Non-Profit Group Created By Trump Allies Gave Away Cash At Event For Black Voters

An event organized by one of President Donald Trump‘s prominent African-American allies last month in Cleveland praised Trump administration policies, while handing out cash prizes.

Organizers with the charity group, the Urban Revitalization Coalition, handed out thousands of dollars of cash stuffed in envelopes for a “Christmas Extravaganza” event advertised as a “$25,000 Cash Giveaway.”

According to Cleveland.com, the money was given away in increments of $300 to $1,000. The event was free to attend and open to the general public, although organizers planned to bring in residents of low-income housing facilities.

The CEO of the charity, Darrell Scott, is a Cleveland-based pastor and White House adviser currently serving as a board member of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump.

In an interview, Scott said that his organization was nonpartisan and separate from the Trump campaign. He acknowledged that there was some talk about Trump administration policies that have benefited black communities.

“We talked about the country,” Scott said. “We said there are a number of things that are benefiting black America right now. For instance, criminal justice reform.”

A Trump campaign official told The New York Times that the event was not “affiliated with or sanctioned by” the campaign. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee also confirmed it was not associated with it.

“We gave away turkeys at Thanksgiving, we gave away a great amount of toys around Christmas,” Scott said. “We couldn’t think of a better thing to do with Christmas than to help people with cash.”

in 2018, the Urban Revitalization Coalition was given a $238,000 grant from America First, the main super PAC supporting Trump’s re-election campaign. At that time, the super PAC was lead by Tommy Hicks Jr., who now serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.