The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), founded in 2013, has encountered increasing controversy and allegations of financial mismanagement after raising nearly $90 million in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020.
The foundation has faced multiple accusations, including questionable real estate purchases, misuse of charitable funds, and a lack of financial transparency, leading many supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement to question where donations went.
Patrisse Cullors, a BLMGNF co-founder, resigned in May 2021 after outrage erupted over her personal real estate splurges.
In 2020, BLMGNF purchased a $6 million property in Topanga Canyon, California, intended as a “Black artists’ residency.” It was later used for private events and filming projects, according to a 2022 complaint filed with the IRS by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC).
Internal text messages allegedly show BLMGNF leaders discussed a “coverup story” for the delayed disclosure of the California property’s details, NLPC claimed in its filing.
Cullors also bought a $3 million Atlanta property, part of a wider personal real estate portfolio, according to NLPC. She later defended the purchases in a 2022 Associated Press interview, saying the organization had expanded faster than its infrastructure.
“On paper, it looks crazy,” Cullors told AP News. “We use this term in our movement a lot, which is we’re building the plane while flying it. I don’t believe in that anymore. The only regret I have with BLM is wishing that we could have paused for one to two years, to just not do any work and just focus on the infrastructure.”
A key question emerged: Where did the $90 million go?
BLMGNF’s 2020 to 2021 IRS filings, first reported by The New York Times, showed about $8.4 million in operating expenses and $21.7 million in grants to partner organizations, some reportedly tied to Cullors’ BLM network.
With Cullors listed as the sole voting director at the time, nearly $1 million went to Trap Heals LLC, operated by Damon Turner, father of her child, and $840,000 went to her brother’s security firm, according to NLPC’s report “Black Lives Matter Bought $32 Million in Stocks.”
In fiscal 2022, the foundation spent more than $10.5 million on contractors, many reportedly linked to Cullors’ friends or relatives, according to NLPC findings.
Additional payments raised new concerns about internal oversight and transparency.
InfluenceWatch reported that BLMGNF directed millions to associates for “consulting” expenses. According to its 2020 to 2021 Form 990, board member Shalomyah Bowers’ consulting firm received $2.16 million.
By 2023, BLMGNF had spent roughly $60 million of the $90 million raised, according to NLPC estimates.
Many local chapters revolted.
Some “BLM Grassroots” leaders sued BLMGNF – claiming that the national organization had collected donations through the city’s chapter, then misused the funds and excluded local activists from key decisions. That case would later be dismissed in a California courtroom, per the Associated Press.
Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM Grassroots Inc., said after the ruling in 2023 that her group was “stunned and dismayed” by the court’s dismissal.
The BLM foundation responded to the lawsuits from BLM Grassroots with a statement saying: “We have stayed true to our principles, philanthropic duties, and organizational focus despite countless blatant fabrications, misrepresentations, and innuendos of misdeeds lodged against us.”
Financial investigations and the 2023 lawsuit have not restored confidence in the organization. Public support for the Black Lives Matter movement fell from 67% in 2020 to about 52% by May 2025, according to Pew Research Center.