Which contractors and vendors received six-figure payments from BLMGNF in 2021–2023, and what services were they paid to provide?
Executive summary
The clearest, document-backed finding in the reporting provided is that payments labeled as “consulting” to a firm associated with BLMGNF board member Shalomyah Bowers exceeded $2 million between July 2020 and June 2021, and that outside reviewers say the foundation spent millions more on contractors in 2021–2023 [1] [2] [3]. Beyond that specific, high-dollar consulting vendor, the sources supplied do not deliver a complete, public list of all contractors who received six-figure payments from BLMGNF in 2021–2023, leaving important gaps about which firms crossed the six-figure threshold and exactly what each was paid to provide [3].
1. The standout vendor: Bowers’ consulting firm and the documented payments
Tax and reporting summaries cited by multiple outlets show BLMGNF paid Bowers’ consulting firm more than $2 million during a roughly 12-month span that straddled 2020–2021, a payment stream described in the reporting as “consulting” on the nonprofit’s filings [1] [2]. Those payments are the most concrete six‑figure (indeed multi‑million) vendor entry in the supplied materials, and both the Daily Caller and Daily Caller News Foundation pieces point to the same Form 990–derived totals for that vendor [1] [2].
2. Broader claims that multiple contractors received six‑figure payouts
Investigative summaries and watchdog accounts cited in the reporting allege that in fiscal 2022 and into 2023 BLMGNF routed more than $10.5 million to contractors and that “millions” went to associates, friends or relatives of senior figures—language used by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) and others to flag what they call troubling insider payments [3]. InfluenceWatch and NLPC are quoted as saying the foundation directed significant sums to network partners and consultants, but the supplied excerpts do not enumerate every contractor who allegedly received six‑figure checks [3].
3. What services were these vendors paid to provide?
Across the cited reporting, the predominant label applied to high-dollar recipients is “consulting,” including the $2+ million paid to Bowers’ firm, and similar “consulting” designations appear in public filings referenced by reporters [1] [2] [3]. The sources also note grants and operating expenses on the Form 990—items listed separately from contractor line items—so services paid could include administrative support, fundraising, program consulting and grantmaking facilitation, but the provided sources do not break down each vendor’s invoice line items beyond blanket “consulting” descriptions [3].
4. Legal disputes, oversight questions and competing narratives
The reporting cites legal friction—local chapters and leaders sued, alleging collection and misuse of donations by national leaders—and notes that at least one suit was dismissed in California in 2023, a ruling covered by the Associated Press as quoted in the supplied material [3]. At the same time, watchdogs and conservative outlets emphasize insider payments and lack of transparency [3] [1], signaling an implicit agenda to highlight possible mismanagement; the sources themselves include different perspectives but the supplied excerpts stop short of independent forensic accounting or a court finding of criminality [3] [1].
5. What the record supplied cannot show — and why that matters
The assembled sources provide a specific, verifiable multi‑million payment to Bowers’ consulting firm and summarize watchdog estimates that tens of millions flowed to contractors, but they do not produce a comprehensive, vendor‑by‑vendor roster of six‑figure payees for 2021–2023 or detailed descriptions of the contractual work for each [1] [2] [3]. Without the full Forms 990, vendor invoices, or audited vendor schedules in the supplied reporting, it is not possible from these materials alone to list every contractor who received six‑figure payments or to attribute precise service descriptions beyond the generic “consulting” label [3].