Richmond, Virginia (WRIC) —Richmond Community Gardens says it lost thousands of dollars after the Enrichmond Foundation was closed.
The Foundation was a non-profit organization that supported several volunteer groups, including several city parks and historic cemeteries. He has been an accounting agent for Humphrey Calder Community Gardens on Kensington Avenue since the 1990s.
The Foundation’s board of directors resolved in June to dissolve the nonprofit organization. Some volunteer groups told 8News that money became inaccessible shortly after the dissolution.
Humphrey Calder’s garden keeper, Kerry Davis, says it’s difficult to access Enrichmond’s account, and she hasn’t received a response yet.
“No one can comment. They’re all gone,” she said. “You send them an email, you receive” I’m no longer with Enrichmond “. So it was difficult. “
Davis said they lost almost $ 3,000. This group needs these funds to cover timber, water and garden beds that need to be replaced.
“I was very disappointed to find out that we had no money in our account and didn’t know how to move forward,” she said.
8News contacted the Foundation’s account manager and former managing director on Saturday afternoon. No reply yet.
Councilor Stephanie Lynch told 8News that he met a city lawyer and city auditor this week. They found that the Foundation had a combination of private expense and taxpayer dollars, and the city hadn’t given the Foundation money for two years. Therefore, city leaders cannot perform subpoenas or audits.
Lynch called the situation “unacceptable” and said, “We need to use all the means we have at our disposal to seek compensation for these people.”
She said city leaders would meet again next week and ask law enforcement agencies to begin an investigation into the Enrichmond Foundation.
Maya Arhart said she started gardening three years ago and Humphrey Calder Community Garden helped her over the pandemic.
“This is a real gift to us in the neighborhood,” she said.
Erhardt is concerned that her happy place could quickly run out of resources.
“Many of us living in the neighborhood don’t have their own garden or garden, so it would be really sad to see it work,” she said.
Davis added that she wouldn’t stop until she had the money and resources needed to keep the green space alive.
“I’m not going to sit down. They told me to be patient,” she said. “I decided to motivate, organize and rejuvenate. I will do everything I can to recover from this setback.”
According to Davis, anyone who wants to help the community garden can be contacted by email humphreycaldergarden@gmail.com.
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