LDS Church gets $54 million in Stimulus

[_I have a question]

Harvard University says it has decided not to accept nearly $9m (£7.3m) in coronavirus relief aid

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52390483

Will BYU follow Harvards example?

[_zeezrom]

$54 million in "free" money? Why would they not take it?

Sadly, I have to agree with the sentiment behind this question. The government is interested in saving big business and LDS owns parts of some pretty big business.

[_NorthboundZax]

$54 million in "free" money? Why would they not take it?

Because it would be the moral thing to do. Not that they have shown moral concerns to be a huge factor in financial considerations...

[_Dr Moore]

But it isn't free money, and it isn't limitless.

[_Dr. Shades]

Hence the reason I put the word "free" in quotation marks.

[_Holy Ghost]

Harvard University says it has decided not to accept nearly $9m (£7.3m) in coronavirus relief aid

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52390483

Will BYU follow Harvards example?

Hmmm. The Harvard endowment fund is ~$40b. Harvard gives back $8m in relief aid. LDS fund that we know of, ~$130b. BYU will never give back the $54m in relief aid. Secular 1, Religious 0.

[_Dr Moore]

I hope they give it back.

This headline just crossed on Bloomberg, and it's highly relevant to BYU's decision. If the apostles and administrators there care about public perception, they'll quickly realize that not only should they give the money back, but they need to make sure every bank involved in the funding removes their name from the list of beneficiaries of the program.

Be assured, there WILL be a wall of shame when this is over, for companies that took federal PPP money, but didn't really need it.

*FED TO NAME PARTICIPANTS IN CARES ACT-BACKED LOAN PROGRAMS

[_Kishkumen]

I agree with Dr. Moore. This is really not acceptable. The LDS Church has exploited every advantage it could and this is a bridge too far. There are small businesses everywhere hurting. Many will go under. If Shake Shack can return $10 million, then the LDS Church, with its stockpile of billions, can certainly return a little more than 5 times that much.

[_Philo Sofee]

It will be interesting to see if they do give it back. But we all suspect it won't do so. Just think of how much GOOD they can do with that money! That will be their justification. Besides, it will prevent them from having to go for those wet rainy day funds..... we wouldn't really want the filthy, filthy, FILTHY RICH church to suffer would we? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[_Dr Moore]

CNBC reporting on new guidance for the SMB loan program:

Companies applying for coronavirus relief funds must certify that the loans are necessary and that they cannot tap other sources of funding, the SBA said.

Yes, BYU may have been grandfathered in, but by keeping the money it is acting in very bad faith.