CharityWatch has issued Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) a "?" rating for its fiscal year ended 6/30/2024 due to our concerns about the reliability of the Foundation's financial reporting. CharityWatch's previous rating of BLMGNF was a "D" on our "A+" to "F" rating scale based on our analysis of the charity's fiscal 2023 IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements. We determined that in fiscal 2023, BLMGNF spent only 47% of its cash expenses on programmatic activities and the remaining 53% on overhead. For its fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, CharityWatch noted that the Foundation reports having only three voting members on its governing body, with only one being reported as independent (IRS Form 990, Part VI, Section A, lines 1a & 1b). Furthermore, per Audit Note 12 of the Foundation's audited financial statements for the same period, the Foundation incurred $2,223,663 of "staffing, management, and consulting services" to a consulting firm owned by a Board member, comprising roughly 24% of reported total fiscal 2024 expenses. In addition, "a sibling of the founder owned a security company and a property management firm, which were collectively paid $386,768 for security and property management services," per Audit Note 12. In addition, per line 11g of the Foundation's fiscal 2024 IRS Form 990, Part IX, CharityWatch noted that $1,706,135 of "Other" fees for services expenses paid to non-employees (roughly 33% of the charity's reported total Program expenses for fiscal 2024) were allocated to Program expense without a sufficient explanation as to the nature of the services included in this total. Taken together, it is CharityWatch's position that BLMGNF's lacking governance and conflicts of interest arising from millions of dollars' worth of related-party transactions between the organization and one of its board member have rendered its financial statements unreliable for purposes of determining how efficiently it raises and spends public dollars. For this reason, we have issued the organization a "?" for fiscal 2024. |
