Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is raising questions about the finances of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Grassley, a Republican, says the national non-profit organization has a “substantial” amount of money banked in offshore investments, while some local chapters are being forced to close due to shortfalls. Grassley is demanding to see what executives in the group are being paid.

Grassley says, “Next week, at the request of the leadership of the Boys and Girls Clubs, I’m meeting with both the chairman of the board of governors and the CEO about responses that I’ve gotten to written questions raised way back in March.” Grassley says he wants to question those leaders to make sure funds aren’t being “squandered” by the managers at headquarters, while some local cash-strapped clubs have no alternatives but to shut their doors.

“The overall issue is how the non-profit has used considerable money it receives from the federal treasury and also from tax-exempt funds that have been contributed by individuals,” Grassley says. “There are warning flags about whether substantial funds have been used by a top-heavy organization,” he says, at the expense of local chapters. Grassley says it’s important to draw a distinction between the national organization and the affiliated local Boys and Girls Clubs.

“This was about the national organization and not about what was going on in the local clubs,” Grassley says. “The local clubs obviously are where the rubber meets the road, playing a vital role in providing a constructive outlet for our young people.” Grassley says he wants to know why so many local clubs are being forced to close while the national organization “sits on a pile of investment income.” The first Boys and Girls Club opened in 1860 in Connecticut while the overall organization marked its centennial in 2006.