Bmore Empowered is a Baltimore-based organization focused on community programs for African-American women It is funded by several left-of-center organizations including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Bmore Empowered was founded in 2017 by Nazaahah Amin and Kieta Iriarte as an organization that provides programs and services to Black girls and women in Baltimore, Maryland. ⁴ It organizes workshops, trainings, and gatherings focused on wellness and entrepreneurship and fiscally sponsors small Baltimore-based organizations. ⁵

Programs

The Girls Empowerment Summer Camp is a three-week summer camp for African-American girls. ⁶ Bmore Empowered organizes after-school yoga therapy workshops and quarterly workshops that include a yoga session and a hands-on craft. ⁷

In 2023, it established a Women’s Business Cohort for 10 Baltimore-based Black women who are in the ideation phase of business creation. It is a 6-month program which culminates with a grant of $2,000 to support new startup businesses. ⁸

Bmore Empowered has a fiscal sponsorship program that provides administrative and accounting support to eligible organizations in Baltimore City. The program enables supported projects to receive tax-deductible donations through Bmore Empowered’s tax-exempt status. Sponsored organizations are small Baltimore-based organizations including several Judy Center Early Learning Hubs and Baltimore Brothers, which provides support to young Black men. ⁹

Funding

Bmore Empowered lists its sponsors on its website, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, B’More Invested, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Family League of Baltimore, #1Billion4BlackGirls, Schwab Charitable Fund, and the Tides Foundation. ¹ The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a “Baltimore-based grantmaking organization that primarily donates to left-of-center causes.” ¹⁰

Additional donors include the Fund for Education Excellence, the United Way of Central Maryland, Rockefeller Philanthropy, Charities Aid Foundation, American Online Giving Foundation, and Alliance for Open Society International. ¹¹

In 2023, Bmore Empowered received a Black Girls Freedom Fund grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. ²

Open Society Foundations (OSF) granted Bmore Empowered $175,000 in 2022 under the name of the Alliance for Open Society International. It gave another $175,000 in 2023. ^{12 3}

Open Society Foundations is a large philanthropy founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The Alliance for Open Society International was also known as Open Society Institute – Baltimore. It was OSF‘s only field office in the United States and focused on disrupting the “long-standing legacy of structural racism in Baltimore.” It supported Baltimore for 25 years and closed in February 2023. As part of its transition, OSF granted $10 million toward legacy projects including CLLCTIVLY, a grantmaking organization focused on “Black power-building and movement-based organizations in Baltimore” that also supports Bmore Empowered. ^{13 14}

Leadership

Kieta Iriarte is the co-founder and executive director of Bmore Empowered. Iriarte earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Towson University and a certificate in nonprofit management from Georgetown University. She was a grant manager for the Baltimore City Public Schools for over 11 years then founded Mpolo, which provides coaching and consulting to nonprofit organizations. ^{15 16}

Nazaahah Amin is the co-founder and program director of Bmore Empowered. She earned a master’s degree in yoga therapy from the Maryland University of Integrative Health and is a certified yoga instructor. She has held several positions as a yoga instructor and yoga therapist and founded Ama Wellness which provides yoga therapy for Black girls. ^{17 18}

Kim Loper is the Bmore Empowered board chair. Loper is a graphic designer and education director for the American Institute of Graphic Arts. In 2017, she was an Open Society Institute fellow. ^{19 20}

Controversies

According to the local Baltimore media outlet Baltimore Brew, Bmore Empowered has minimalist programming but a large amount of revenue, and it is unclear where its funding goes. The organization’s officers do not directly report their compensation in tax filings. According to the article, the officers are paid through a “fees for services” pot of money. ²¹

In July 2023, Bmore Empowered received a $50,000 BOOST (Black Owned-and-Operated Storefront Tenancy) grant from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to help it relocate to a vacant storefront, and it received a December 2022 grant of $25,000 from the city government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act allocation from the federal government. Bmore Empowered’s operations director Hana Pugh, who joined the organization in December 2022, was at the time reported to be the girlfriend of Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D). Fox Baltimore described this as the “latest example of people close to leaders inside City Hall receiving funding for organizations.” ²²

1. “About.” Bmore Empowered. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/about/
2. Jennifer R. Farmer. “Black Women’s History Month: Meet 7 Black Women Powering Change In Maryland.” Newsone. April 2, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://newsone.com/4551071/black-womens-history-month-baltimore/
3. “Awarded Grants.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=bmore+empowered
4. “Bmore Empowered ‘Building wealth, wellness and wisdom through sisterhood’.” WEAA The Voice of the Community. September 23, 2021. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.weaa.org/local-news/2021-09-23/bmore-empowered-building-wealth-wellness-and-wisdom-through-sisterhood
5. Bmore Empowered homepage. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/
6. “Girls Empowerment Summer Camp.” Bmore Empowered – Programs. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/summercamp/
7. “Our Programs.” Bmore Empowered. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/our-programs/
8. “Women’s Business Cohort.” Bmore Empowered. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/womens-business-cohort/
9. “Fiscal Sponsorships.” Bmore Empowered. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/fiscal-sponsorship-program/
10. Patrick Hauf. “Meet the liberal megadonors funding Baltimore non-profits through fiscal sponsors.” Fox Baltimore. December 11, 2024. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/meet-the-liberal-megadonors-funding-baltimore-non-profits-through-fiscal-sponsors-open-society-foundations-annie-e-casey-foundation-bmore-empowered-city-politics-spotlight-on-maryland
11. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search – Bmore Empowered. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&q=bmore+empowered&sort=best&submit=Apply
12. Alliance For Open Society International Inc. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2022.
13. “OSF to close OSI-Baltimore after 25 years; will invest $20 million to seed the future of social justice philanthropy.” OSI Baltimore. February 16, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.osibaltimore.org/2023/02/osf-to-close-osi-baltimore-after-25-years-will-invest-20-million-to-seed-the-future-of-social-justice-philanthropy/
14. “Directory.” CLLCTIVLY. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://cllctivly.org/organizations/?postType=listing&postsPerPage=15&offset=3
15. LinkedIn – Kieta Iriarte. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieta-iriarte-3a2a51260/
16. “What We Do.” MPOLO. Accessed December 11, 2024. http://mpolobusiness.com/services/
17. LinkedIn – Nazaahah Amin. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazaahahamin/
18. AMA Wellness website. Accessed December 11, 2024. http://amawellness.com/
19. “Kim Loper.” Bmore Empowered – Our Board. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://bmoreempowered.org/board-kim-loper/
20. LinkedIn – Kim Loper. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-loper-5a30253b/
21.  Mark Reutter. “Mayor Scott’s girlfriend works for a nonprofit that spends little of its stated mission.” Baltimore Brew. July 19, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2023/07/19/mayor-scotts-girlfriend-works-for-a-nonprofit-that-spends-little-on-its-stated-purpose/
22. Mikenzie Frost. “Questions arise over timing of city grant for nonprofit run by mayor’s partner.” Fox Baltimore. July 17, 2023. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/questions-arise-over-timing-of-city-grant-for-nonprofit-run-by-mayors-partner