Hope Florida Foundation

What the records show

• Describes itself as a direct support organization established by the Florida Department of Children and Families, separate from the Hope Florida state program. (Hope Florida Foundation, “Who We Are”, Oct. 18, 2026)
• Tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), EIN 93-3379025, exemption granted October 2023. Its return for the year ended June 2025 reports $11,187,210 in revenue and $10,444,201 in expenses; for the year ended June 2024, $850,053 in revenue. Officers were unpaid. (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (IRS filings), “Hope Florida Foundation, EIN 93-3379025”, Oct. 18, 2026)
• Received $10 million from Centene by wire on Oct. 4, 2024, under Florida's $67,048,611 Medicaid overbilling settlement; the state received $57,048,611. (Florida First District Court of Appeal, “In re: Leon County Grand Jury Presentment, Fall of 2025, No. 1D2026-2435 (copy via WFLA)”, Oct. 7, 2026)
• Its board approved a $5 million grant to Secure Florida's Future on Oct. 14, 2024, and its chair, Joshua Hay, approved a second $5 million grant to Save Our Society From Drugs on Oct. 18 without a board vote. The two nonprofits then gave $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, the political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, then the governor's chief of staff. (CBS News Miami, “Grand jury finds DeSantis administration "misappropriated" $10 million in taxpayer money to Hope Florida”, Aug. 26, 2026)
• Hay, then the board chair, testified under oath to a Florida House subcommittee on April 15, 2025, and acknowledged that mistakes were made. (CBS News Miami, “Hope Florida Foundation chair admits mistakes were made; lawmakers demand answers”, April 16, 2025)
• A Leon County grand jury found in January 2026 that the $10 million was misappropriated for political purposes but charged no one. The First District Court of Appeal ordered that report expunged on Oct. 7, 2026, holding among other things that the money was never public money. (Florida First District Court of Appeal, “In re: Leon County Grand Jury Presentment, Fall of 2025, No. 1D2026-2435 (copy via WFLA)”, Oct. 7, 2026)
• The Legislature defunded the state's Office of Hope Florida in its 2025 budget. (Florida Politics, “Budget conference: Hope Florida”, June 26, 2025)

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