WASHINGTON. Melania Trump’s Florida fundraiser scheduled for April was canceled after state regulators concluded that a company working with the former first lady to host a charity event did not properly register to raise donations. .
In late January, Ms. Trump announced plans for what she called “Tulips and Topiaries,” a gathering at an undisclosed location in Naples, Florida that will feature an “artfully crafted tulip flower garden” and “delicious snacks next to tea and bubbles.” Tickets were up for sale for up to $50,000 for a VIP table, with the money, she said, intended to provide scholarships to children coming out of foster families.
But Whip Fundraising, the consulting firm that helped organize the event, only registered with the state in recent days, after Florida officials began investigating the case. Florida requires certain organizations that solicit charitable donations from Florida residents to first file with the state and then report how the money will be spent.
“They weren’t registered as a professional attorney or fundraising consultant, and they’re working to fix that,” said Erin Moffett, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Human Services, which oversees charities in the state.
Ms. Moffett said the April 9 event has been canceled and that all proceeds from ticket sales will go to GenJustice, a non-profit group registered in Florida as a charity that helps foster children. On this, according to her, the state investigation into this case was terminated.
In a statement Thursday, Mrs. Trump’s office declined to say how much money was raised but said the event had not been cancelled. “The event organizer is postponing the date to the future due to overwhelming support from individuals and charities,” the statement said.
Brad Keltner, head of Whip Fundraising, said in an interview Thursday that his company had not violated any state rules and that the state’s initial instruction, which he received in December, was that he did not need as a fundraiser. . But he said that after being contacted by state investigators, he moved this week with the state to clear up any outstanding issues.
Mr. Keltner added that it was Ms. Trump who promoted the event when her office first announced it in late January.
“Tulips and Topiary will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience—an afternoon of sophisticated elegance in elaborate, lush flower gardens designed to inspire giving, hope, opportunity and dreams,” her office said in a press release published in January. said. She later sent out a notification on her new social media account with Parler.
But Mrs. Trump, in a statement to The New York Times, said that she did not organize the event, but was simply a participant. (Ms. Moffett said the state had made a separate finding that Ms. Trump did not raise funds in a way that would require her .) She declined to say whether the money raised at the planned event would be used to pay her in person, and instead criticized questions about the event.
“The media has created a narrative that I am trying to act in an illegal or unethical manner,” she wrote in a statement last month. “This image is simply not true and negatively impacts the children I hope to support. Those who attack my initiatives and create the appearance of inappropriate behavior are literally dream killers. They annulled the hopes and dreams of the children by trying to annul me.”
Both Melania Trump and former President Donald J. Trump aggressively raised private money in the year after he left public office. Mr. Trump published a $75 coffee table book, went on an arena tour, hosted an event with Whip Fundraising last December, and is behind the new social media company.
Even when Mr. Trump holds political rallies, he makes time for commercial events. On March 19, he performs at the arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where presidential-level tickets sell for almost $3,000.
In January, Ms. Trump held an online auction to sell the hat she wore to the White House in 2018. Most recently, she launched what she says is a series of sales of unique virtual photos — so-called NFTs — of her and Mr. Trump at White House events, a promotion she launched on Presidents Day that will generate up to $500,000 in revenue if all 10,000 items will be sold. So far, her website suggests that over 6,100 of these items have been sold for $50 each.
Mr. Keltner on Thursday declined to give a new date or location for the rescheduled event. A website that offered tickets to an event in Naples was taken down, which Mr. Keltner attributed in part to bots that he said attacked the site “non-stop”.
Shane Goldmacher contributed reporting.