Documents from the Federal Election Commission and the IRS have shed light on the web of nonprofit organizations that received money from Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s Inaugural Committee.
The documents show a portion of the money raised by one organization, the West Virginia Prosperity Group, has been funneled to a multi-million dollar political action committee.
On Dec. 29, 2025, the West Virginia Prosperity Group gave $125,000 to Black Bear Political Action Committee, a super PAC set up in 2019. In the 2024 governor’s race, the Black Bear PAC ran ads supporting Morrisey and attacking his opponents.
Seven months prior to the donation, the West Virginia Prosperity Group received $500,000 from Morrisey’s inaugural committee.
Morrisey himself is not directly connected to any of these organizations.
Super PACs like Black Bear can raise unlimited amounts of money to run advertisements, both in support or in opposition to candidates. However, they cannot directly donate to a candidate and they can’t coordinate their actions with a campaign.
The West Virginia Prosperity Group is set up as a nonprofit social welfare organization which allows them to engage in political activities such as lobbying, raising awareness around issues and even endorsing candidates, as long as that’s not the primary goal of the organization.
They can also donate to super PACs.
Groups like West Virginia Prosperity have become a source of what is called dark money, meaning money to influence elections that can’t be traced. That’s because social welfare organizations do not have to publicly disclose their donors.
IRS tax records from the group show it raised $1.1 million between 2024 and 2025. But outside the $500,000 donated by the inaugural committee, it’s unknown where the rest of that money came from.
Rob Cornelius, a Republican operative who sits on the board of the West Virginia Prosperity Group, could not be reached for comment.
Under West Virginia law, inaugural committees with excess cash — Morrisey’s raised $1.8 million but spent $1.2 million on the festivities — must either turn the money into a fund for improvements at the governor’s mansion or donate the money to charity.
The Secretary of State’s Office previously said social welfare organizations fall under the definition of charity. Deak Kersey, a lawyer with the Secretary of State’s Office, said once the money is donated to a group by an inaugural committee, how that money is used no longer falls under the laws surrounding excess inaugural funds.
Since taking office, Morrisey has publicly stated many times at his press conferences that he is a transparent governor. However, his office did not answer questions about whether he supported any laws or policies that would tamp down on dark money groups like the ones that support him.
The West Virginia Prosperity Group isn’t the only social welfare organization to receive money from the inaugural committee. Another group, the 1925 Fund, received $125,000. Neither the IRS website nor the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer had any records for that group.
