Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2016
Leadership and governance dispute involving J. C. Watts Jr.
After J. C. Watts Jr. was terminated as president and CEO, he alleged retaliation and financial mismanagement and said he had raised concerns with the board and reported them to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. Feed the Children denied the allegations, characterized them as baseless, and filed a counterclaim concerning Watts’s conduct and fundraising performance. The litigation was settled in 2019, and the reported state investigation ended without support for Watts’s allegations.
2009
Dispute between founder Larry Jones and the board
A prolonged leadership dispute led Larry Jones to relinquish operational control and later resulted in his removal as president. The legal conflict was resolved in 2011; a later IRS filing disclosed an $800,000 settlement payment and additional legal fees.
2008
Charity watchdog criticism of fundraising and in-kind accounting
The American Institute of Philanthropy criticized Feed the Children’s cash spending profile and questioned the valuation of donated goods, arguing that a relatively small share of cash expenditures went directly to charitable programs. Feed the Children and other observers disputed the methodology, saying that cash-only measures fail to capture the organization’s in-kind distribution model. The controversy also included scrutiny of whether reported non-cash distributions were valued appropriately.