BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Maryland awarded a $6 million contract to a Baltimore City nonprofit that is struggling to provide its legally required tax returns, raising extensive transparency concerns among some accounting experts.
The We Our Us nonprofit, which was awarded $6 million by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in August, continues to lag in its financial reporting as it’s set to spend taxpayer dollars. After previous Spotlight on Maryland reports, the organization filed its 2023 tax form, but its 2024 tax form, which was due last year, is still not public.
“It’s unacceptable. If you’re getting taxpayer dollars, you need to have the capacity to report the spending on those dollars,” Linda Parsons, a professor at the University of Alabama specializing in nonprofit accounting, told Spotlight on Maryland. “The grantee should provide evidence that they are capable of executing the grant. At this point, it seems they have not provided evidence that they’re capable of executing the grant. I would not give them additional funding.”
Corey Barnes, the director of operations for We Our Us, said in an exclusive November interview that pending audits would be completed by the end of 2025, allowing the organization to file its tax forms for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. However, We Our Us’ fiscal year 2023 tax form, filed roughly one week after the interview, stated that the organization did not undergo an audit.
Parsons said nonprofits are supposed to file annual tax forms regardless of whether they undergo an audit, and if an audit reveals any errors in the tax form, an updated version should be filed.
“If you do an audit voluntarily because a funder wants it, or you just think it’s good practice, you still have to file your tax return,” she told Spotlight on Maryland.
Brian Mittendorf, a professor at Ohio State University specializing in nonprofit accounting, agreed that the form should be filed regardless of audit status.
“That in and of itself shouldn’t be justification for delay,” he told Spotlight on Maryland.
Barnes told Spotlight on Maryland this month that his organization completed its 2023 fiscal year audit, which he said will not be public until it’s processed by the Maryland Secretary of State. Additionally, Barnes claimed his organization filed its overdue fiscal year 2024 tax form in January. However, he declined to provide a copy, saying it cannot be published until it’s processed by the IRS.
Laurie Styron, the CEO of Charity Watch, which studies the relationship between nonprofits and governments, disputed Barnes’ claim.
“There’s no reason that a charity wouldn’t be able to provide that to any member of the public who asks for it,” she told Spotlight on Maryland.
Mittendorf expressed similar concerns.
“You should make it publicly available whether it’s hosted on the IRS website or not,” he told Spotlight on Maryland. “If it has been filed, they should be able to make it publicly available.”
Nonprofits are required by state law to provide their latest tax form to the public upon request within 30 days. Spotlight on Maryland made a formal request to We Our Us on Feb. 9 and is awaiting a response.
Styron and Mittendorf said We Our Us’ delayed tax filing for fiscal year 2023 includes a series of questionable omissions, including how the organization:
- Did not list its finances from the previous fiscal year
- Did not list its board members
- Did not have a policy for whistleblowers
- Did not have a policy for conflicts of interest
“There’s potentially some money missing here,” Styron said. “It’s concerning that the tax filings are late, but it’s also concerning that the tax filing they did file for 2023 is really sloppy from what we observe.”
“It indicates incomplete information relative to what we’re supposed to have,” Mittendorf said.
The 2023 tax form showed that We Our Us relied on taxpayer dollars for roughly 95% of its revenue.
The $6 million state contract with We Our Us was awarded through the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS).
The Maryland government’s database of nonprofits lists We Our Us’ registration status as “not current,” with its latest financial information from 2022.
DJS and Moore’s office did not respond to the following questions:
- Is We Our Us qualified to handle millions of taxpayer dollars?
- Has We Our Us started to spend money as a part of its $6 million state contract?
A DJS spokesman instead pointed Spotlight on Maryland to a statement from last year that claimed We Our Us is in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation.
Documentation of the $6 million contract obtained by Spotlight on Maryland in a public information request shows that DJS determined We Our Us “to be responsive and responsible.” The contract was awarded through a “non-competitive” procurement process.
Mittendorf said the Maryland government needs to hold We Our Us accountable for more transparent reporting about how it spends taxpayer dollars.
“Why were they not being pressured to do more, provide more transparency, provide stronger governance?” Mittendorf said. “A new startup charity might not realize that some of these things are important, but an organization that’s relying on government funding certainly should realize it. And if they don’t, the government should tell them.”
Spotlight on Maryland reported in November that the president of We Our Us, Antoine Burton, owed more than $200,000 in personal tax liens.
Parson said the tax liens should have been identified and considered before awarding the organization $6 million.
“This is the kind of background that would keep somebody from getting a job as a chief financial officer or even a controller,” she said. “I’m not going to put somebody in charge of money that has money problems. It’s just asking for trouble.”
Styron said delayed tax filings, incomplete financial reporting and Burton’s personal tax liens paint a picture of a nonprofit that does not appear prepared to execute a $6 million taxpayer-funded contract.
“When you’re a taxpayer and you’re subsidizing a charity’s existence, you want to know that your tax dollars are in good hands,” Styron said. “There’s a difference between a one-time lapse in judgment or a reporting issue and a pattern over a long period of time of a lack of accountability.”
Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 News and WJLA in Washington, D.C. Have a news tip? Call 410-467-4670 or email SpotlightOnMaryland@sbgtv.com. Contact Patrick Hauf at pjhauf@sbgtv.com and @PatrickHauf on X.