The foundation shut down at the end of 2023 after a series of controversies.
OnePulse received a $500,000 Cultural Facilities Grant, awarded by the Florida Department of State in 2019, tied to a specific covenant (i.e., there were restrictions on how that money could be spent). A separate $680,000 grant, which was not tied to a specific covenant, was allocated the following year.
The OnePulse Foundation announced last October that they were giving up on the memorial and museum project, which never advanced beyond project design and planning phases. At the same time, the organization agreed to forfeit the unspent portion of the $10 million that’d been committed by the Orange County government for the project (after spending $6.5 million of it).
The county government shortly after accused OnePulse of a breach of contract, when the county obtained records demonstrating the nonprofit had improperly leased property intended for the planned museum. Within weeks, OnePulse leadership announced plans to dissolve the organization entirely.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced last week that OnePulse had repaid the state of Florida all of the taxpayer funds the nonprofit had already spent from that first restricted grant the nonprofit was awarded in 2019. That amounted to $391,321 total.
According to the state's Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, however, the $680,000 grant allocated by the state in 2020 was all already spent on OnePulse employee salaries. And because those funds weren't restricted, the state will not audit them.
"The amount paid for salaries is not considered an audit issue, unless a law, rule, ordinance, etc. establishes parameters," Kathy DuBose, coordinator for JLAC, told State Rep. Anna Eskamani in an email forwarded to Orlando Weekly. "We are not aware of any such parameters that apply to OnePulse," DuBose added. "Even if there was a limit to the salaries, all the Auditor General could do is report any instances of noncompliance identified during an audit."
Audit reports are a "reporting mechanism," DuBose explained. The Auditor General "has no enforcement authority." If there was an indication of illegal spending activity, however, DuBose said that such activity could be reported to law enforcement.
The OnePulse Foundation, founded by the former Pulse Nightclub owner less than a month after the shootings, officially halted operations on Dec. 31, 2023, and shut down its website and social media pages. Only chief financial officer Claudia Mason and communications chief Scott Bowman have stayed on, to continue to “perform functions related to the dissolution,” the Orlando Sentinel reported. The remaining seven employees were let go.
Byrd confirmed in a statement that OnePulse had “failed to fulfill the requirements set forth” in the 2019 grant and had repaid the $394,321 already spent. “Through our efforts, the money is now being returned to the State,” said Byrd. “The Legislature will determine the best use of these monies to honor the memory of the victims.”
The announcement did not address the $680,000 grant allocated in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of State told Orlando Weekly over email they "will be in touch."
OnePulse spokesperson Scott Bowman did return Orlando Weekly’s request for comment on this.
The dissolution of OnePulse followed a string of controversies surrounding the organization, its founder Barbara Poma, and the stunning lack of progress made on a project that was purportedly in the works for over seven years.
The museum concept was already controversial among some survivors and victims' family members, many of whom don’t reside locally. Survivors have accused OnePulse in the past of profiting off their pain, and had called on the organization to shut down and give up on the museum, which they worried would make a spectacle of the tragedy.
At this point, they’ve seemingly succeeded, although calls remain for a third-party investigation into the former club owners for code violations at the property and a forensic audit of the OnePulse Foundation. As of Dec. 31, 2022, the nonprofit had millions of dollars in assets. Bowman told Orlando Weekly in early January they're also "actively exploring" ways to transfer the nonprofit's scholarship program (and funds earmarked for that) to another nonprofit organization.
The city of Orlando, which has also been accused by a coalition of survivors of giving cover to the former nightclub owners, is pursuing its own memorial project for Pulse survivors and victims. The city purchased the former club property from its three owners in October with plans to build a permanent memorial at the site.
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