The founder and CEO of a prominent racial justice nonprofit in Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday that he will continue to lead the organization after having been placed on leave last week over unspecified allegations.
Cameron Whitten, who started Brown Hope in 2018, made the announcement after the group's three-person board, which includes Whitten, held their first meeting in at least 14 months Wednesday, according to OregonLive.
"The Board of Directors met last night and voted to reaffirm my role as active CEO of [Brown Hope]," Whitten said in a statement. "It is impossible to provide a detailed explanation to the recent media articles, as they involve confidential personnel matters."
"I can confirm that our third party legal and human resources staff is working with the Board of Directors to ensure a fair and thorough investigation process," Whitten added.
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"To be honest—I return to work a bit shaken, a little bruised. But most importantly, I am inspired by the outpouring of support as community members and Brown Hope staff rallied in defense of justice and due process," Whitten also said.
Gregory McKelvy, who serves as board president of Brown Hope, announced last week to employees and press that both Whitten and Dahsia Fontleroy, the third board member, had been placed on leave amid allegations he did not detail. He also announced that he was serving as the organization's new interim president.
In his Thursday announcement, Whitten explained that the board had voted Wednesday to add two new members and reaffirm him as CEO, as well as reinstate Fontleroy and make her interim president.
In addition to their internal probe, the Oregon Department of Justice, which has oversight over the state's nonprofits, announced that it was also opening an investigation into Brown Hope.
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Oregon DOJ spokesperson Ellen Klem told OregonLive on Monday that the agency’s Charitable Activities Section is preparing to look into the group in the coming days.
Klem also told the outlet that the organization did not provide its 2021 tax filings by Nov. 15 as required by state law.
"I wouldn’t say that’s common," she said. "But I also wouldn’t say it raises any huge alarms."
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Brown Hope's mission, according to its website, "is planting and nurturing seeds for racial justice and healing. We serve and mobilize communities in order to heal our collective soil from the poisons of our past and present, so our future roots can thrive."
Projects include empowering Portland’s Black community through social gatherings, mutual aid, job training at a local bakery, COVID outreach and supplying a three-year guaranteed monthly basic income for 25 Black individuals.
Brown Hope has found itself flush with cash in recent years, especially in the wake of George Floyd's death, pulling in more than $3 million over a six-month period in 2020, according to Williamette Week. More than $800,000 of its money in 2020 came in the form of government grants, according to filings.
That number marked a steep jump from the $39,000 it reported in 2018, and the total lack of revenue it reported in 2019, the outlet noted.
Brown Hope and the Oregon DOJ did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
