Baltimore nonprofit raises millions for the needy, while its checkbook enables city officials to spend with little oversight

The Baltimore Sun reports:

A few times a week, Lenwood M. Ivey leaves his small office on the ninth floor of the Equitable Building and strolls the two blocks to the city Finance Department to sign checks drawn up by a city clerk. As president of the Baltimore City Foundation, he puts his name behind several million dollars each year for programs that the city identifies as worthy.

The foundation - a private nonprofit formed in 1981 to raise money, primarily to benefit city programs for the underprivileged - helps pay for projects such as a summer jobs program for youths, funeral expenses for homicide victims and home smoke alarms for the needy. But city officials also have turned to it to pay for expenses such as an ice sculpture and skating rink for Mayor Sheila Dixon's inauguration and to skirt competitive bidding for design of a visitors center at Cylburn Arboretum.

A Baltimore Sun investigation, including a review of thousands of foundation documents issued since 2002, reveals the little-known organization as a source of money on demand with almost no oversight. City officials wield broad discretion over how the money is spent, and the foundation asks few questions.

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