthy of a guy that you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. IMO Mike as well.

But you'll go at Mike, and me as well???
Odd........

And thanks for the assumption that I would fire off salvo's at you through PM's and have you respond the same.
Please...:rollno:

Anything I've said here is just addressing a post that you put up directly to me.

So, to recap for those follow at home:

The actions for me resulted as the seed of how this charity was conceived.

Those questioning as to why I would stand up for anyone involved, well, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why I would.

I am not involved in anyway at this point directly or otherwise with the charity. It was asked of me if I would like to be involved, but as of today, I'm not.

Mike & Tom have both responded, albeit maybe not as timely as some would like, as to the standing of issues being raised ad where things sit currently.

Sure there were some words posted that had to be edited. Respect from ALL people commenting would be of the best interest of keeping this moving forward and not bog it down with speculations as to the integrity of those working at this & where this is at.

And now for the kicker.......I've given this a TON of thought, and I mean a TON.
I did receive a generous gift from a lot of guys here.
I will, if needed place the Valenti up for an raffle (NOT eBay style auction).

Now, want to further see where I'm at??
I had a full on Eden endorsement. A WT800, 210XLT & 210XST all mine.
Gave the full rig away to a local guy here who needed it.
Mark Wright from Accugroove GAVE me two cabs.
When he became sick and basically was living day to day, I sold both cabs (one to Tom actually) and sent every dime made from them back to Mark.
J-Raj had his bass stolen. I helped out with what me and my family could- because it was the right thing to do. He helped me.
I could have kept the cabs from Mark, kept the Eden rig and keep the Valenti (which I said would go to my kids and further), but thats not what this or really (IMO) any of this is about.

You cannot believe the amount of questions I'm asked about the bass.
And every time I get to share the joy of "Look what good people can do when they perfectly well know they have NOTHING to gain"

I'm asking here, for a little more respect as to what is going on.

Read the post from Tom. And from Mike.

I'm not going to respond here in this thread anymore, but will be happy to take it to PM's.

Thanks,
Mike
 
#58
As a guy who has worked in non-profit for years, and has a wife who is currently in the sector, there are two phrases to go by:
"No good deed goes unpunished" and "Cover Your @$$". That is why the success of any charity is dependent on their accountability.

Accountability is a good thing because genuine charity should be more than throwing money over a wall. It should include involvement and concern for the people or issues at hand by the contributors. That's how you make a difference.

I applaud what Mike and Tom are doing, especially considering their busy lives. But at the same time, starting a charity is a serious business. The main reason is because needs are endless, and they all compete for limited resources. The outpouring of charity to organizations such as the Red Cross after 911 was great, but the resources that sat in warehouses unused is sad considering that many charities were grossly underfunded that year due to having usual contributions diverted elsewhere. There are MANY worthy charities out there that touch the lives of others positively that need urgent funds.

A charity is a business in that it is an entity, has expenses, and sells a product. The product is "doing good", and people are spending their money toward that. And people want to see a result. That's why alot of us were willing to give money towards Mike's bass. We wanted to see some good happen and get to see the results for ourselves. And when we don't see it, we feel "dissatisfied" with the product.

Even though I'm the bad guy who started the downfall of charity threads, this is something that I feared happening. In a few pages, there's vitriol over something that is meant to be good. But basically, it seems that the Musician's Relief Fund is looking for patience and understanding, while the contributors are seeking communication and accountability. I don't see why none of those could happen. If that can't happen, then the givers shouldn't give and the takers shouldn't take.

Just my measly 1.5 cents.
 
#59
I've followed this thread from the beginning and have to say this; The founders of this charity, however well intended, don't seem to have the time or energy necessary to continue this endeavor. As previously stated, the money collected has been spent. Rather than doing the legal work to register a charity with no money, why not just publicly disclose the amount of money collected and where and how it spent. Then just terminate the charitable endeavor and be done with it.

John
 
#60
Ok; I've been waiting for this subject to be brought up by those involved; so far, it hasn't been.

Some of you may remember this thread from February of last year:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308319

I was going through some very tough times both financially, and with a nasty custody battle. After the collection on behalf of Mike Fredericks, Mike Winnen chose to formally start up the Musicians Relief Fund, and was focusing on me as the next beneficiary.

Admittedly, I was a little uncomfortable with the idea, but at the same time, I needed all the help I could get. I made it clear to Mike that I wanted NO part in the handling of even a penny of whatever monies were raised. This had to be done completely on the up-and-up, with full disclosure and accountability, or I would refuse to accept any assistance. Mike understood and agreed, as did Tom Bowlus.

I had received offers from several talkbass members to contribute funds directly to me, rather than to a charity that was still not officially in operation. I even had one member offer to send me a bass, since everything of mine had been sold. I declined all such offers in order to avoid any accusations and/or suspicions of fraud on my part, or on the part of those involved with the Fund.

I was in direct contact with Mike W for several months after his creation of the above thread. Sometime in the summer, however (August?), communication abruptly ceased. PMs on this site went unanswered; as did emails to his website. Text and voice messages to his cell phone were met with a message stating that he was "temporarily unavailable for communication." In September, I sent Mike a rather lenghty PM (actually, it was so long that I had to split it into 3 seperate messages!) giving him an update of my situation, as well as inquiring as to the status of the fund. However, I did not receive a response.

To date, I have yet to receive a response of any kind from Mike Winnen.

After that last message in September, I gave up trying to communicate with Mike. At that point, Tom Bowlus was even unable to contact him.
After I saw THIS thread, inquiring about the Relief Fund, I sent another message to Mike Winnen. This was shortly before December (EDIT -- I meant, shortly before CHRISTMAS). I did not mention the Relief Fund in the message, I simply wanted to see what sort of a response (if any) I would get.

I did not receive a response.

At this point, I have washed my hands of the whole Musicians Relief Fund. I do not expect, nor would I accept any assistance from the fund.

I would now like to say that Tom Bowlus has been the only person to respond to my inquiries. Mr. Bowlus has been nothing but honest and helpful in every possible way. Tom, I thank you for everything. :cool::bassist:

I was unaware of any possible involvement of Mike Fredericks in the creation and/or operation of the Musician's Reflief Fund. Consequently, I have never contact him about any of this.
 
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