Fast Facts
NeighborWorks is a nonprofit that receives federal money to provide grants, assistance, and more to nonprofit U.S. housing and community development organizations.
Over the last decade, auditors have found problems with NeighborWorks' handling of procurement, conflicts of interest, and whistleblowers.
NeighborWorks has made changes, but hasn't always ensured the changes were fully implemented or communicated to staff. Problems continue—for example, staff don't consistently follow procurement policies.
We recommended that NeighborWorks formally train staff on procurement, and address issues in all 3 problem areas.
Highlights
The mission of NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered nonprofit, is to revitalize neighborhoods. The organization has made progress in establishing policies, procedures, and internal controls relating to procurement, whistleblower complaints, and internal audits. But GAO found weaknesses remain.
Procurement. GAO reviewed a sample of contract files and purchase card transactions and found staff did not consistently follow procurement policies, including for documentation and supervisory approval. NeighborWorks has begun to implement a new procurement system, but the extent to which the new system will address these issues is unclear. NeighborWorks does not provide formal training on its procurement process and made some changes to its procedures without clearly communicating those changes to staff. Providing formal...
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