NEW YORK (AP) – A national Black Lives Matter nonprofit, whose philanthropic fortunes grew almost overnight during historic racial justice protests three years ago, raised just over $9 million in its last fiscal year, new IRS tax filings show.

That’s significantly less than the $79 million in revenue reported in a previous tax filing of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. On Friday, the foundation said it expected that would be the case, given the unique factors surrounding the public response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

A 60-page filing, submitted by the organization earlier this month, shows the foundation spent more money than it earned in its last fiscal year, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. It ended the year with roughly $30 million in assets, down from the $42 million in assets reported in its filing the previous year.

The BLM nonprofit had raised more than $90 million in the first year that it was a tax-exempt organization, coinciding with the wave of protests over police brutality in the summer of 2020. But with the racial justice fundraising environment quickly returning to norms, the new tax filings show the organization cut operating expenses by nearly 55%. Cicley Gay, board chair for the foundation, said the belt-tightening was part of an effort to demonstrate that its stewards "have been responsible, proactive decision-makers of the people’s donations."

"We are building an institution to fight white supremacy and reach Black liberation," Gay said in a statement about the tax filings. "Every dollar we spend is in order to reach that goal."