Bernie Mac Charity’s Spending and Governance Scrutinized

The disease charity founded by the late comedian Bernie Mac and run primarily by his widow and her family has spent less than one-seventh of its money on mission programs, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago-born entertainer launched the Bernie Mac Foundation in 2005 to aid sufferers of sarcoidosis, a tissue disease that disproportionately affects African-Americans. Federal and state records show the foundation gave $101,982 to other charities from 2007 to 2012, 13 percent of its expenditures for the period—far below the threshold for mission spending recommended by nonprofit watchdog groups.

The foundation paid more than $200,000 in that time to companies apparently run by its treasurer, attorney Edward Williams. Rhonda McCullough, Mr. Mac’s widow, is the president of the charity’s board. One of her sisters serves as executive director and another is vice president of the board.

Je’Niece McCullough, the daughter of Mr. Mac and Ms. McCullough, resigned from the board in 2011 over what she described as the foundation’s lack of focus since her father’s death in 2008. The Illinois attorney general’s office has asked the charity “to provide additional documentation” to address concerns about its operations, a spokeswomen said.