Westchester Organization 'Surprised' By Size of Trump Donation

BRONXVILLE, NY - Ed Boran, president of the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, was pretty sure he would be getting a donation from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump.

He just didn’t have any idea it would be in the amount of $1.1 million.

Boran, who spoke to Patch via telephone from his Tuckahoe office, confirmed that his organization did indeed receive the check, reportedly the largest donation Trump made.

“Oh yeah,” he said, “we got it over a week ago.”

Boran said the real estate mogul and reality television star has been a supporter of the foundation for many years.

He remembered back to 1985 when a group of Vietnam veterans wanted to have a ticker tape parade in New York City.

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The group fell short of the required fees by about $1 million, and the day before the deadline, Trump gave them the money.

“In those days, he would just give you money,” Boran said. “That is the Donald Trump I know.”

Trump had a very testy press conference Tuesday during which he railed against the press for not thanking him for his generosity. He even singled out a reporter for ABC News and called him a "sleaze."

Boran said the donation will go into the foundation’s coffers to be doled out when necessary.

He said the way the foundation works is, when it is notified of the death of a Marine Corps member or a federal law enforcement member, a check for $30,000 is cut within three to six weeks and is deposited in a Merrill Lynch Edge account in the surviving child’s name, with a guardian listed as custodian.

READ MORE: Trump Donates $1.1M to Tuckahoe Veterans Organization

Usually, the surviving spouse is the custodian, Boran said.

“We are hoping that the child uses it for college,” Boran said, but he added there are no restrictions on the use of the funds.

The foundation relies on 14 fundraising events around the country each year and word of mouth to keep its scholarship fund level up.

To date, “we expended more than $3 million in scholarships and humanitarian aid, but you never know how many Marine Corps deaths there are going to be,” Boran said.

People like Trump help, he said, as does board member Rush Limbaugh.

“He mentions us three or four times a year on his show,” Boran said, “and that’s when the checks start coming in.”

The operation headquartered in Tuckahoe couldn’t be more lean.

Boran said there are 100 volunteers, including himself, and only one part-time employee. He said the rent for the office costs $600 a month.

“Over 98 percent of every dollar that comes in goes back out” in the form of scholarships or humanitarian aid, he said.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore Flickr Creative Commons.