ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia sent subpoenas to 16 Orange County employees this week. He requested all county records relating to six organizations. He alleged some employees hid details of the six grants to these organizations he called “DEI programs.”
“Now there were six grants that were given out for DEI programs. When we started searching the 1.2 million [emails], five of those grants were not mentioned in any of those emails,” Ingoglia said in a press conference on Wednesday.
The subpoena lists the six organizations that received grants.
Orange County provided the amount awarded to each organization per contract.
- Black History Project: awarded up to $100,000 over two years
- Central Florida Urban League: awarded up to $200,000 over two years
- Zebra Youth: awarded up to $750,000 over three contracts spanning seven years
- Caribbean Community Connections of Orlando, Inc.: awarded up to $100,000 over two years
- Orlando Youth Alliance, Inc: awarded up to $75,000 over two years
- Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice and Security, Inc.: awarded up to $200,000 over two years
“We have trained so many communities. We don’t care about race, ethnicity, or gender,” said Jeremy Levitt, president of the Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice and Security, Inc.
The program offers de-escalation training for youth if law enforcement stops them.
Though the county awarded Stono Institute up to $100,000 annually, he says the organization only received a fraction because the county paid as the services were offered.
“We go where the needs are. So, if we look at police stops in Winter Park versus police stops in Washington Shores, there’s a difference,” Levitt said.
“For me, it’s making sure that we invest in all communities, regardless of size, or whatever their life choices are. And I think that’s what government is,” said Commissioner Mike Scott, who serves District 6.
Scott says the process these grant applicants must go through is competitive.
“The process is hard, you know? We have a citizens review panel. So, when we get these funding recommendations, they are based on applications submitted by the community and reviewed by the community,” Levitt said.
Central Florida Urban League President Elizabeth Grace says she’s aware of the Florida DOGE investigation into Orange County government.
“The CFUL has always proudly partnered with government agencies, businesses, and local stakeholders to deliver an array of programming with the goal of empowering and uplifting our community. The funding in question was awarded to the CFUL following a competitive fund distribution process, whereas our organization was recognized as best suited to deliver this critical program to local youth. While I have only served in this role for some months, the mandate of our organization has always been to ensure that all members of our community, regardless of background, have access to the resources, tools and support necessary to thrive,” Grace said.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
