The national Black Lives Matter movement claims $33.4 million of its cash is being withheld by one of its progressive partner organizations, The Post has learned.
In a scathing lawsuit, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation accuse the Tides foundation — backed by George Soros — of alleged “deceptive business practices” as well as “egregious mismanagement” of its money, while demanding its return.
The lawsuit was filed last year, but the stakes were raised on Monday when the BLMGNF — which oversees its other regional operations — asked the California Attorney General to step in and investigate Tides.
The national chapter of Black Lives Matter says that Tides Foundation has used millions of its contributions to fund their legal defense in the suit brought against them by the civil rights group. Getty ImagesEven during the course of the lawsuit, BLMGNF accuses Tides of spending $6 million of their donations, despite promising to freeze any cash belonging to the group during the litigation, according to one of their lawyers.
“My client now has to pay money just to get their own money back, after my client raised 100% of it,” said Lawrence Segal, representing BLMGNF.
Segal claimed the BLM money may even have been used by Tides to fund their defense against them.
“More than $1 million has been spent by Tides out of my client’s money just on attorney’s fees —possibly to pay their own lawyers,” said Segal. “It appears that they are paying themselves from charitable donations in order to pay the legal fees that resulted from this case.”
Tides Foundation, a fiscal sponsor, has managed donations for groups that have helped organize anti-Israel protests across the country. James KeivomBLMGNF began its relationship with Tides soon after it set up its movement in 2013.
Because the fledgling group was not a tax exempt charity at the time, it needed a fiscal sponsor to distribute the money it received from anonymous donors to other organizations, and selected Tides to do so.
Shalomyah Bowers, the board secretary of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, is suing Tides Foundation for “egregious mismanagement” of more than $33 million in the group’s donations. Getty ImagesThings got complicated after huge amounts of money poured in following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, with BLM taking in some $90 million in donations between 2020 and 2022.
However, that was a drop in the ocean to Tides, which oversees more than $1.4 billion in cash from myriad nonprofits, but commingles all funds, the lawsuit claims. That makes it difficult for groups like BLMGNF to monitor where their cash is going, legal papers say.
“TIDES does not segregate monies,” Segal told The Post. “All of my client’s money is apparently commingled in one giant account. Tides’ fiscal sponsorships are very loosely regulated, at best.”
After publication,Tides told The Post in a statement: “The Fund at issue in this litigation was created to support BLM chapters and other Black-led organizations — not one national organization based in Los Angeles … The lawsuit is baseless and driven by one individual that purports to speak on behalf of a movement that is leaderful and grounded in the states. We remain steadfast in our mission to advance racial justice and carry it out with integrity.”
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith has asked the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of Tides Foundation. Getty ImagesBLMGNF have also been criticized for how they have handled donations. Out of the $90 million windfall in donations following Floyds’ death, it only gave out about $30 million for charitable purposes in the next two years.
Another $22 million went on expenses including salaries and investments.
Patrisse Cullors, a cofounder of the group, went on a real estate spending spree, The Post revealed in April, 2021.
Cullors, who maintained she did not use BLMGNF donations to make the real estate purchases, resigned a month after that story.
Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, resigned a month after The Post revealed in 2021 that she had gone on a real estate buying spree. She maintained that she did not use any cash from the nonprofit. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation spent $6 million in cash on a “campus” in Studio City, California, with some of their donations. Ringo Chiu for NY PostOne of her brothers, Paul Cullors, is still associated with BLMGNF, taking in more than $200,000 a year as “head of security,” federal filings show.
In addition to the lawsuit, Tides has been under fire by the Congressional Ways and Means Committee for acting as a conduit for contributions for nonprofits that organized anti-Israel protests on Ivy League campuses following the Oct. 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
Last year, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), chair of the committee, demanded that the IRS revoke Tides’ nonprofit status. The group acted as a conduit for donations from groups such as the People’s Forum, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project, he said.
“The Tides Foundation, in conjunction with the Adalah Justice Project and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, has engaged in conduct directly intended to incite riots, cause chaos and disrupt college campuses.
“[That includes] acting as one of the largest funders for several groups involved in antisemitic activity across the country — all despite its stated tax-exempt purpose and charitable mission,” said Smith’s Sept. 24, 2024, letter to the IRS.
Tides has also taken tens of millions in donations from progressive billionaire Soros’s Open Society Fund, according to public records.
A trial between BLMGNF and Tides is set to take place in August 2026.
