ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Former Harbor House of Central Florida CEO Carol Wick sued the non-profit this week, claiming she was not paid the appropriate severance when the board of directors voted her out.
As a result, some financial supporters of the domestic violence awareness and advocacy organization are watching the situation very carefully.
Harbor House’s biggest donor is attorney John Morgan, who has a million-dollar donation on the line.
The organization has not been seriously affected so far, but public perception over the lawsuit could hurt donations in the future, Morgan said.
“Harbor House is still raising money, and if the perception by the public is the money is going to a lawsuit or to lawyers, or for whatever, money can dry up,” he said.
Wick’s attorney, Mark Nation, said this is not a case of someone trying to take money from people Harbor House assists.
“Hopefully not, because accountability, I don’t think we can say accountability is going to harm anyone,” he said. “I’m not charging Carol anything for this, but if we win, Harbor House is going to be responsible for every hour that I put into this.”
Wick did not speak to the media directly, but released a statement after the suit was filed, saying she tried to work with the Harbor House board on the severance issue in private.
“My belief in, and passion for, the mission of the organization has never wavered and has been the driving force behind avoiding any public conversation about the board’s unwillingness to reasonably resolve severance-related issues,” she wrote. “But I can no longer sit back and hope that the board will honor its commitments.
“Their refusal to follow board and employee policies and procedures is very disconcerting and they have given no indication whatsoever that they will follow through on their obligations concerning my termination.”
The mayors of Orange County and Orlando are both involved with Harbor House. The co-chair of Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs’ domestic violence task force said he was confident Harbor House would get past the lawsuit.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer had no comment.
Morgan worries that the situation between Wicks and Harbor House will be like a messy divorce, where nobody really wins.
“In divorces, people are so angry with each other that they fight and fight and fight, and the only real winners are the lawyers,” he said. “And so, even though I’m a lawyer, let’s make sure the lawyers don’t win. Let’s make sure the charity wins.”
Cox Media Group
