Critics say the foundation’s mission is vague, leaving questions about how taxpayer dollars will be used
By: Steph Quinn
Missouri Independent
A $250,000 earmark in Missouri’s budget for a nonprofit founded by former Gov. Mike Parson — including money drawn from a federal program designed to help low-income families — raised red flags for Democratic lawmakers Wednesday, who questioned how and why the money was requested by the executive branch.
The nonprofit, The 57 Foundation, takes its name from Parson’s tenure as Missouri’s 57th governor. In federal tax filings, the organization says its mission is to “provide a facility to educate the public on the history of Gov. Parson’s life and administration.”
The filings also describe plans for “straightforward charitable giving” aimed at helping “only those who are inadequately able to help themselves.”
Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proposed budget directs $125,000 in general revenue and another $125,000 from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, to the foundation. Beyond a brief description that the group provides “essential resources and support” to Missourians in need, the budget offers no details on how the money would be used.
“I find it really hard to believe that the nonprofit that is best situated to serve the constituents of Missouri just happens to be the former governor,” said state Rep. Betsy Fogle of Springfield, ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
State lawmakers repeatedly asked staff from the Missouri Department of Social Services about criteria used to identify organizations to receive funding or cuts. Staff said that for The 57 Foundation, they only have the description included in Kehoe’s proposed budget.
Gabby Picard, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office, quoted that description in an email to The Independent and said the budget recommendation is not intended to fund a gubernatorial library.
Some lawmakers queried other funding recommendations affecting organizations located in their districts and expressed displeasure when department staff were unable to provide explanations of spending recommendations.
Much of their scrutiny concerned Missouri’s proposed use of TANF funds. Federal law requires states to use the federal funds to help low-income families meet basic needs — namely, through a cash assistance program and employment and training services mandated for recipients. States can decide how to use the rest of the funding, though programs they fund must further TANF goals.
Democratic State Rep. Raychel Proudie of Ferguson told The Independent that the earmark for The 57 Foundation is an example of a lack of oversight of how taxpayer dollars are spent.
“It doesn’t appear that our departments are doing due diligence when they are appropriating these funds,” Proudie said. “They’re getting the money out the door, but not in a way that meets the needs of the community.”
Proudie said it is ultimately lawmakers’ responsibility to prevent fraud and wasteful spending.
“It’s on us, first and foremost, and secondarily, it’s on these state departments,” Proudie said.
The 57 Foundation was created in the waning months of Parson’s final term as governor in 2024. Its president is Tom Burcham, a former Republican state lawmaker from Farmington who also serves as treasurer for the political action committee created to boost Parson’s 2020 gubernatorial campaign, Uniting Missouri.
After Parson won a full term in 2020, the PAC shifted from supporting his political career to largely paying for his travel — including spending around $120,000 for Parson’s trips to watch the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 and 2024 Super Bowls.
Uniting Missouri also donated $100,000 to support Kehoe’s run for governor in 2024. Parson appointed Kehoe lieutenant governor in 2018.
An email to The 57 Foundation seeking comment was not returned on Wednesday.
Social Services Director Jess Bax said her agency will provide lawmakers with additional information and that the department supports Kehoe’s recommendations.
“The governor had to make really tough decisions in a budget year where we don’t have enough funding,” Bax said. “So we do support his recommendations.”
Democratic State Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins of St. Louis pressed department staff about their stance on blanket support for Kehoe’s recommendations, asking why The 57 Foundation is worthy of state funding.
“What is it about this particular item that you support, to support the health and well-being of children and families?” Collins asked.
The department’s chief financial officer, Patrick Luebbering, said his team worked with the Office of Administration to identify areas to reduce funding. He added that when little information is available about an organization, the department relies on the governor’s judgment.
“The governor is our boss, and we trust him,” Luebbering said. “Items like these, even though we don’t have all the information, we assume that what he’s doing is right.”
Republican State Rep. Darin Chappell of Rogersville, chair of the House appropriations subcommittee covering social services, said “the fiscal accountability that we’re asking of the departments is fair and right.” And he encouraged lawmakers to come to him with feedback about Kehoe’s budget recommendations and to make the case for organizations they see as deserving state appropriations.
“It warms the cockles of my heart to hear the bipartisan support for the very principles of budgeting that I’ve been screaming about for three years,” Chappell said.
State lawmakers insisted on asking their questions about funding recommendations in the public hearing even if department staff didn’t have the answers on hand.
Fogle said she has been “frustrated” in her six years on the committee about the difficulty of getting answers from departments about budget recommendations.
“I do expect,” Fogle said, “if the department is going to support the governor’s recommendations, that they can answer baseline questions about the things that they’re requesting funds for.”
Collins said to Bax that she doesn’t think some of the organizations that would receive funding in the proposed budget are helping Missourians in need.
“I am in all of these meetings, and some of these organizations we’ve never even heard of,” Collins said. “We’ve never seen them lift up [anyone]…. And so I just find it jaw-dropping that you all are stating that we support the governor’s recommendations, but you don’t know what some of these organizations do. That’s heartbreaking.”