A Tacoma nonprofit’s leader sought $50,000 for her private consultancy from a pool of taxpayer funds given to the nonprofit to award to small businesses and organizations, state records show.
The proposed award to RISE LWP, a business founded by Tacoma Urban League CEO Desireé Wilkins Finch, was determined last summer to be a conflict of interest by the Washington State Department of Commerce because the award stemmed from the Tacoma Urban League.
“During our normal course of business, Commerce discovered there was a conflict present in the proposed award list from the Tacoma Urban League,” department spokesperson Amelia Lamb said in a statement on Feb. 23. “We determined Desireé Wilkins Finch’s business was ineligible for funding since she was the CEO and contract signer. As a result, no funds were awarded to this business.”…