ORLANDO, Fla. – Tax documents collected by News 6 on Tuesday reveal that high-ranking members of the onePulse Foundation received pay increases — even as the community continues to wait for a memorial site to commemorate the lives lost in the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting.
According to onePulse, its mission is to “create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes and legacy scholarships that open doors.”
It was created following the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting that took the lives of 49 people as a way to provide resources for the community and establish a memorial site to honor the victims.
However, more than seven years later, that memorial has yet to be built.
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The nonprofit’s 2022 tax returns show that there were major pay increases for several of its members, including Barbara Poma, the nightclub’s owner who stepped down from her position earlier this year. Her income increased to $249,580, which is a 147% jump from the previous year.
Meanwhile, other positions received the following levels of salary:
- Scott Bowman — Chief Communications Officer: $151,986 (40% increase)
- Scott Jackson — Chief Marketing Officer: $152,303 (40% increase)
- Claudia Mason — Chief Financial Officer: $156,614 (33% increase)
- Earl Mowatt — Education Vice President: $109,870 (onePulse has not provided figures for Mowatt’s previous salary)
- DeBorah Bowie — Executive Director: $95,376 (new position)
Executives from OnePulse Foundation have contacted News 6 to insist the increases should not be considered a raise, as no staff members will be receiving these payments next year.
In an emailed response to News 6 about the salary increases, Bowman said, “All staff showing increases took pay cuts ranging from 20-50% during COVID-19 due to significant drops in revenue. The foundation applied for and received COVID-19 relief money - ERTC - to assist organizations in repaying staff for the pay cuts. These adjustments were made toward restoring the salary cuts due to the pandemic.”
ERTC stands for Employee Retention Tax Credit, which is used to encourage employers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to keep employees on payroll.
You can read more about onePulse’s 2021-2022 Financial Statement by clicking here.
Bowie said salaries reset to their previous rates for 2023 plus a 3% cost of living increase.
Additionally, Sara Brady, who represents Poma, told News 6 that Poma had taken a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic — of nearly 50% at one point — being among the last employees to have their salaries restored.
“Her cut was actually extended six months past other employees; I believe that she was the last one to have her salary restored,” Brady wrote. “The idea was to make employees whole after the cuts during that time period.”
According to the documents, there were only 18 people employed by the nonprofit in 2022, with over 300 volunteers. The 2022 form also shows that the nonprofit increased its spending on salaries and other employee compensation by roughly $30,000.
This comes after the organization received approximately $2.2 million in contributions and grants in 2022, with that figure being over $4.5 million in the previous year, the records show.
However, the documents exhibit that the group increased its spending on grants went up by roughly $90,000 within the same timeframe, while its total expenses lowered by more than $400,000. Despite that, onePulse reported operating at a total loss of $720,279 in 2022.
OnePulse states in the tax form that its board of trustees chose to revisit the group’s original designs for the memorial site due to the “post-pandemic climate,” citing issues with higher construction costs, scarcity of materials and supply chain disruptions.
“The foundation is currently in the beginning stages of discussion about a new design that will lead to planning, design and development and as such, does not have updated information available at this time,” the group’s program service reads.
Despite the lack of progress on the group’s memorial project, the tax forms show that onePulse scholarships were provided to 49 recipients — a reference to the number of victims killed in the 2016 shooting. Those grants accounted for around $285,000.
The group also reported hosting a series of short-film screenings and an annual remembrance symposium aimed at tackling a range of different social issues. The annual remembrance ceremony was valued at approximately $390,000, the tax forms show.
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