Nonprofit raised $1.3 million for Edwards, tax records show

CHAPEL HILL (Winston-Salem Journal) - John Edwards ended 2004 with a problem: how to keep alive his public profile without the benefit of a presidential campaign.

Edwards, who reported this year that he had assets of nearly $30 million, came up with a novel solution - creating a nonprofit organization to fight poverty. The Center for Promise and Opportunity raised $1.3 million in 2005, and the main beneficiary was Edwards himself, federal tax filings show.

A spokesman for Edwards yesterday defended the center as a legitimate tool against poverty.

According to experts on nonprofit foundations, Edwards pushed the boundaries of how far such organizations can venture into politics.

Bradley Smith, a former FEC chairman, said that Edwards shouldn’t face any trouble from federal regulators unless he was explicitly campaigning for the Democratic nomination.