Vijay Amritraj, a well-known former tennis pro from India, is bringing his foundation’s charity golf tournament to Las Vegas to raise funds for health care and other related programs in rural India.

The fundraiser and a golf tournament are scheduled on Sunday, December 10, with a dinner meeting at Chica Restaurant at the Venetian Resort, followed by a golf tournament on Monday, December 11, at the Anthem Country Club in Henderson. The fundraiser ends with a gala dinner at Aria Hotel on the strip with a featured comedian, Russel Peters. For further information, please refer to the flyer below. However, based on the previous year’s expenditures, there are some ethical concerns with the disbursement of donated funds.

As per the IRS Tax filings, the Vijay Amritraj Foundation’s mission is to…

MADE GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING HEATH CARE TO RURAL VILLAGERS, LIFE, AND JOB SKILLS FOR BLIND WOMEN, SHELTER, AND HEALTH CARE FOR MENTALLY ILL, AND ABANDONED ELDERLY, JOB SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT TO DESTITUTE WOMEN AND ENHANCING THE LIVES OF THE UNDERPRIVILEGED IN RURAL INDIA PRIMARILY THROUGH EDUCATION.

After searching for the foundation’s financials, this publication found questionable financial management. Its last tax returns were filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in September 2019 for 2018. 

The foundation’s 2018 tax return shows a total income of $325,044 from January 1 to December 31, 2018. During the same period, the foundation spent $261,735, of which $138,000 was donated to the organizations for program management, with the bulk of that amount, $130,000 going to the international organizations. Salaries and other overheads totaled $41,036, while $75,177 was spent on fundraising events. 

Surprisingly, the foundation spent 46% of the 2018 expenditure on salaries, overheads, and fundraising events. As a non-profit, it appears that the Vijay Amritraj Foundation spends a disproportionately higher ratio of its expenditure on non-program costs, especially on event expenses. In many instances, non-profits have higher overhead spending to stabilize revenue. However, that doesn’t bode well with the donors who believe higher overheads indicate incompetency and wasted money. Many Indian charities in the United States have meager overhead expenses, with most of the raised money going towards their programs.

Reviewing the 2017 tax returns, the foundation spent over $84,000 in salaries and over $69,000 in fundraising events. Shockingly, the salaries and fundraising costs were way higher than the $55,340 in grant money donated to international organizations.

Moreover, per the IRS database, the foundation’s non-profit status, 501(C)(3), was automatically revoked on May 15, 2022, for not filing taxes for three consecutive years. However, there’s a caveat note by the IRS: Just because an organization appears on this list, it does not mean the organization is currently revoked, as they may have been reinstated. This publication cannot find out the current status of the foundation for taking a charity tax deduction on your annual tax returns.

Additionally, the foundation websites, www.vijayamritrajfoundation.org and www.thevaf.com are directed to an Indonesian webpage, while Facebook appears inactive, with the last posted pictures from 2020.