Baltimore moves to sever $500K grant to Pride Center of Maryland after reporting violations

Baltimore is moving to terminate a $500,000 grant agreement with the Pride Center of Maryland after the organization failed to provide documentation of its work using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The termination, which was announced to the organization in March, will be considered by the Baltimore Board of Estimates for final approval Wednesday. The pride center has filed a protest with the board, asking it to reconsider the decision.

According to the board’s agenda, the funds were awarded in September 2022 to the pride center to be used for violence intervention programs “with the goal of preventing violence particularly against sexual and gender minority populations” in the city. The pride center bills itself as the “state’s primary source” for guidance, education, cultural competency and services to improve the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. The organization hosts Baltimore’s annual Pride Fest held in June.

According to the board’s agenda, the organization has failed to provide sufficient documentation to “demonstrate that the cumulative number of participants who showed an increased knowledge of intimate partner violence.” The organization also failed to provide a timely response to the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs showing that it had not duplicated ARPA benefits provided by the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) or the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS), according to the agenda.

The Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs oversees the spending of Baltimore’s $641 million ARPA allocation, which was granted to help with recovery efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a letter sent to the pride center in January by the city, the organization failed on at least six occasions to provide monthly updates to the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs. Additionally, rules for spending ARPA money forbid recipients from using different sources of federal funding to pay for the same services to be completed as part of a grant, the letter states. The pride center did not submit documentation proving that it was not mixing its $500,000 in ARPA funds with awards from the other city agencies. The letter mentions that the pride center was also the recipient of a $510,000 grant from MONSE.

The pride center, based in Baltimore’s Old Goucher neighborhood, has filed a protest in hopes of appealing the termination via the five-member Board of Estimates. Mayor Brandon Scott sits on the board as well as two of his appointees. Council President Nick Mosby and Comptroller Bill Henry are also members. All are Democrats.

In a letter dated March 27, the pride center’s CEO Cleo Manago urged the board to reconsider the decision, arguing the pride center took additional steps to rectify the situation after it received notice that insufficient records had been provided to the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs.

Of the 13 performance measures required to be documented to the office, the pride center submitted documentation for all but two, Manago argued. A corrective action plan was put in place with the recovery office to ensure that further documentation would be submitted. That plan noted challenges with the organization including turnover with personnel and management, Manago said. The organization also improved its internal data management, hired new staff and held trainings, Manago said in the letter.

When a notice of default was sent to the organization by the city in January, the pride center further provided documentation of trainings, conflict mediation services and youth summer employment data, Manago argued.

“I believe that these factors shed additional light on the situation and present a more comprehensive view of PCOM’s concerted efforts to report performance and contributions to the federally funded project,” Manago wrote. “I assure you that we are dedicated to learning from this experience and making the necessary changes to become a more effective and valuable recipient of this project, and continued partner with the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs.”

The Board of Estimates will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the termination.