More than two years after the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, victims and their families say they are still searching for answers — not only about how to recover from the violence that shattered their lives, but about how millions of dollars donated in the tragedy’s aftermath were ultimately spent.
The October 25, 2023, shooting at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, prompting an outpouring of national sympathy and charitable giving. In response, the Maine Community Foundation established the Lewiston–Auburn Area Response Fund to collect and distribute donations tied to the attack.
The foundation later reported raising about $6.6 million, distributing roughly $4.7 million directly to 162 victims, survivors and family members. Another $1.9 million was awarded to 29 nonprofit organizations through a separate “broad recovery” fund intended to support longer-term community needs.
It is that nonprofit portion of the donations and the lack of public clarity about how the money was used, that has increasingly drawn scrutiny.
Steering committee and nonprofit grants
Distribution of the nonprofit funds was guided by a steering committee convened by the foundation. Subsequent reporting showed that several committee members were affiliated with organizations that later received grants from the fund, a structure that raised concerns among some survivors and donors about transparency and potential conflicts of interest, even as state officials said no laws were violated.
Public records and prior reporting indicate that none of the nonprofits receiving money through the broad recovery fund were direct sites of the Lewiston shooting or were physically affected by the attack. All organizational funding came from the community recovery track, not from the victims-and-families fund.
Outreach yields few answers
On Monday, December 23, this reporter contacted the Maine Community Foundation in their Portland office and was told to reach out to their communications manager, so a email was sent asking if any conflict-of-interest clause have been installed in the companies’ procedures going forward. As publication, there was no answer, but a phone call and an email indicating they needed more time to answer the very simple question.
Seven nonprofit organizations that received Lewiston shooting funds, seeking basic information on how the money was spent, including program details and use of the grants. Tuesday December 23, I visited seven nonprofit locations in Lewiston and got no answers from any of them on the money they received was used or how it benefited the community.
The nonprofits contacted included United Way of Androscoggin County, Gateway Community Services, Somali Bantu Community Association, Tree Street Youth, Tri-County Mental Health Services and other listed in the picture below.
Non-Profits that received funds raised for victims
Gateway under heightened scrutiny
One of the nonprofits that received Lewiston shooting funds, Gateway Community Services, is now facing increased scrutiny unrelated to the shooting donations themselves.
State officials have accused Gateway of significantly overbilling MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has suspended payments to the organization following audit findings, and the matter has been referred for further review.
The controversy has expanded beyond Maine. Congressman James Comer (R), chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, has requested financial records related to Gateway as part of a broader federal inquiry into potential misuse of public funds. The committee’s involvement has placed Gateway under a national oversight spotlight and intensified questions about how both taxpayer and charitable dollars have been handled.
Governor silent amid growing questions
As scrutiny has intensified over the handling of Lewiston shooting donations and the role of nonprofit recipients, Governor Janet Mills (D) has not publicly commented on the situation.
The governor’s office has not announced any state-level investigation into the distribution of the nonprofit portion of the Lewiston–Auburn Area Response Fund, nor has Mills addressed questions about the steering committee process or the concerns raised by victims, families and donors.
The absence of public comment or action from the administration has led some survivors, advocates and observers to question why the state has not taken a more visible role in reviewing the fund’s administration, particularly as some recipient nonprofits now face unrelated but heightened scrutiny over alleged misuse of public funds. This growing controversy will cloud her campaign for U.S. Senate in the new year.
Ongoing frustration among victims
For families still coping with the aftermath of the shooting, the lack of clear, public accounting has compounded the harm of the attack itself. Many continue to face ongoing medical treatment, permanent injuries, lost income and long-term mental health challenges more than two years later.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office has said it found no legal violations in how the response fund was administered. Critics argue that legality alone does not resolve questions about transparency, ethics or whether donor expectations were met.
More than two years after the gunfire stopped, victims and their families say the wounds have not healed and unanswered questions about how money raised in their name was used have become another source of pain in a tragedy that continues to reverberate across Maine.
