State Auditor's Office Launches Nonprofit Spending Dashboard JACKSON, Miss. – Today, State Auditor Shad White announced the launch of a new Nonprofit Spending Dashboard on the Auditor’s website. This powerful transparency tool shows Mississippi state agencies have paid nonprofit organizations over $4.2 billion in taxpayer dollars since July of 2020. “State government spends more of your money on nonprofits than paying off the state’s debt,” said State Auditor Shad White. “Before we started working on this project, no one in state government could tell us how much money was given to nonprofits. Mississippians have every right to know exactly where their hard-earned tax dollars are sent, and now they can see it for themselves.” The Office of the State Auditor previously uncovered the following examples of money paid to nonprofits by Mississippi state agencies: • The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity was given $17,380.19 for hosting a “Queerceanera.” Of that, they spent $327.36 on Bud Light and Coronita beer, $2,500 on gift cards for “Queerceanera” attendees, and $14,126.84 on the venue, food, supplies, DJ, photographer, and travel for the event. They also paid $137.79 for five Lyft rideshares in New York City at 10:12 pm and 4:08 am on 4-5 March 2023, which included a two-hour stop at “the longest running lesbian bar in the country,” and $82.50 for dinner at a “restaurant in Baltimore” despite the receipt address being for a tobacco/vape store. • Love Inside for Everyone (LIFE, Inc) was given $4,000 to cover rental fees for a nightclub (run by the nonprofit’s director) to host monthly “diva brunches.” Over $90,000 was spent with no receipts or supporting documentation provided to the Department of Health funds to host Gay Pride Weekend in Jackson in 2023 • Love Me Unlimited 4 Life was given over $140,000, which they spent entirely on salaries with a requirement to hire people who identify “as Gender Non-Conformant (GNC), Aged 17-34 that are People with HIV (PWH), members of the LGBTQIA community, and/or at risk for acquiring HIV.” • My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) spent $7,000 on “incentive” gift cards reimbursed to MBK despite the Health Department not having any documentation showing whether these gift cards were distributed appropriately. Nearly $45,000 was spent on meal subscriptions, upscale grocery store gift cards, and gym memberships reimbursed to MBK despite the Health Department not having documentation showing whether these were appropriate expenditures. • The Juanita Sims Doty Foundation received over $2.4 million from the Department of Human Services that flowed from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. IRS records show the Executive Director of the nonprofit was paid $106,050 in 2022 and $118,447 in 2023. The Juanita Sims Doty Foundation website features the Executive Director’s philosophy that “one cannot make a good choice when historically, both choices end badly for people of color” as the basis of its “Racial Equity Work.” Mississippi state agencies paid nonprofits over $650 million in FY 2026, representing an increase from the previous fiscal year. The Nonprofit Spending Dashboard can be found at dev.uat.msi.ms.gov/osa/repor… Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office at any time by clicking the red button at osa.ms.gov or calling 1-(800)-321-1275 during normal business hours. Taxpayers can also email [email protected] to report suspected fraud, waste, or abuse by nonprofits spending taxpayer money.

Did you know that Mississippi owns four golf courses? Did you know Mississippi loses up to $600,000 annually on these golf courses? Our office has uncovered over $400 million in waste. State government needs to cut down on waste and reallocate these wasted dollars towards things that benefit taxpayers the most. Mississippians deserve a state government that works as hard to protect their tax dollars as they do to earn them in the first place.

Research shows higher assistant teacher-per-student ratios in K-12 classrooms improve student performance in math and reading. Despite this, data from the Mississippi Department of Education show at least 500 vacant assistant teacher positions across the state each year since the 2021-2022 school year, likely due to noncompetitive salaries. Other jobs offer higher wages and fewer barriers to entry, making them more attractive to otherwise qualified assistant teacher candidates. The solution is simple: cut runaway outside-the-classroom spending and reinvest those dollars into raising assistant teacher pay above the Southern regional average.

During our analysis of Mississippi’s Child Care Payment Program (CCPP), our analysts noted centers being paid in full while reporting CCPP student attendance rates between 40% and 67%. They also identified anomalous and likely inaccurate reported attendance records, which were ultimately used to justify payments to childcare centers. Our office fights hard to cut out fraud, waste, and abuse in Mississippi, and examples like this are why we will continue to do so.

State Auditor’s Office Arrests Former Guntown Alderman and Former Public Works Operator JACKSON, Miss. – Today, State Auditor Shad White announced the arrest of Former Guntown Alderman William Daniel Davis and his cousin, former Public Works Operator Robert Lee Davis, for alleged fraud or embezzlement in public office. Between October and November 2024, the pair allegedly conspired to defraud the City of Guntown through billing the city for the installation of a residential sewage line at a private residence belonging to Daniel Davis, causing a loss of $9,950. “Our team at the State Auditor’s office has zero tolerance for those who think it is acceptable to steal taxpayer dollars,” said State Auditor Shad White. “We will continue to do everything in our power to find individuals who think they can get away with taking money from the taxpayers of Mississippi.” William Daniel Davis and Robert Lee Davis each face up to 10 years in prison and $5,000 in fines if convicted. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office at any time by clicking the red button at osa.ms.gov or calling 1-(800)-321-1275 during normal business hours.

After noticing that Mississippi had never reported Medicaid payments to illegal aliens despite federal law requiring it, State Auditor @ShadWhite commissioned a report to determine why. This work led to Mississippi’s Division of Medicaid identifying approximately $10.5 million that had been spent on Medicaid for illegal immigrants from 2023 to 2025. Mississippi taxpayers deserve to know where their tax dollars go, and our office will keep reporting it, good or bad.

Until our nonprofit spending analysis in May 2025, government offices in Mississippi couldn’t determine how much taxpayer money was paid to nonprofit organizations, creating an ideal environment for fraud, waste, and abuse. Our report found that state agencies had sent more than $1.2 billion to nonprofit organizations since FY 2023. Our office continues to work diligently to rid our state of fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive spending of taxpayer dollars.

Our office believes that setting the example and practicing what you preach are important in State Government. That is why State Auditor @ShadWhite reduced the amount of money the state general fund allocated to our office from FY 2025 to FY 2026 and kept it the same for FY 2027, saving Mississippi taxpayers almost $1 million. Mississippians deserve an efficient state government that looks out for them by protecting their tax dollars.

In 2024, State Auditor @ShadWhite launched Project Momentum. The Project Momentum report identified 31 agency-specific and several other cross-agency opportunities that could result in over $335 million in savings for Mississippi taxpayers. These savings could help fund strategic investments Mississippi could use to further save taxpayers money. To check out our Project Momentum report, go to our website, select “Audit Reports” under the “Reports” tab, and search “Project Momentum”.

In January, State Auditor @ShadWhite conducted an analysis of Mississippi’s car tag fees. With many Mississippians paying more than $1,000 annually, taxes and fees required to legally operate a vehicle in Mississippi are the second-highest in the United States. By cutting down on waste, state government can prioritize doing what's best with taxpayer dollars—like letting taxpayers keep more in their pockets.

A year ago, State Auditor @ShadWhite announced our partnership with ICE, which allows our agents to be trained and approved by ICE. This allows them to execute functions of immigration enforcement within the state if needed. Our 2024 analysis showed that roughly $100 million of taxpayer funds go to illegal immigrants every year. Our office will combat this in any way we can to protect your tax dollars.

Although inside-the-classroom spending correlates with stronger classroom performance, our 2024 analysis on classroom spending shows the state has prioritized outside-the-classroom spending. It also highlighted that capping outside-the-classroom spending at the national average could result in $144 million available to be spent inside the classroom. If Mississippi policymakers redeployed that $144 million inside classrooms, it could pay for approximately 90,000 new MacBooks, 17 million reams of paper, or send $4,500 annually to each teacher.

From FY 2021 through FY 2025, Mississippi’s state government gave almost $2.79 BILLION to nonprofit organizations. Until our office released a report in May 2025, no Mississippi government office could identify how much taxpayer money had been paid to nonprofit organizations. To promote transparency, accountability, and keep taxpayers informed, we created the nonprofit spending dashboard so you can see where your tax dollars go. You can find the nonprofit spending dashboard on our website under the “Reports” tab.

📢 NOW HIRING: OSA Special Agent - Biloxi The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is seeking a qualified Investigator to join our team in the Biloxi Office. Qualifications: - 60 semester hours of college - State of Mississippi Law Enforcement Professional Certification - 5 years of law enforcement experience 📅 Application Deadline: October 5, 2026 💻Apply here: governmentjobs.com/careers/m…

Our office has recovered more misspent taxpayer money in the last eight years than in any other eight-year period in the history of the State Auditor’s Office. Our office is not slowing down and will continue to be a watchdog over your tax dollars.

Before FFY 2025, Mississippi’s Medicaid program had never reported expenditures on care for illegal immigrants. After identifying this, State Auditor @ShadWhite commissioned an analysis to determine why. Upon further inspection, it was determined that Mississippi’s Medicaid program spent approximately $10.5 million on emergency care for illegal aliens from FFY 2023 to FFY 2025.

In May, our office conducted an analysis of Mississippi’s Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) for FFY 2024. Our analysis showed that 13% (over $315,000) of sampled payments were for days when children receiving CCPP assistance were reported absent. This leaves taxpayers to foot a bill that costs anywhere between $13.8 and $30.9 million for children not attending daycare. The fact that these centers were paid demonstrates an opportunity to improve program operations.

Our office has found government agencies overspending on things like technology, vehicles, travel, and office building insurance. None of these have anything to do with the average taxpayer. If our state agencies correct this overspending, our state government can operate more efficiently and reallocate these funds to improving the lives of taxpayers.