Washington State is threatening to refer Stacey Abrams's New Georgia Project for prosecution unless it clarifies what became of its $18.5 million bankroll in 2021. But even that isn’t motivating the embattled charity to open its books.
On Tuesday, Washington’s secretary of state ordered the New Georgia Project to "immediately cease" all fundraising activities until it renews its charitable solicitation license in the state. To do so, New Georgia Project would have to disclose top-line financial information from its 2021 Form 990, which was due to the IRS in November. New Georgia Project strategic communications manager Simran Jadavji brushed off the delay, telling the Washington Free Beacon that the charity's staff, "including our accountant, are just now returning to work after a much-deserved break for the holidays."
That excuse likely won't fly with the secretary, who closed out the charity’s registration in the state and threatened to report it to the state’s attorney general and impose fines of up to $2,000 per violation if it continues to solicit funds in Washington. As of this writing, the New Georgia Project is raising funds nationwide through the online fundraising platform ActBlue.
New Georgia Project’s missing IRS financial disclosure would help clarify how the charity went from controlling $18.5 million in assets at the end of 2020 to having to dismiss half its leadership team in October 2022 because of a lack of funds. The voter registration group, which was founded by Abrams in 2013 and once helmed by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.), fired its top financial officer in June after the official said he couldn’t do his job without violating the law, a former executive of the charity told the Free Beacon.
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