Because we're human beings, I'm a human being, and we make mistakes. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. A lawsuit filed on behalf of 26 grassroots Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapters last week alleged that the leader of the national organization siphoned $10 million in charitable contributions to pay for his own personal expenses. Controversy surrounding the organization's finances has elicited probes by at least two state attorneys general. Board members said they are cooperating with civil investigations in Indiana and Ohio, and they have turned over relevant documents to those authorities. NEW YORK (AP) The foundation widely seen as a steward of the Black Lives Matter movement says it took in just over $90 million last year, according to a financial snapshot shared exclusively with The Associated Press. As a new board, we are building policies that didnt exist, operational and administrative infrastructure that didnt exist. The organizations executive director stepped down just months after the nonprofit declared it had raised over $90 million, and in the year since, theres been no one at the helm, according to a Washington Examiner investigation. Among her self-identified mistakes was opting not to take a salary, which Cullors claims fueled the accusations of financial mishandling. Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLMGR), a nonprofit that serves as the umbrella group for local BLM chapters nationwide, claimed in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Shalomyah Bowers, the leader of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), defrauded the local chapters for "unjust enrichment" and used their funds as his "personal piggy bank.". Thats a very legitimate critique, says Jacob Harold, a former CEO of GuideStar and the co-founder of Candid, an information service that reports on nonprofits. Its part of campaign to smoke out and then attack unpopular Republican cuts. 'And I think what's been hard is feeling like there isn't room and space for that.'. Story tips can be sent to jon.brown@fox.com. A comprehensive new government study concludes that the illness probably wasnt caused by foreign adversaries. Theyre trying to be transparent. Bowers is a close associate of BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who resigned from BLMGNF in May 2021 after allegations she misused millions of dollars in donation money. Published: 19:13 EST, 18 May 2022 | Updated: 01:58 EST, 20 May 2022, A former Black Lives Matter leader admitted the charity was not prepared to handle such a large influx of what she called 'white guilt money' donated after the murder of George Floyd- and argues mistakes made with the funds are now being 'weaponized against her.'. Two paid staff members would rarely be enough to manage a $90 million organization. This system that gives billion dollar companies millions in hardship funds, when their owners (also billionaires) can afford to use their own wealth instead of public funds is the source of frustration. As protesters suddenly given a windfall of money, they had to learn how to manage a large nonprofit on the fly, and its a lot to ask., After Raising $90 Million in 2020, Black Lives Matter Has $42 Million in Assets, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/business/blm-black-lives-matter-finances.html. The form covers the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, nearly a year ago. Defense attorney Joshua Ritter on why prosecutors have a tough path to conviction. "Your client acknowledges that the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021, caused as of May 17, 2021, approximately $1,495,326.55 damage to the United States Capitol," said a plea agreement signed by defendant Paul Hodgkins, a citizen who took selfies in the Capitol on Jan. 6, and his attorney. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is an administrative organization that raises funds to distribute to Black Lives Matter Grassroots, the umbrella organization for local chapters of the group. In the tragic, whirlwind year of 2020, with racial-justice protests prompted by the killing of Black men and women by police officers, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation raised $90 million, much of it small donations from rank-and-file supporters. Gay was one of three new board members that the group announced last month. ", Shalomyah Bowers, left, Cicley Gay, center, and D'Zhane Parker pose for a portrait on May 13, 2022, in Atlanta. The founder of BLM inc. just bought a $1.5 Million compound in Topanga Canyon, the 4th whitest neighborhood in LA BLM raised $90 million last year. (Other videos from Cullorss personal YouTube channel also appear to match images of the houses interior shown in real-estate listings.) It means investing in black communities, trusting them with their dollars. Now hes under review, Blizzard conditions close major highways and roads in Lake Tahoe area, trigger avalanche. Any insinuation or assertion to the contrary is categorically false, the spokesperson said. Black Lives Matter has come under fiscal scrutiny since 2020, when the group received $90 million in donations amid protests following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Its currently not possible to share the Posts article on Cullorss home purchases on Facebook because the sites parent company, Meta, has labeled the content abusive. At other points, Bowers and his associates direct a private investigator to look into BLMGNF detractors and journalists, including me. FULL ANSWER Black Lives Matter, a movement against systemic racism, began in 2013 after George Zimmerman, a neighborhood. BLMGNF has since retained the high-profile Democratic lawyer Marc Elias and maneuvered to get more time to formally submit data from 2020 by switching from calendar-year to fiscal-year tracking. Twelve BLM chapters, including those in Boulder, Colorado; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Los Angeles; Gary, Indiana; and Philadelphia, received pledges for grants of up to $500,000. Right-wing board to clamp down on woke ideology in cartoons. The foundation ended its last fiscal year - from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 - with nearly $42 million in net assets. The couple is pictured in 2020, The co-founder's brother, Paul Cullors (right), received more than $840,000 for providing security services to the foundation. That impact report didn't land well. Theyve attempted to say and Im just gonna say it She bought some damn houses. How are we talking about it publicly?' Co-foundersPatrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza are pictured in November 2016, Cullors (pictured April 2022) stepped down as executive director of the organization amid controversy over her $3 million property portfolio. Its an example of how Cullors acted as both the head of BLMGNF and cultivated a lucrative public profile at the same time; when she quit the organization, she said it was to focus on media deals shed signed with a book publisher and Warner Bros. (A lawyer for Cullors declined to comment on the record.). The Black Lives Matter foundation has revealed it received more than $90 million in donations last year despite the movement being splintered by ongoing feuds about the lack of funding. What we're doing has never been done before,' said Shalomyah Bowers, who serves as the foundation's board secretary. I'm gonna leave. YahN Ndgo, an activist and former organizer with the BLM chapter in Philadelphia, said Cullors reneged on a promise to hand over control of the foundation's resources to grassroots organizers. City to Pay Millions to Protesters Kettled by NYPD in 2020. Could Alec Baldwin Really Go to Prison for the. Market data provided by Factset. She explains the press to the president, preaches Twitter-is-not-real-life, and keeps the West Wing from leaking. On this score, some of the harshest criticism of BLMGNF has come from within. I think theyve attempted to cancel us, but they have not been successful in canceling us, Abdullah said at another point in the conversation. She chose one of the whitest places in California. This story has been shared 154,589 times. This right-wing offensive not only puts Patrisse, her child and her loved ones in harms way, it also continues a tradition of terror by white supremacists against Black activists. Its a waste of resources, he said. BLMGNF was awarded tax-exempt status from the IRS in December 2020, two months after the houses purchase. BLMGNF raised over $90 million in 2020 alone, according to a February 2021 financial report published by the nonprofit. The foundation told AP that it committed $21.7 million in grant funding to official and unofficial BLM chapters, as well as 30 Black-led local organizations. Bowers and his group denied all claims of financial misconduct and chastised those suing him for falling victim to the carceral logic and social violence that fuels the legal system in taking legal action against him. The house was to be used, among other things, as an artist retreat, the filing said, but identifying information is not being released here due to safety and security concerns and threats to B.L.M.G.N.F.s leadership, staff and creators, the form said. BLM's disclosure filing revealed that nearly $26million, or 70 percent of its expenses, were grants to organizations and families in the last fiscal year. (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images), BLM facing scrutiny after tax documents allege donations were given to family members, investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. BLMGNF, which received more than $90 million in the wake of George Floyds death in 2020, represents the national BLM movement. Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast, Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. While such a structure is legal in Delaware, where the group is incorporated, charity experts say it is far from best practices, especially for a group with tens of millions of dollars in its coffers. He serves with board chair Cicley Gay, a communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and 'DZhane Parker, a member of BLM's Los Angeles chapter whose work focuses on the impact of mass incarceration on families. Jacob Harold, a nonprofit expert, said he was struck in particular by the number of paid employees listed on the form, which was just two, versus the number of volunteers, which was 49,275. Its far from a box, with more than 6,500 square feet, more than half a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms, several fireplaces, a soundstage, a pool and bungalow, and parking for more than 20 cars, according to real-estate listings. But it was the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, that made the slogan 'Black lives matter' a rallying cry for progressives and a favorite target of derision for conservatives. 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