BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Maryland awarded more than $6 million taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit that has not filed a record of its spending since 2022, raising concerns with transparency experts who say government officials need to explain if the organization is qualified for public funds.
The decision highlights a larger accountability gap in Maryland’s network of nonprofit partnerships, where state leaders continue awarding public money to groups that operate with little to no recent financial documentation. Taxpayers are being asked to trust organizations whose financial activity is not publicly verifiable – and state agencies have yet to explain how they vet these recipients.
An August decision by Gov. Wes Moore is raising new concerns. At the time, Moore was locked in a war of words with President Donald Trump about public safety. Moore publicly opposed Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., as well as his threats to put boots on the ground in Baltimore. The governor put his political muscle behind a plan to award $6.1 million in taxpayer dollars to We Our Us, a nonprofit he said would use the funds to “engage justice-involved youth in Baltimore City.” We Our Us is part of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS).
Moore cited the award as an example of how “partnership produced progress, and there’s no better case study than Baltimore.”
However, two experts in nonprofit accounting told Spotlight on Maryland it’s unclear if We Our Us is capable of handling $6 million taxpayer dollars. The organization has not filed a nonprofit tax form since 2022, more than a year past the required IRS deadline.
We Our Us did not respond to questions from Spotlight on Maryland about how the organization is currently serving Maryland and Baltimore City, or why tax forms for 2023 and 2024 are not publicly available.
‘No idea what you’re doing with our money’
Brian Mittendorf, a professor at Ohio State University who specializes in nonprofit accounting, said We Our Us owes the public information about how it uses taxpayer money.
“I’d say the whole package is one that raises a lot of questions about government funding,” Mittendorf told Spotlight on Maryland. “At the bare minimum, being up to date in compliance is necessary for receiving government funding for grants in general.”
Erica Harris, a professor at Florida State University who works on nonprofit transparency, echoed those concerns.
“They’re not paying into our tax system, and so in exchange for that, they’re meant to give us information about how they’ve used our money,” Harris told Spotlight on Maryland. “With the absence of a nonprofit tax return, we have no idea what you’re doing with our money.”
Unanswered question from state officials
Spotlight on Maryland asked Moore’s office if they had access to more recent financial information from We Our Us before awarding it $6.1 million. Moore’s office referred questions to the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS), which issued the contract. DJS then referred questions to the Interagency Rate Council, which did not respond.
DJS provided some context about the award to We Our Us, including that the $6.1 million contract started on Sept. 1 and runs through June 2030. The department also confirmed that We Our Us has yet to receive any money or submit any billing.
“DJS supports a transparent process that includes the rate setting through Maryland’s Interagency Rate Council, publicly issued Expression of Interest, and contract approval through the Board of Public Works,” a DJS spokesman told Spotlight on Maryland.
Limited operation, expansive grant
We Our Us’ last available tax form from 2022 shows the organization had $328,000 in revenue, zero paid employees and a part-time volunteer board. More than 60% of its listed spending was listed under “other,” with no further explanation as to what the money went to.
Listed services on We Our Us’ website include acting as mentors to young men, as well as mediators in “helping reconcile conflicts between individuals.”
Both Mittendorf and Harris questioned whether Maryland officials had reason to believe We Our Us could transition from its current operation to managing $6 million taxpayer dollars.
“From the public records, we don’t see any indication that it’s got a track record, that it has an infrastructure in place to use this level of resources,” Mittendorf told Spotlight on Maryland.
“It would be a stretch for that size of an organization set up in that way to be able to use and disperse and really make the best use of a $6 million dollar grant,” Harris told Spotlight on Maryland.
We Our Us did not respond to questions from Spotlight on Maryland about the organization.
The Maryland Secretary of State’s nonprofit database lists We Our Us’ registration status as “not current” and notes its most recent financial year is from 2022. The database states that We Our Us last had $17,407 in total charitable contributions, with $4,469 spent on charitable programs and $33,211 spent on management.
The Baltimore Sun reported this year that the Maryland government admitted they do not track the total amount of taxpayer money it sends to nonprofits.
Additional city funding
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott announced last year that We Our Us would receive $1 million from the city’s opioid settlement with Walgreens.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office did not respond to questions about whether the city has access to more recent financial records from We Our Us. The spokesman said the grant agreement is not finalized, so the organization has yet to receive those funds.
“The grant agreement will provide fiscal and programmatic oversight of grantees,” the spokesman told Spotlight on Maryland. “We Our Us will only receive its funding after the final agreement is signed and approved by the Board of Estimates.”
Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News, The Baltimore Sun and WJLA in Washington, D.C. Have a news tip? Contact Patrick Hauf at [email protected].