Report: ACORN on the Verge of Bankruptcy

An ACORN employee is shown in one of many hidden camera sting operations by two independent journalists reporting on wrongdoing. (YouTube)

The liberal activist group ACORN is suffering from a steep loss of funding and will this weekend discuss plans to file for bankruptcy in a teleconference, the New York Times reported.

Officials from the group told the Times it is dealing with "mismanagement along with a severe loss of government and membership funds."

The group is reeling from a disbanding of at least 15 of its 30 state chapters while its large New York and California chapters have set up fresh organizations.

ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, describes itself as an advocate for low-income and minority home buyers and residents.

The group has come under fire over the past six months for videos showing some ACORN workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute.

ACORN's financial situation and reputation went into free fall within days of the videos' release in September. Congress reacted by yanking ACORN's federal funding, private donors held back cash and scores of ACORN offices closed.

For years, ACORN could draw on 400,000 members to lobby for liberal causes, such as raising the minimum wage or adopting universal health care. Locally, its activists pushed city officials to fix broken street lights and it pressured banks to offer more favorable loans to low-income Americans. ACORN was arguably most successful at registering hundreds of thousands of low-income voters, though that mission was dogged by fraud allegations, including that some workers submitted forms signed by 'Mickey Mouse' or other cartoon characters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report