HARRISBURG — In early May, Pennsylvania’s five living former governors united to hold a fundraiser at the stately official residence along the banks of the Susquehanna River, just a few miles from the Capitol.
The fundraiser — an invitation-only event — was for a cause few would quibble with: restoring or replacing items damaged in the brazen, middle-of-the-night arson attack just weeks earlier. The fire was set as Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family, and his friends were asleep inside, but all escaped unharmed.
Yet the Shapiro administration, as well as officials with a Harrisburg-based nonprofit organization that is collecting the money, have not disclosed who attended the event or how much was raised.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit said it intends to “publicly thank” donors and provide a list of names at a later, unspecified date. A Shapiro spokesperson added that donors will also be listed on a display inside the residence.
But neither the nonprofit nor a Shapiro spokesperson would immediately provide the names or the specific amounts they contributed so far, or say what the money will be used to fix or replace. They did not explain why.
The administration also says it does not have an overall monetary estimate of the damage to the residence, and cannot yet say how much of the cost will be covered with taxpayer dollars or the state’s insurance programs versus private donations.
The vagueness surrounding the restoration efforts raises questions about who is underwriting at least some of the work on the 29,000-square-foot home where Shapiro and his family live when in Harrisburg, whether those parties have interests in state government, and whether they are trying to influence state policy.
It has also again highlighted the nonprofit organization — Team Pennsylvania — through which the money is flowing. The group has long kept the names of its donors secret, even though it manages several funds that benefit the governor or his office.
Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder disputed that there was a lack of transparency surrounding the restoration effort. In a statement, he said that because work at the residence is ongoing, “the overall cost is not yet clear.”
“The Shapiro family remains incredibly grateful for the support and well wishes of Pennsylvanians and has repeatedly made clear, information about the taxpayer cost of this rebuild will be public as soon as it is finalized and available,” Bonder wrote.
>> READ THE COMPLETE STATEMENT
Police say Harrisburg resident Cody Balmer, whose family has said he has a history of mental illness, allegedly used homemade Molotov cocktails to ignite a fire on April 13 that caused significant damage to multiple rooms inside the residence.
Pictures released by state officials at the time revealed charred walls, peeling ceilings, and floors strewn with ashes and other debris. There are blown-out windows, cracked and blackened china, and badly burnt furniture, including a piano.
In the days after the attack, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said the cost of the damage could be in the millions of dollars.
Shapiro administration officials say they can’t provide a working estimate of how much will be spent on repairs and security upgrades, or even what has been spent so far. Spotlight PA has filed a public records request to obtain some of that information.
The news organization tracked some of the spending through the state’s procurement website. It shows that Pennsylvania State Police have made just over $390,000 in expenditures related to security upgrades at the residence, including five new vehicles for the security detail that protects the governor and other top state officials.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), which manages artifacts and coordinates loans of art and other objects on display at the residence, has spent $105,644. That money went toward smoke removal and light cleaning of all 53 commission-owned artifacts at the residence at the time of the fire, as well as light cleaning of loaned art on display there, said PHMC spokesperson Jay Losiewicz.
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services, the agency that maintains the official residence, did not provide information about its expenses so far, saying only that some damages will be covered by insurance.
The state’s insurance fund, according to the department’s website, covers losses caused by “fire, flood, vandalism, and other perils” of up to $1 million. Anything above that amount is covered through a supplemental policy that sets a $1 billion limit on claims.
That coverage does not account for upgrades to items that were damaged, state officials said. Things like more sophisticated security systems, or even new furniture above and beyond what was in the residence before the fire, would not be paid for through insurance.
Former Gov. Ed Rendell told the Philadelphia Inquirer in the days before the May fundraiser that approximately $500,000 in repairs would not be covered by insurance.
That is where Team Pennsylvania steps in.
The nonprofit, called Team PA for short, is a public-private partnership formed three decades ago by then-Gov. Tom Ridge. It aims to bring together leaders from government and private industry to collaborate on “transformative economic opportunities” in agriculture, energy, and manufacturing, with plans to expand those partnerships to include biotechnology and innovation technology, according to its website.
It is co-chaired by the governor in office and a private sector representative.
The organization also acts as a “fiscal agent,” or manager, for various funds and committees associated with the governor’s office. One of those pots of money supports preservation efforts at the governor’s residence, and donations for the Harrisburg mansion’s post-arson restoration are running through that fund. That includes money collected during the May fundraiser with the former governors.
One attendee, who attended the gathering and spoke on condition of anonymity, likened the event to gatherings during the annual Pennsylvania Society weekend, the state’s marquee political event in New York City that is attended by elected officials, lobbyists, and entrepreneurs.
Team PA in the past has declined to say who oversees the preservation fund, who raises money for it, and who makes decisions on how those dollars are spent.
John Reynolds, the nonprofit’s spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that donations to the fund will pay for anything not covered by insurance or taxpayer dollars. He did not provide specifics.
He said once the renovation is complete and all donations are finalized, the organization intends to publicly thank donors who contributed, and that a list of donors will be given to Spotlight PA.
It is not clear how detailed that list would be, and whether it would include the specific amount donors gave and the date they donated.
Asked to elaborate, Reynolds said: “All the information I have is in that statement I provided.”
Nonprofits like Team PA do not have to disclose the same level of donor information as political campaigns.
Those campaigns have to publicize donor names, their addresses and employers, the amount they contributed, and when. They also have to reveal the names of people or businesses that make “in-kind” contributions to candidates and describe what that donation — typically for items like food, transportation, rental space, or other goods and services — paid for.
In his statement, Reynolds noted that Team PA would provide “relevant information” in its annual tax filings and financial statements.
But the group does not publicly disclose its donors on those annual tax filings, known as Form 990s; nonprofits are generally not required to under federal tax law.
However, Spotlight PA has identified at least one generous donor to Team PA: the nonprofit formed to help organize and pay for the inauguration of Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis in 2022.
That year, according to tax filings, the inaugural nonprofit gave Team PA a grant worth hundreds of millions of dollars. As Spotlight PA has reported, the Shapiro-Davis Inauguration nonprofit, like Team PA, does not disclose its donors.
Team PA is also not required to list funds it manages, such as the preservation fund, so it is not publicly known how much money flows in or out of it every year.
Team PA’s preservation fund was tapped last year to underwrite a “reimagining project” at the residence that focused on bringing in new pieces of furniture, art, and other items.
Through a separate fund it manages, Team PA has paid for Shapiro to attend various sporting events, including the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona and games played by Penn State’s football team and the Philadelphia Phillies.
That fund, called Pennsylvania Growth Partnership, accepts donations exclusively to promote the governor — and by extension, the commonwealth and its economic health — on the national and international stages.
Team PA does not publicly disclose which individuals, groups, or businesses have donated to the growth partnership fund.
Spotlight PA’s Stephen Caruso contributed reporting.