One of Oklahoma City's most prominent energy executives was also a prolific philanthropist, and his death earlier this year left many charities with unpaid pledges.
Even though Aubrey McClendon owed thousands of dollars at the time of his fatal car crash in March, the charities aren't fighting it, The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt reports:
Boy Scouts of America’s Last Frontier Council notified the estate’s personal representative, Tom Blalock, that $500,000 of a capital campaign pledge remained unpaid. The Boy Scouts chapter, which is based in Oklahoma City, also claimed that the McClendon estate still owed $5,000 of his annual Friends of Scouting Campaign pledge. BSA-Last Frontier Council CEO Jeff Woolsey said his organization was only responding to an inquiry from the estate’s lawyers when it filed the claim. “What they’ve done in the past greatly outweighs what was left in that pledge,” said Woolsey. “We have no intention of pursuing that any further. We’re just so thankful for what they’ve done for us in the past.”
Another, much smaller, claim by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City will also go unpaid. The Arts Council’s executive director told The Journal Record that it would be tacky, and that McClendon had already given so much.
In court, both of the organizations filed claims when the estate queried them, asking about outstanding balances. After they responded, the estate officially rejected the claims.
In August, Duke University demanded $10 million from the estate for unpaid pledges.
Those donations were earmarked for work and study scholarships, the football program project, a student plaza, the Center for Athletic Excellence, and other gifts. Duke University later withdrew the demand after the issue was made public by journalists. University spokesman Michael Schoenfeld told members of the media that submitting those kinds of claims are usually a routine procedure, but that in this case it was misperceived as adversarial to the McClendon family. Attorney Ron Burton, who served until 2007 as the University of Oklahoma Foundation president, said there’s no guarantee a school’s fundraising office would go after an estate. “Generally speaking, back in those days, it really wasn’t,” Burton said. “It was one of those unsaid rules that you didn’t want to appear to be greedy or you didn’t want to overstep your bounds.”
KGOU is a community-supported news organization and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.
