A Look at Tax Forms for Mayor's Nonprofit Group Called the 'Progressive Agenda'

The mayor may have shut down his controversial nonprofit organization known as the Campaign for One New York, but another group with close ties to the mayor's nonprofit group is still up and running. NY1's Courtney Gross reviewed the group's tax forms and filed the following report.

A year ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio stood in front of the capitol in Washington D.C., unveiling his newest venture.

"Something is changing in America. It is time to take that energy and crystallize it into an agenda that will make a difference," the mayor said at the time.

It is called the Progressive Agenda, and it's another nonprofit committee set up by de Blasio to push forward his platform.

For the first time, NY1 reviewed the Progressive Agenda's tax filing, which shows the group raised $480,000 last year. That cash came from a single contributor: The Campaign for One New York.

That organization was de Blasio's initial nonprofit group, set up to support his push for universal pre-kindergarten. Earlier this year, that group shut down and is now the subject of a federal investigation.

"We believe that the work that was necessary to do got done, and we are very proud of that fact, and there is no need for that entity as of this point," de Blasio said.

The Progressive Agenda is now its own separate entity, which a spokesperson described as "in transition."

So far, the group has seen mixed results. It was supposed to host a presidential forum in Iowa last year, but that never got off the ground.

According to the filing, its accomplishments for 2015 include creating a 14-point agenda to combat income inequality and a website. It champions its effort to get people to sign on to its platform. And it also "built a following on social media to gain supporters."

The agenda has slightly more than 3,200 followers on Twitter.

Last year, its biggest check went to one of de Blasio's favorite consultants, AKPD Media, for $160,000. The cash was for media consulting.

At the end of the year, the group spent nearly all of its seed funding. Its ending balance was a little more than $32,000.

Nonetheless, NY1 is told it is not shutting down and that it has been fundraising. However, it no longer employs its executive director. She is returning to private consulting.