For years, the nonprofit Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has been under fire for its finances. This week, new tax filings revealed large payments to co-founders’ friends and significant real investment investments. RedState previously reported on the controversial purchase of a Los Angeles home for $6 million by the group in 2020.
According to The Associated Press:
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. has shared a new, 63-page Form 990 exclusively with The Associated Press. It reports that it invested $32,000,000 in stocks from $90 million it received in donations during racial justice demonstrations in 2020. Organizers say that the investment will be used to create an endowment to support the foundation’s future work. It closed its last fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, with almost $42 million in net assets. According to one board member, the foundation had an operating budget of around $4 million.
The revelations that the foundation paid almost $970,000 to a company established by a man who had a child with BLM co-founder PatrisseCullors and that they also paid $840,000 to a brother’s security company were sure to raise eyebrows. Cullors also received more than $73,000 in private plane trips from the foundation, but she has since repaid them.
The foundation spent $37 million in 2021 in grants, consultants, real property ($12 million), and other expenses. However, it still has $42 million.
Patrisse, the co-founder of the group, resigned in 2021 after the controversies grew. However, he addressed the controversies Monday on an MSNBC podcast. Cullors spoke out about the flood of donations that the group received following the death of George Floyd.
It was indeed a shock. It was also quite a shock. It was a lot of white guilt money. White people are often like “We just have to get the money.”
She explained further that the group did not have the infrastructure to handle the huge influx and now she is being “weaponized”.
However, the Associated Press points out that there are some real problems.
According to the tax filing, the organization is still struggling to find its feet. It does not have an executive director or in-house staff. The AP was told by non-profit experts that the BLM Foundation seems to be a small, resource-strapped organization. However, some argue that Black-led charities are subject to unfair scrutiny in an overwhelmingly wealthy philanthropic environment.
There’s always fire where there’s smoke. Despite the good intentions of the foundation, it is likely that donors are wondering where their money went.
