If charitable contributions are redirected to purposes that do not comply with IRS rules, donors might receive tax breaks for which they are not eligible, said Kelin, the expert in nonprofit tax law. If that were discovered, the IRS could revoke a nonprofit's tax-exempt status or force donors to compensate the federal government, he added.
The mayor's Christmas cards
As Dixon neared the one-year anniversary of her election, her staff invoked the "Jewels of Baltimore" inaugural theme to return to the foundation for money. During her inauguration, the theme referred generally to Baltimore's strengths.
In a brief letter to the foundation in September 2008, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, Beatrice L. Tripps, asked that an account be opened to accept contributions for Jewels of Baltimore events the mayor was planning that December. The letter included no description or details about the events, but Tripps enclosed a $17,500 check toward the cost from the M&T Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit arm of M&T Bank. City foundation records show M&T earmarked the money for "Celebrating the Inauguration Jewels of Baltimore."
On Dec. 2, the mayor's office received a $17,282 quote from Uptown Press - nearly identical to the M&T contribution - for printing 30,000 holiday cards that the mayor planned to send to city employees and constituents. When Tripps contacted the foundation two days later, she made it clear how the money from M&T would be spent.
In an e-mail, she told the city finance clerk who handled the Baltimore City Foundation books that a company "will be printing and mailing the Mayor's Christmas cards and we need this deposit as soon as possible so that we can meet the mailing timeline."
Two requests for foundation funds were submitted and would have paid the entire bill. But records show that only a single $8,641 check was drawn from the Jewels of Baltimore account.
Peterson, the mayor's press secretary, said the balance was paid by the mayor's inaugural committee. He said he couldn't explain why the bill was paid from two sources, but he defended the use of money from the nonprofit charity for the holiday cards.
Other mass mailings of holiday cards by politicians have stirred criticism when public funds are involved, because they can be perceived as political in nature.
