A 60-page filing, submitted by the organization earlier this month, shows the foundation spent more money than it earned in its last fiscal year, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. It ended the year with roughly $30 million in assets, down from the $42 million in assets reported in its filing the previous year.
The BLM nonprofit had raised more than $90 million in the first year that it was a tax-exempt organization, coinciding with the wave of protests over police brutality in the summer of 2020. But with the racial justice fundraising environment quickly returning to norms, the new tax filings show the organization cut operating expenses by nearly 55%.
Cicley Gay, board chair for the foundation, said the belt-tightening was part of an effort to demonstrate that its stewards “have been responsible, proactive decision-makers of the people’s donations.”
“We are building an institution to fight white supremacy and reach Black liberation,” Gay said in a statement about the tax filings. “Every dollar we spend is in order to reach that goal.”
The foundation said it would post the new financial documents to a “transparency center” on its official website.
Last year, the nonprofit gave more than $4 million in grants to Black-led grassroots organizations, including organizations founded by the families of police brutality victims, whose names rally the larger movement. Nearly $26 million had gone to Black organizations and families during the foundation’s 2020-2021 fiscal year.
The ratio of “expenses” to grants seems to confirm that this little more than a graft organization
0 Comments