Saving El Tour de Tucson

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TUCSON, Arizona (KOLD News 13) – Right before the pandemic, KOLD is investigating major money problems uncovered at El Tour de Tucson that are threatening the future of travel. Is the non-profit organization now, after a year without a trip, on the way to financial stability again?

For Billy Dolan, fitness is a family affair. His father died in his early 60s after struggling with serious health problems such as a stroke.

“He was an absolute light,” he said.

Dolan says his father’s death made him really focus on his own health.

“When I know my life is at stake because I have the same genetics, I have to train.”

Dolan trains on his bike. He says he also rides to stay healthy for his children.

“To want to be strong and fit for my children and their children, my future grandchildren, really inspires me.”

Dolan is currently training to race at El Tour de Tuscon on Saturday. The cycling community here is one of the big reasons he loves calling Tucson home, and El Tour brings them together.

“El Tour is incredibly important in bringing our city together, and it brings together so many friends, people I meet while driving on the loop.”

El Tour de Tucson means so much to so many. Recently, however, the future of travel was in jeopardy. Faced with serious money problems, a new CEO stepped in.

“No money, no mission.” This is what the former CEO Charlene Grabowski told us in 2019, when the trip almost didn’t take place.

“I’m a businessman and I do turnarounds,” she said. And turned it over, she did. KOLD Investigates received the latest 990 tax forms for the Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Inc., the nonprofit that oversees El Tour. When Grabowski took over, El Tour was insolvent. It was down more than $ 430,000. However, it stopped the cycle of money problems and put the nonprofit back in the black, up more than $ 278,000.

Current CEO TJ Juskiewicz says El Tour might have just become a memory without Grabowski.

“El Tour won’t come without Charlene. It would have worked and it would have been really unfortunate, ”he said.

According to Juskiewicz, the stabilization of finances in 2019 came at a time when it was most needed before the pandemic. It enabled them to get through a year without the drive due to COVID-19.

“Taking a year off definitely hurt,” he said. “Anyone who runs events is usually at a disadvantage if they haven’t had any registration income for a full 18 months.”

He says the community also helped the nonprofit get through the year without a lift.

“We had a lot of great support from some locals like Rio Nuevo who made sure we held events downtown so we could keep our heads above water during the pandemic.”

While the nonprofit’s 990s look better, we found a stain on their file, according to CharityNavigator.org. It gives the Perimeter Bicycling Association of America Inc. 71 out of 100 points. They call this a failed score. It shows that the main reason for this is a lack of an audit or a lack of a financial review.

So, did the nonprofit miss an exam?

“Not really. We got all of this up to date so I’m not sure why this is missing,” he said. “But we worked with local CPAs to make sure we had it all. We even went back and looked at some of the old returns and made sure they were correct. “

We contacted Charity Navigator. They told us, “based on the IRS data we have and process for evaluation, we stand by our evaluation of the Perimeter Bicycling Association of America.”

They said this rating is based on the 990 from 2019 where this question is asked, “Have the organization’s financial statements been audited by an independent accountant?” Perimeter Bicycling Association Inc replied “No”.

Now, as Juskiewicz prepares for his first El Tour de Tucson, he hopes their money troubles are behind them. Is El Tour officially saved now?

“We are very confident that we are in a good place at the moment,” he said.

This message means the world to many cyclists like Dolan who says he’s ready to ride!

“I imagine we’ll probably keep a pace of about 42 mph and yes it will hurt but it will be fun and I and three thousand of my closest friends are looking forward to it. So it’s going to be a blast, ”he said.

El Tour de Tucson kicks off Saturday morning with the 102-mile drive from 7:00 a.m. The route is different this year. It starts at Armory Park in Downtown Tucson and continues south to cities like Sahaurita and Green Valley and ends back downtown. Click here to take a closer look at the routes.

Copyright 2021 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

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