Baltimore Severs Ties with BOPA Following Financial Struggles and Funding Transparency Issues

The contractual ties between Baltimore City and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts (BOPA)—a linchpin in organizing prominent city events like Artscape—have been severed following a vote by the city’s Board of Estimates. This move comes as BOPA grapples with financial hurdles, including an impending deficit predicted to reach approximately $650,000 by the year’s end, as reported by

CBS News Baltimore

.

In frustration at the Board meeting, BOPA CEO Rachel D. Graham recently stated that the organization has been operating “too much with too little for too long,” with substantial financial obligations and minimal resources to uphold its activities. Her arrival at BOPA was greeted with an unforeseen fiscal quagmire. “When I came into the organization, I realized and found out that there had not been a reconciliation of our books since June of 2023,” Graham disclosed in a statement reported by

CBS News Baltimore

.

Graham and BOPA faced additional pressure when the Baltimore City Council previously withheld $1.7 million in funding, citing concerns with its board. The fiscal scrutiny intensified following an external audit by Marcum LLP, a consulting firm hired to reconcile BOPA’s finances, which revealed financial complications dating back to at least 2019. Despite ongoing struggles and layoffs, BOPA had hoped to maintain its municipal partnership with support from the arts community, including a petition backed by over 80 artists, according to

WBALTV

.

However, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott highlighted the city’s demand for transparency and responsible use of taxpayer money as a critical factor in the decision. “My job is to make sure that the money — taxpayer money — that Baltimoreans entrust is to be spent in an appropriate way,” Scott asserted, as recounted by

WBALTV

. The significance of BOPA’s demise is anticipated to resonate throughout the arts community, with the Mayor’s office noting the necessity to strategize on transitioning and continuing arts support post-BOPA.

After a tenure marked by fiscal challenges and operational difficulties, BOPA will face the impending conclusion of its city-sponsored activities, set to cease with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade. With BOPA determined to persist as an independent 501c3 arts advocacy organization, the aftermath of the city’s final vote signals a turning point for both BOPA and Baltimore’s broader cultural landscape and raises questions about the future of arts funding and administration in the city.

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