onePULSE Foundation moves to dissolve organization

ORLANDO, Fla. — The onePULSE Foundation just announced that the organization will dissolve.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

The trustees said they made the decision after a vote Tuesday night.

The foundation said unanticipated challenges of the last few years impacted their fundraising efforts.

Watch: Orange County says onePULSE Foundation violated TDT agreement

At the same time, more than 160 Pulse shooting survivors and victims’ families are demanding a third-party audit into the onePULSE Foundation.

It comes after Orange County sent a letter claiming the foundation violated an agreement on Tourist Development Tax funds.

Watch: OnePULSE Foundation scraps museum plans worth $6.5 million of Orange County funding

The county claims onePULSE entered into agreements, without its approval, to lease part of the Pulse property to another company.

Now, people want answers on how exactly the TDT money was used.

Watch: Orlando mayor shares thoughts on city’s proposal to buy Pulse nightclub property

The onePULSE Foundation released the following statement Wednesday morning:

“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. We developed an ambitious agenda to fulfill these mandates and received positive support both locally and globally.

Unfortunately, best intentions are not enough. 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.

These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation.

We are offering the City of Orlando and Orange County access to all existing planning and design materials and all the valuable work over our six years of working with those so deeply affected by the Pulse tragedy. We hope to transfer our marquee programs and events like the 49 Legacy Scholarship program and CommUNITY Rainbow Run to other willing organizations.

Throughout this process, we will continue to answer questions and offer complete transparency on our activities and financial information.”

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2023 Cox Media Group