SLO History Center donor wants $200,000 back — she says her money was mismanaged

A major donor to the San Luis Obispo County History Center has filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit, saying she wants about $200,000 of her gifted money back, citing improper accounting and misuse of restricted funds.

But former and current organizational leaders counter that the claims made by Libbie Agran are misleading and untrue — and they defended the use of the money that helped pay for center costs related to work on the county Wine History Project, a Dallidet property upgrade and other needs.

Agran, who lives in Los Osos, claimed in a lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on March 29 that the History Center has engaged in a “pattern of unfair, fraudulent, and/or illegal business practices.”

Agran alleged the History Center failed to use those restricted gifts “solely for their restricted purposes” and failed “ properly account for those restricted gifts,” co-mingling restricted funds with unrestricted money.

Agran wants donated money returned that includes more than $77,000 for the Wine History Project of SLO County; about $14,200 toward money used to rehabilitate the kitchen on the Dallidet Property; $20,000 to support the salary of former assistant to the executive director Matthew Gray, who was terminated by History Center after about 11 months of service; and about $40,600 for the Dallidet Master Planning Fund.

Agran also established a $1 million endowment with The Community Foundation in December 2017 to help fund the Wine History Project, a separate nonprofit that worked in coordination with the History Center. (Only partial interest from that account has directly benefited the History Center). But the endowment isn’t part of the lawsuit.

Agran also alleges that she was shut out of the organization’s proceedings after being instructed that “she was to have no further contact with the History Center’s Executive Director or its Board President” or the center’s employees.

Thomas Kessler, the History Center’s current executive director, said the History Center has been “nothing but crystal clear” about accounting for Agran’s restricted donation money.

On Monday, former History Center board President Bill McCarthy, called the lawsuit “absurd,” “with no merit” and “out of nowhere.”

“The History Center has reviewed the account with Libbie over and over and over again,” McCarthy said. “All of the money was used exactly as Libbie wanted it to be used.”

McCarthy said Agran wasn’t blocked from talking to the board or organization’s leadership.

But because her demands of volunteers and staff to conduct desired tasks were becoming overwhelming, McCarthy said, a sole History Center representative was established as a point of contact to field her requests and allocate prioritized work amongst other organizational duties.

“The center has limited resources and staff shouldn’t have been getting requests individually,” McCarthy said.

Former History Center executive director Eva Fina agreed that the accounting was transparent, adding she and Agran were in close communication for much of the time Fina was involved with her contributions to the organization.

“The bulk of the money she donated was still sitting in bank accounts when we left,” Fina said Monday. “We presented her the accounting multiple times in multiple ways ... We spent it modestly and only on things we’d previously discussed.”

Fina, who resigned as History Center executive director in June 2018, said she and Agran had a friendly relationship for much of their time working together (Agran’s discussions with the History Center began in 2015). Then Agran developed a contentious position, Fina said, adding that she doesn’t entirely understand it.

“By the beginning of the year, a lot of anger building up,” Fina said. “I’m not 100 percent sure where it came from.”

Still, Fina said she holds out hope a resolution to the dispute can be worked out, saying she believes Agran’s philanthropy has been done with good intentions.

“I have absolute faith in all the people involved,” Fina said. “I have absolutely confidence in the good intentions of people on both sides. I wish the best for a speedy, non-contentious resolution.”

Correction: The name, length of service and title of former SLO County History Center employee Matthew Gray (who served as assistant to the executive director) have been corrected. Also, a quote noting that the History Center was “nothing but crystal clear” should have been attributed to current Executive Director Thomas Kessler. And a quote from former executive director Eva Fina should have said she wished for a “speedy, non-contentious resolution.” Additionally, a photo caption on the interior of the Dallidet Adobe has been updated to note “the History Center has terminated its agreement with the Wine History Project” and a video featuring the past agreement between the History Center and Wine History Project has been removed.

This story was originally published April 9, 2019 at 9:50 AM.