Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, Federal Tax Returns

Previously I looked into the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance only to discover they are not on record in the state of North Carolina. It's as if they don't exist. But the City of Greensboro says:

"The Economic Development office works with our partner, the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance (GEDA) to promote Greensboro as a place to locate and grow your business. The services of Economic Development also assist to coordinate available properties or redevelopment or development and determine if any City incentives are available."

Is the City of Greensboro working with ghosts?

So I looked up their Federal Tax Returns and found nothing. Best I can tell the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance has never filed a Federal Tax Return. Go ahead, look for yourself and tell me what you've found.

Computer glitch? Maybe, but who knows? But why 4 different names, Action Greensboro, Greensboro Partnership, Greensboro Economic Development Alliance and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, for the same non profit entity?

Continue to page 37. Downtown Greensboro Incorporated, Federal Tax Returns.

Bill Knight On The Greensboro Chamber Of Commerce

Any investigation of the Greensboro Partnership has to include the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. You see, the Greensboro Partnership, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, Action Greensboro, Downtown Greensboro Inc., Downtown Greensboro Improvement Corporation, Downtown Greensboro Foundation, Guilford Nonprofit Consortium, Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, and any number of area non profits are, for all intents and purposes, one in the same. Many even share the exact same boards of directors.

From a recent conversation between John Hammer and former Mayor Bill Knight:

"He said he spent a lot of time on economic development and would love to see the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce take a more active role in economic development and with existing businesses like it does in other communities.

He said he was surprised to see how little the chamber knows about some segments of business in Greensboro."

You see, as a non profit, the Chamber Of Commerce has no need to know about private business. The Chamber exists on handouts, taxpayer dollars and donations just like the downtown panhandlers who are forced to get permits before they panhandle. They don't do business, they beg. Since when did we put beggars in charge of business?

So maybe, just maybe the point of my investigation shouldn't be the infractions I've found thus far. Maybe it's simply inept management?

Continue to page 21. Greensboro Beautiful Inc Board Of Directors.

Greensboro Economic Development Alliance Board Of Directors

Well I struck out on finding out who sits on the board of directors of Action Greensboro so I decided to checkout the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance to see who their board members are. First stop, the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance website.

It was in their 2011 Annual Report that I found a list of directors and staff but for the life of me I can't be sure if I'm looking at the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, Action Greensboro, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Greensboro Partnership or any of a dozen or more non profits who all appear to be the same people. Have you ever seen a for profit business that is constantly changing its name? That usually happens when the old name doesn't have a good reputation with its customers.

So I popped on over the NC. Secretary of State website and popped Greensboro Economic Development Alliance into the search box and nothing, nada, zip, no results was the best I could come up with. Could it be the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance is a figment of my imagination? Did I imagine their website too?

So how is it that the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance can have a board of directors if they do not exist as a corporation? Is that legal? Is that something you and I can do? Why would we want to? Why does the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance have a board of directors if they don't have a corporation? They have a staff of no less than 8 people-- are they all being paid under the table? Is this how economic development works in Greensboro?

I decided to do a whois search. For those who might not know, a whois search will sometimes tell us who owns or manages a website. The results turned up a Beverly Brewer of 342 N Elm Street, Greensboro, NC 27401. Beverly's e-mail address (bbrewer@greensboro.org) is connected to Greensboro.org aka, The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. I don't know about the 200 plus Greensboro readers who have viewed this website in less than 36 hours since I launched it but I'm confused.

And finally, who is TBD, Director, Marketing & Communications at the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance and is TDB his or her real name?

Continue to page 8. Downtown Greensboro Incorporated Board of Directors.

Interesting Notes About The Greensboro Partnership

If you attempt to sign-up for e-mail alerts from the Greensboro Partnership you get redirected to the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce newsletter.

Jason Cannon, VP Governmental Affairs controls the Partnership's Twitter feed but has so far been uncommunicative.

The Greensboro Partnership is run by Action Greensboro, the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. A search for the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce board of directors takes you to the Greensboro Partnership as the #1 search result. A search for the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance board of directors also shows the Greensboro Partnership as the #1 search result. A search for Action Greensboro board of directors returns the same results. Are all 4 of these publicly funded non profit organizations really one in the same?

To be continued as I learn more.

Continue reading page 4. Conflicts Of Interest Cripple Greensboro Economy.