The intersexual maltreatment allegations against Hope for Prisoners CEO Jon Ponder — having already added a crippled twist to his redemption communicative from convicted slope robber to reformed subordinate of nine — person led immoderate foundations and religion leaders to region themselves from his nonprofit organization.
Multiple organizations that erstwhile served arsenic sponsors, assemblage partners oregon donors person said they volition not enactment Hope for Prisoners pursuing the Metropolitan Police Department’s Aug. 18 apprehension of Ponder, who faces 9 felonies and 11 gross misdemeanors, including intersexual assault, suspicion of unauthorized interaction with a captive by a situation worker oregon volunteer, attempted coercion and attempted unauthorized interaction with a prisoner.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries had not been alert of the allegations until the Review-Journal contacted the enactment connected Wednesday, “and instantly determined to cease our fiscal enactment for Hope for Prisoners,” spokesperson Shawn Paul Wood said.
The Woodson Center, whose precocious laminitis Robert Woodson, Sr. erstwhile sat connected the committee of Hope for Prisoners, said successful a connection that it was acrophobic astir Ponder’s arrest.
“Though the Center remains committed to the ngo of the enactment to assistance men, women and young adults successfully reenter the workforce, their families and our community, we nary longer financially enactment the organization,” said a spokesperson for the organization, which focuses connected reducing transgression and unit and restoring families.
The Hope for Prisoners website lists Central Church arsenic 1 of its “faith-based partners,” but a spokesperson for the religion said the enactment misrepresented its relationship, noting that Central Church has nary concern oregon affiliation.
Hope for Prisoners did not respond to a petition for comment.
Approached aft a proceeding Wednesday greeting and asked astir the aboriginal of Hope for Prisoners, Ponder, 60, made a zipping question implicit his lips and said nothing.
Complaints filed with the Office of the Inspector General led the Metropolitan Police Department to motorboat an probe successful April into Ponder’s conduct. Metro detectives concluded that Ponder utilized his narration with the Nevada Department of Corrections and presumption of authorization to sexually prey connected susceptible pistillate inmates seeking rehabilitation astatine the Jean Conservation Camp and Casa Grande Transitional Housing, the apprehension study said.
The study besides noted that Ponder had developed a estimation among inmates, officers and employees for inappropriate intersexual behaviour and had been the taxable of a workplace probe successful 2020.
Despite the behaviour allegedly stretching backmost respective years, much wealth continued to funnel into his organization, whose committee besides became a roundtable of almighty and connected people, until his caller arrest.
Money and power
In 2012, the enactment reported $14,242 successful revenue, according to taxation documents submitted to the IRS. By 2025, the enactment received much than $4.8 million, though gross peaked successful 2024 astatine $7.45 cardinal owed to ample authorities grants, according to the organization’s Form 990. Ponder’s wage successful 2025 was $196,726, according to IRS documents.
Ponder’s stature besides continued to turn successful the authorities — earning appointments to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Reentry Taskforce successful 2016, the Nevada Sentencing Commission and Commission connected Postsecondary Education successful 2017 — arsenic his programs proved palmy successful curbing recidivism, with Hope for Prisoners present touting partnerships with agencies similar the situation strategy and Metro. A 2016 UNLV study connected Hope for Prisoners recovered that lone 6 percent of its participants were re-incarcerated.
During the organization’s emergence to prominence, immoderate of the astir influential players successful Nevada instrumentality enforcement, authorities and concern person sat connected the committee astatine 1 point, including erstwhile Clark County Sheriff Bill Young, erstwhile politician and lawyer wide Robert List, Sheriff Kevin McMahill and District Attorney Steve Wolfson, according to taxation documents.
Metro did not respond to a petition for remark astir the presumption of its partnership.
Ponder’s enactment adjacent caught the oculus of President Donald Trump, who said, “Jon’s enactment is simply a beauteous testament to the powerfulness of redemption,” earlier granting him a pardon successful 2020.
Hope for Prisoners has besides received much than $750,000 annually from national grants since 2020, the organization’s audits show.
Former COO warned board
Well earlier Ponder’s caller ineligible troubles surfaced, erstwhile employees questioned his leadership, including 1 erstwhile enforcement calling Ponder “an authoritarian.”
Grant McCandless, who served arsenic Hope for Prisoners’ main operating serviceman for much than 8 months successful 2020, filed suit against Ponder and the enactment successful territory tribunal connected Oct. 28, 2022, for breach of declaration aft his employment was terminated.
McCandless said helium had unwittingly angered Ponder a fewer times by doing things helium thought were successful the organization’s champion interest. Then, McCandless said, an worker filed a ailment against him soon thereafter accusing him of racism. Although McCandless said helium was told an probe did not find immoderate grounds of misconduct, helium was inactive fired due to the fact that Ponder wanted him gone.
While Ponder was removed from the lawsuit, McCandless settled the lawsuit against Hope for Prisoners successful November 2024. He said helium could not legally disclose the terms.
That year, McCandless posted connected societal media that the committee needed to oust Ponder from its helm.
In hindsight, McCandless said, Ponder presented reddish flags astir his tendency for power during his archetypal occupation interview, referencing sarcastic comments Ponder made successful effect to takeaways from a lawsuit survey involving captive reentry that McCandless had referenced.
“He likes to springiness orders and directions and doesn’t truly invitation suggestions oregon surely adjacent constructive disapproval from adjacent his astir elder enactment team,” McCandless said. “I thought it was my work to assistance him turn the organization, marque it amended and lick problems, but I learned that wasn’t rather what helium wanted from me.”
McCandless said helium had lone learned of allegations of intersexual impropriety against Ponder aft helium had filed his lawsuit. Before settling the case, helium unsuccessfully tried to compel Hope for Prisoners to crook implicit a missive written successful 2020 by now-former committee subordinate Kristina Wildeveld that elaborate however the board ignored a recommendation from its ineligible counsel to occurrence Ponder.
Wildeveld’s missive besides opined that the enactment had “lost its way” and added that “the absorption has turned to promoting Jon Ponder and fundraising and promotion has been placed up of the archetypal mission.”
Nonprofits tin past scandal
As questions swirl implicit Hope for Prisoners’ fate, ungraded is not ever a decease knell for nonprofits, experts say.
Jessica Word, the subordinate dean of probe and planetary programs successful UNLV’s Honors College, said accusations against CEOs oregon cardinal enactment positions usually contiguous bigger challenges from a nationalist relations, selling and fundraising perspective, but impacts to an organization’s wellness tin beryllium connected the types of allegations and its backing streams.
“If the accusations are related to the mission, it astir apt has a bigger interaction connected fundraising and the quality to determination forward,” Word said. “Big nationalist scandals similar the Boy Scouts that ne'er look to extremity person impacted the enactment for a agelong time, but the Boy Scouts is aged capable and large capable that it’s astir apt going to beryllium astir nary substance what.”
Locally, Word pointed to the ungraded astatine The Animal Foundation, which faced allegations that animals were mistreated contempt 1 of its halfway missions centering astir carnal welfare.
“If they hadn’t had ample donors and funders who were consenting to basal by them, reinvest and reinvigorate them done those scandals, they astir apt wouldn’t beryllium around,” Word said.
In the lawsuit of Kenneth Copeland Ministries being unaware of Ponder’s alleged misconduct, Word said donations and sponsorships are usually based connected a memorandum of knowing oregon donor agreements that usually don’t necessitate disclosure of allegations unless specified.
However, Word said it was important for nonprofits embroiled successful scandals to instrumentality ownership of problems due to the fact that they trust connected spot and goodwill to present their missions, rise wealth and garner support.
“From a strategical perspective, it is astir apt champion for the committee to scope retired to their donors and their sponsors and say, ‘Here’s what happened. It’s unspeakable and here’s however we’re dealing with it,’” Word said. “If you instrumentality ownership of thing and get up of the communicative and woody with it successful the close way, you’re inactive going to upwind a storm, but it tin beryllium little severe.”
Contact Devan Patel astatine dpatel@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·