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As Hurricane Ian began to wreak havoc through southwest Florida and onto the Atlantic coast, Casey DeSantis called for donations to the Florida Disaster Fund.
“We are excited to announce that we have launched the Florida Disaster Fund (FDF) to allow Florida volunteers to donate directly to those affected by Hurricane Ian,” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wife said in a Sept. 28 press release. I’m happy about that.”
Donations immediately poured in. Volunteer Florida, the state’s official private emergency fund, will raise a total of $63 million, nearly eight times the amount raised after Hurricane Irma hit the Florida peninsula in 2017. .
Several of the state’s largest corporations contributed large sums of money, including $5 million from Charles Schwab and $1 million each from Publix, Amazon, Florida Blue and HCA.
Casey DeSantis has started a fundraiser. (From Facebook) But where did that money go? Florida Trident’s investigation found that the once-strict competitive grant system, which required proof of the use of donations, had been eliminated. Instead, in the early months, the foundation distributed millions of dollars in “quick” grants to organizations with no clear training or experience in emergency disaster relief but with political ties to DeSantis.
As an example, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) received $3 million, the third largest single Florida Disaster Fund grant. The funds will be donated to the association’s Educational Foundation, whose purpose is to support “sound educational experiences that prepare you for a dynamic and rewarding career in hospitality.”
After Hurricane Ian, FRLA established its own temporary disaster relief fund to help the hospitality industry recover through grants that required just one-third of the funds paid directly to employees. It is unclear whether the Florida Disaster Fund grant is connected to this effort.
Politically, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association has openly expressed support for DeSantis, and its PAC donates mostly to Republican-leaning political groups. The lodging and tourism industry contributed $10 million to DeSantis in 2022, making it the governor’s second-most supportive industry, according to OpenSecret, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance.
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Florida Trident.
The FRLA payment is one of several opaque payments in a process that critics say has been irregular from the beginning. Volunteers Florida, the state agency that administers the fund, traditionally uses a competitive grant-making process to allocate funds, many of which go to local disaster relief organizations called Long-Term Recovery Groups (LTRGs). It has been donated. Previously, applicants had to describe the details of their projects, and recipients had to provide documentation of how the state-directed funds were spent.
But Volunteers of Florida bypassed the traditional grant-making process for Ian, said an LTRG leader who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation. In fact, the official said, LTGR was left in the dark for months with little guidance on how to apply for grants.
In the months after Ian’s attack, an online survey was sent out to local organizations to raise funds, and 17 LTRGs across the state were ultimately given $100,000 in reserves each. An additional $2.3 million was belatedly paid to the long-term group shortly after Trident began questioning the Florida Volunteers last August about alleged neglect of the LTRG.
The Florida Volunteers website lists the organizations that received the money and how much it cost, but there are few details about how the money was spent, only through a few brief descriptions. explained.
An LTRG official said, “There is no financial responsibility, and we do not know whether this is due to specifications.” Details of how the recipient spent the money “other than what he said he spent” were not disclosed, the official said. In contrast, grant-making organizations like the Red Cross require detailed reports, including receipts recorded down to the penny.
Florida Volunteer External Affairs Director Brittany Dover said a previous bidding process aimed at ensuring donations went to the most deserving recipients was abandoned because of Hurricane Ian. Admitted. Volunteers in Florida chose to award “quick” grants instead “to get the resources we need on the ground as quickly as possible,” she said.
After Ian, the Florida volunteer organization said it won 84% of its prize money within the first six months, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. The newspaper reported that “Florida Volunteers did not respond to repeated requests for details on how the grant would be awarded.”
Some watchdog groups say such opaque processes undermine the organization’s credibility.
“Government agencies need a transparent process for spending money,” said Ben Wilcox, research director at Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan research organization and government watchdog in Tallahassee. “The problem is that there is no transparency and people can question things like favoritism in the process. You lose people’s trust in the process. Transparency is not a great strong suit for the DeSantis administration. ”
“With a little help from my friends.”
Initially, police organizations received about the same amount as all long-term recovery organizations combined, all of which supported Gov. DeSantis. The Florida Sheriff’s Association, along with the Florida Benevolent Association of Police and the Fraternal Order of Florida Lodges, each received $500,000 and a total of $1.5 million.
The Florida Police Benevolent Association has endorsed DeSantis as a presidential candidate and previously supported his re-election bid.The Fraternal Order of State Police also endorsed DeSantis’ re-election; long term a close relationship between the two. Neither the Florida Police Benevolent Association nor the Florida State Lodge FOP responded to requests for comment.
The FOP endorsed DeSantis statewide. (via Facebook) The Florida Sheriff’s Association stands out for its particularly cordial relationship with DeSantis, even though its 501(c)(3) prevents it from participating in political activity or advocacy. It’s clearly stated on their website.
Earlier this year, Mr. DeSantis made friendly remarks at a Florida Sheriff’s Association meeting, offering glowing praise and especially boasting about how Florida Disaster Fund money was donated to the association. The funds were distributed to employees of the sheriff’s office, according to the 2022 issue of Sheriff’s Association Magazine.
“Our most recent challenge occurred on the southwest coast of the deadly and highly destructive Hurricane Ian,” Steve Casey, executive director of the Florida Sheriffs Association, wrote in the magazine. “And once again, the sheriffs made it out with a little help from our friends.”
“Everyone has worked together: the Coast Guard, state law enforcement, local law enforcement, everyone,” DeSantis said during the meeting. “But what we understood was, ‘Yeah, that’s your job, but it doesn’t necessarily make you immune to hurricanes.'”
Logan Lukow, communications director for the Florida Sheriff’s Association, said donations to the Florida Disaster Fund “will bridge the economic gap for affected sheriff’s office employees whose homes have suffered extensive or complete destruction.” He said it was helpful. Lukow said his organization was able to reduce checks to employees within two weeks of the storm’s landfall.
The single largest expenditure, $23.4 million, went to the Florida Office of Emergency Management to fund the Shelter at Home to Continue Recovery (SHRC) program operated by the Florida Housing Coalition. In December, the Department of Emergency Management reported that the 500th home had been repaired after Hurricane Ian.
Hurricane relief funds will be used for ‘spiritual transformation’
Another important part of DeSantis’ political base were evangelical Christians, who also received a share of hurricane recovery funds.
The second-largest FDF grant, $4 million, went to the Impact Foundation, a faith-based nonprofit founded by former National Christian Foundation executive Geoff Johns. The Impact Foundation is committed to “faith-based impact investing” to create “economic, social and spiritual transformation,” according to its website.
Further information about the Impact Foundation was not readily available, and the organization did not respond to emails sent to it. Funds donated to the Impact Foundation were used to help small businesses rebuild, according to an internal email from Volunteer Florida. It is unclear whether the organization has a track record of post-disaster recovery efforts, and the email did not provide details on how the funds would be used.
Trident sent multiple requests to Volunteer Florida seeking more information about the post-Ian grant process, grant recipients, and timing of the grants. The organization responded with a link to a list of grant recipients and little additional information.
Hurricane Ian was a Category 5 storm that struck Southwest Florida on September 28, 2022, with winds of 150 mph and a storm surge of 18 feet, making it one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in Florida history. A year later, the Fort Myers News-Press reported that “hundreds, if not thousands, of people are still evacuated by the storm or living in hurricane-damaged homes.”
LTRG officials say they understand that the state wanted to get the money out as soon as possible, but with tens of millions of dollars donated, it’s unclear how that money will be used and how it will reach the poorest people. He said it was important to accurately indicate whether or not he had done so.
“You could probably peel the onion for years and still not get the full picture,” the official said.
Veteran journalist Tom Scherberger spent 20 years as a reporter and editor at a newspaper company. tampa bay timesI am a contributing writer. florida trident, an online news site published by the nonprofit Florida Government Accountability Center. To contact FLCGA, please contact: info@flcga.org
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