onePulse Foundation shutting down after Pulse memorial plans, fundraising stumble

ORLANDO, Fla. - onePULSE Foundation trustees have voted to dissolve the organization amid its faltering plans to create a memorial to honor the 49 victims in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. 

"We have been challenged by unexpected and definitive events, among them the inability to secure a full donation of the Pulse nightclub site from the property owners and a global pandemic that brought with it critical limits and many unanticipated consequences, that ultimately impacted our fundraising efforts," the statement said. "These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation."

News of the foundation's dissolution comes after onePULSE announced it would give up on its plan to build a multi-million-dollar museum. Last month, the nonprofit organization said it would give the $3.5 million property back to the county, but said the $3 million already spent on design can't be recovered. 

"Like a lot of people, I had hope in the onePulse Foundation's stated goal. They made a lot of promises to our community, and I was looking forward to seeing what we could create that would honor the people who were stolen from us," said Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf. "As we talk about what we want honoring the legacies of the 49 and others to look like, that it includes taking care of the people in the community that still need our support."
 

"In the aftermath of the Pulse tragedy, a group of volunteers came together in our grief as Trustees to form the onePULSE Foundation. Our vision was to honor the 49 lives taken, survivors and first responders, and to permanently preserve the site of the tragedy," a spokesperson for the organization said Wednesday. "We developed an ambitious agenda to fulfill these mandates and received positive support both locally and globally. Unfortunately, best intentions are not enough."

The foundation also said it would not be giving back any individual donations they've received over the years. 

"The Foundation has never had a plan to return funds to individual donors, as those gifts have already been used appropriately, whether they were restricted or unrestricted gifts," a spokesperson told FOX 35 News. 

"The most important thing is that all the assets of that foundation have to be accounted for and have to be transferred to another nonprofit organization, another 501(c)3, there can be no lingering assets or debts owed with that foundation," said Orlando attorney Albert Yonfa. "Until the foundation files their 990-PF tax form, we won't know where the assets, any leftover monies, will be going."

Yonfa added that the moment the foundation was created and took in money, that money became the "province of the public." 

"It belongs to the public," Yonfa said.

Last week, onePULSE Foundation Executive Director Deborah Bowie resigned from her position, nearly a year and a half after being appointed. 

At the time of her appointment, the foundation said they eliminated the CEO position and created the executive director position "to best position onePULSE for maximum success during this period and beyond."