O ‘Ye’ of little $$
Kanye turned back on charity: ex-pal
A charity founded by Kanye West has done little to provide music and arts education to needy Chicago kids and is blaming the wealthy rapper for failing to fund it.
The fate of Donda’s House, started by West and fellow rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith in 2012, erupted into a virulent Twitterstorm last week, drawing in a furious Kim Kardashian, who vowed to take over the nonprofit, which was named for husband Kanye’s late mother, educator Donda West.
“I will make it my mission to take Donda’s House from you and let my children run it the way it should be run!” Kardashian tweeted to Rhymefest.
But West himself has not been listed on the nonprofit’s public filings as a board member for the last two years. It is unclear whether he abandoned the group or was kicked off its board.
The nonprofit brought in $206,023 in 2015, the federal filings show. But the tax papers provide little clue about what the group actually spent on teens, doling out just $1,000 for a single grant and earmarking $35,843 on unspecified meetings and events.
Much of the money went to administrative costs, including onethird of the cash — $68,400 — to pay the salary of Rhymefest’s wife, Donnie Smith, a former publicschool teacher who has the title of executive director.
The group spent $40,650 on unspecified subcontractors and $16,466 on travel.
Now the Illinois Attorney General’s Office is after the group for not submitting its tax filing for 2016, which was due last fall.
“They are not up to date,” a spokeswoman told The Post.
Donda’s House board member Exavier Pope could not tell The Post when the group would be able to complete its overdue tax filing.
Pope said the board of directors had recently brought in a team of lawyers and accountants to evaluate how the organization has been run and determine its future direction.
He dismissed the recent Twitter controversy as “a family feud” and is planning a town-hall meeting with volunteers and donors to address the controversy.
“The most important thing for us is to serve the youth of Chicago, and we have not lost sight of that,” Pope said, adding that the group has aided hundreds of aspiring teen artists and musicians by helping to organize concerts and introducing them to producers and agents.
Pope would not say how much the charity had spent on the teen programs. But in the midst of the Twitter storm, the charity said on its Web site that it wants to distance itself from West. It also said it would change its name.
It appears the Grammy winner and fashion designer, who is worth more than $160 million, has done little to keep the group afloat.
He initially helped with the nonprofit’s startup, designing its logo and helping with legal costs, according to a statement on the group’s site. He also persuaded the Louis Vuitton Foundation to contribute $133,000 to the group, its largest single donation.
But West has since turned his back, according to Rhymefest, who last week took to Twitter to ask fellow rapper Drake to make a donation.
Rhymefest ran an unsuccessful political campaign for city council in Chicago and is himself worth more than $10 million.
“I spoke to Kanye about it,” Rhymefest tweeted. “His response was ‘f--k the youth of Chicago.’ ”
But Kardashian shot back, blaming the charity’s current disarray on Rhymefest.
“You’re over leveraging Kanye’s name & asked Kanye to donate to u so stop w your fake community politics and lies,” she tweeted. “Truth is you haven’t been able to sustain the foundation.”
Calls to West’s spokesman were not returned.