Waste Of The Day: Taxpayers Fund Mayor’s Wife’s Charity

Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: The City of Baltimore gave $62,500 to a nonprofit that employs the mayor’s wife, according to tax filings reviewed by the Baltimore Sun. Six members of City Council have introduced a bill that would make similar payments illegal — which the mayor opposes.

Key facts: The grant was paid in 2023 from the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund to the nonprofit Bmore Empowered, where Hana Scott is the director of operations. She is also Mayor Brandon Scott’s wife. The mayor’s office has a representative on the Youth Fund board who votes on which nonprofits receive grants.

It’s unknown whether Bmore Empowered received city funding in 2024 or 2025 because it did not file a Form 990 tax form. Britt Mittendorf, accounting school chair at Ohio State University, told the Baltimore Sun, “Regular filing of a 990 is essentially the bare minimum in terms of compliance.”

The Baltimore Sun asked the charity if they received more recent public funding, but there was no response. Hana Scott blocked reporters on LinkedIn after they messaged her with questions.

A bill currently in the City Council would place new oversight and transparency rules on the Youth Fund and has support from seven of the 15 council members. Mayor Scott opposes it because he believes it would limit funding to programs managed by his office, according to the Baltimore Sun. A spokesman from the Youth Fund claimed the increased transparency would “jeopardize” its work.

Background: Open the Books has been tracking transparency issues in Baltimore’s nonprofits for years.

Last year, 24 of the 100 nonprofits that received the most taxpayer funds from Baltimore had some issue with their state registration, including some that were legally closed. Nine of them were delinquent with the state, meaning they had not submitted proper paperwork and could not legally solicit donations.

Summary: Baltimore’s donation to Bmore Empowered is not illegal, but even the appearance of a conflict of interest can erode public trust in the management of taxpayer dollars.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com