Sunday, October 30, 2011

NASI Ad: "Game Changing Shidduch Program"



The original NASI ad was located by a reader and is available at the 5TJT. Ad guarantees that every $ is guaranteed and anytime she wants her money back, she will get it back.

Ironies of ironies, there isn't a single NAME attached to the NASI ad, nor the name of a single Rosh Yeshiva, but there is a guarantee that the program will be operated with great transparency, oversight, and audit to instill confidence in the klal.

Furthermore, "all disperement checks of monies from the program will require the signature of one of the Roshei Yeshiva advertising the program." Well, ladies and gentlemen. . . the internal controls are flawed from the outset. With checks to be made out in the $13,000 range, there should be a minimum of two signatures!

I've already sounded the alarm on the Areivim "life insurance" program. And this looks as just as problematic (the entire concept aside). So here are a few questions:

NASI, whose tax ID number do you operate under? Are you organized as a non-profit, a S-Corp, a sole proprietorship? If you are operating under an existing non-profit, is the 990 available on Guidestar? If you are operating independently, what financials will you be publishing and when? Where are the liabilities held in escrow? What CPA firm has put together your internal control procedures and how will they be continually monitored? Who will perform and publish the audit you refer to? How many Roshei Yeshiva have signing authority over the checking account? Will check signers be involved in any of the book keeping or account reconciliation?

The ad states that the list of young women will only be handed to shadchanim once there are 50 girls. While I think the entire approach is completely flawed and degrading to Jewish singles period, I would highly recommend that until the above questions (and more) are answered, parents/young women should keep their money in an FDIC protected bank account or under a mattress for safekeeping.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nasi has not been generally secretive about who is running it. Moshe Pogrow a frequent yated shidduch forum contributor has been running it thus far. At some point he was requesting checks be made out to Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah of Kew gardens. This should answer some (but not most) of your questions.

Orthonomics said...

This is the only Yeshiva Shaar HaTorh (Richmond Hill, NY) I can find. No documents are available.

http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/c/11-2449817/yeshiva-shaar-hatorah.aspx

There are no tax docs available online (one of which should-when the program kicks off) show liabilities in the balance sheet section.

Critically Observant Jew said...

SephardiLady:
Why are you worried about the technicalities of this "charity"? You're not the one donating to it, and the fools who do - they don't share your/our mindset. I've given up hope on this...

Anonymous said...

The phone number is a cell phone number associated with Chaim Tropper, 90 Adams St, Lakewood and a business name of "Keyport Group Settlements." No idea how current this information is. I'll look up the business with the NJ secretary of state if I remember.

Orthonomics said...

Critically Observant Jew--Some of the potential fools might be my relations. ... at some level, we are all related and what happens in [name your frum population center] rarely states there.

Orthonomics said...

P.S. I see the coffee room and the imamothers (close thread) aren't thrilled about this program and are asking questions. If I can help feed some of the questions, I will.

Dave said...

Given the apparently endemic issues of schools failing and schools being funded by illegal means, I wouldn't look to the Roshei Yeshivas as models of financial acuity or probity.

Anonymous said...

Dave,

This has to be considered on a case by case basis. We can't presume any guilt by association.

rosie said...

I have seen singles (or their parents) try to offer a monetary incentive, beyond the going shadchanus fee, in order to find a certain type of shidduch. The difference here though is that it is specifically offered to help single women. There are plenty of single men who are equally frustrated with their inability to find the shidduch that they want. With any type of problem situation there are always those who stand ready to exploit desperate people. There are shadchanim that charge significant up-front fees and give lots of false hope that they can sell the single to the type of the person that they want to attract. After the money is paid, the shadchanim rarely deliver on the goods. Sometimes the person pays, knowing all the while that they are throwing away their money, just so they can claim that they "did something".

Chaim said...

NASI: Here is a game changing shidduch program- Each older girl gets 40 acres and a mule as a dowry

Dave said...

What case-by-case basis? No names are listed.

Worse, the financial controls that are listed are indicative of at best financial ineptitude.

Anonymous said...

This program is shady! These shady programs and scams are proliferating in the frum world.

Anonymous said...

"What case-by-case basis? No names are listed."

Until the names are named, there's nothing to do or discuss!

Anonymous said...

This "deal" sounds as legit as the slick color ads for "Kupat Haeir". The buyer needs to beware!

Tzippy, Jerusalem said...

At least when it comes to Arievim program, as I know it from Israel, it works pretty well. So if you make any comparison, it works.
But this is not the same. Arievim comes from a basic assumption than not everybody is dying now... But for shidduchim - everybody has to get a Shidduch! And why are those crazy prices?

Ariella's blog said...

Interesting to consider data, agenda, methodology, and conclusions in light of the fact that I am attending analytics classes. I would have to say that this is not what is called "clean" data, and there is a clear bias at work here with a presupposition that money will solve the problem rather than an objective view of the status quo that arrives at the true cause of the situation.