Three years after the largest mass shooting in Maine, lawmakers call for an investigation into the victim fund that sent large amounts of money to local nonprofits instead of survivors.
Victims received an email from the Maine Community Foundation defining the fund and assuring “that 100% of all donations go to the victims/survivors of this tragic event.” Donors believed that their money would directly help those harmed.
Maine CF raised more than $6 million, with donors believing their money would be going to victims. However, the Maine Community Foundation ran two funds under its umbrella organization: one for the victims and their families, and another called the “Lewiston-Auburn Area Broad Recovery & Organizations Fund.”
Twenty-nine nonprofits each received $65,000 worth of funding, nine of which exclusively served immigrant communities, including Empowered Immigrant Women Unite, Somali Bantu Community, and Generation Noor. A steering committee composed of volunteers decided where the money went. Conveniently, at least four members of the committee were also representatives of the operations that received contributions from the Lewiston-Auburn Area Broad Recovery & Organizations Fund.
In some cases, the money legitimately disappeared. The AK Collaborative is one such organization- it received $65,000 and then fell out of existence. The website was dismantled and the Facebook page was abandoned in 2024.
Meanwhile, those truly affected by the shooting struggled to stay afloat. Survivors faced towering hospital bills, such as Zanca, who received $32,000, less than half of what unrelated nonprofits got, when charged with a $93,000 hospital bill.
Donors and victims alike felt that the Maine Community Foundation had deceived them. The foundation never explicitly mentioned nonprofits receiving the money, leading donors to believe their contribution was to directly aid survivors. The Maine Attorney General’s office investigated and reported there was “no legal violation under Maine nonprofit or charities law.”
Amy Sussman, a relative of one of the victims, comments on the Attorney General’s findings, “apparently it is not illegal to mislead the survivors and family members.” Sussman now works with VictimsFirst.Org to push for legislation that will better protect victims and their families.
(Related: Maine Home Care Agency Billed $1M in Medicaid Fraud – Portland Post)
