> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.newbostonpost.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Who’s Making Governor Maura Healey’s First Lady Rich, and What Do They Want From the Governor? - URL: https://www.newbostonpost.com/healey-first-lady-nonprofit-donors-disclosure/ - Published: 2026-10-31T22:04:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-31T22:04:12.000Z - Description: Joanna Lydgate’s nonprofit raised $33 million in 2024, raising questions about who gives and whether those donors have business before Healey’s administration. - Author: Tom Joyce - Tags: News, Politics, State Government, #lead, #morning-bell, morning-bell, #4 Donors gave $33 million in 2024 to a nonprofit that paid Governor Maura Healey’s partner over $417,000\. Its public filing doesn’t list its donors. Joanna Lydgate, Massachusetts’ first lady, runs States United Democracy Center. Her role and income aren't included in the family sections of Healey’s 2025 financial disclosure. That raises a question: who is paying Lydgate, what business ties do the organization's donors have to this administration, and what do they want from the governor? Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue said the public deserves to know who is funding the organization. “Ethics and financial transparency are REQUIRED by law for Governor Healey and Mike Minogue,” Minogue[ posted on social media](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michael-minogue-b38052168%5Fethics-and-financial-transparency-are-required-activity-7522304340808749059-KHxb?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. “This should be disclosed asap,” he added. Only some of the organization's donors are public. Many are not. Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation gave the Democracy Center $7 million in 2024 through two general support grants. The grants appear on page 23 of its[ 2024 tax return on its website](https://www.pivotal.com/our-giving?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. Pivotal is a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation also[ gave](https://www.packard.org/grantee/states-united-democracy-center-inc/?ref=newbostonpost.com) the Democracy Center a $300,000 general support grant in 2024. The state disclosure form asks about a spouse or dependent children. Since Healey and Lydgate[ aren’t legally married](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/25/metro/joanna-lydgate-first-lady-healey-governor-campaign/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠, Healey officials[ told *The Boston Herald*](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/30/battenfeld-healey-minogue-camps-spar-over-murky-role-of-first-lady-joanna-lydgate/?ref=newbostonpost.com)*⁠* that she doesn’t have to disclose Lydgate’s assets. Massachusetts[ makes officials report](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268B/Section5?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ certain financial interests of their immediate family. The law[ defines immediate family](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268B/Section1?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ as “a spouse and any dependent children residing in the reporting person’s household.” That doesn’t include an unmarried partner. Healey submitted her 17-page statement on May 15\. It says she didn’t have a spouse or dependent children living with her in 2025\. That’s true even though Healey has called herself[ a stepmother](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/26/metro/joanna-lydgate-maura-healey-working-mother-ssummit/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ to Lydgate’s children. Healey gave the same answer to questions about a spouse’s employment, nonprofit leadership and real estate holdings: “Filer reported none.” Also, Healey reported owning no Massachusetts real estate. She lives in Arlington in a house Lydgate owns. Even so, she [accepts](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/massachusetts-elected-officials-see-pay-hike-new-year/HAOZIUIH7VCODIWW6ZCDUJTVK4/?ref=newbostonpost.com) a $65,000 per year housing stipend. Lydgate has taken on public duties as first lady. In September 2024, she joined Healey in[ welcoming Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska](https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-and-first-lady-lydgate-welcome-first-lady-of-ukraine-and-pledge-support?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ to the State House. The governor’s announcement called Lydgate the first lady. Lydgate was once Healey’s chief deputy attorney general. She now leads the[ Washington-based Democracy Center](https://statesunited.org/our-team/joanna-lydgate/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. The organization helps state officials with elections and law enforcement. Its donations and grants[ grew from about $5 million in 2021](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861704152?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ to $14.5 million in 2022, $17.4 million in 2023 and $33 million in 2024. The group’s[ 2024 tax return](https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF%5FImages/2024/861/704/2024-861704152-202523219349308957-9.pdf?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ reported paying Lydgate $413,941 in base pay and a $3,500 bonus. If you add in retirement contributions and nontaxable benefits, her total compensation was $461,512\. Donations and grants made up over 99% of the organization’s revenue that year. She also leads[ States United Action](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861686219?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. That’s a related nonprofit that got another $5,045,000 in donations and grants in 2024. The Democracy Center is a 501(c)(3) charity. States United Action is a 501(c)(4) social welfare group.[ Federal rules](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/public-disclosure-and-availability-of-exempt-organizations-returns-and-applications-contributors-identities-not-subject-to-disclosure?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ generally let both types of groups keep donors’ names and addresses out of their public tax filings. Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian serves on the Democracy Center’s[ bipartisan advisory board](https://statesunited.org/our-team/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠. His[ official biography](https://www.middlesexsheriff.org/m/directory/employee?eid=17&ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ also lists the role. Koutoujian[ endorsed Healey’s re-election bid on October 27](https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/election-2026/minogue-highlights-sheriffs-concerns-with-protect-act/?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠, State House News Service reported. The state’s 11 other Democratic sheriffs also endorsed her. He and Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley were the only sheriffs who[ didn't sign an October 22 letter](https://www.aol.com/articles/sheriffs-try-turn-down-heat-104804000.html?ref=newbostonpost.com)⁠ raising concerns about the PROTECT Act’s limits on communication with federal immigration authorities; 10 Democratic sheriffs who signed it also endorsed Healey. Koutoujian’s office referred the News Service to the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association when asked why he didn’t sign it. Minogue hasn't said that Healey's lack of transparency broke the law. Healey campaign spokesman Kerry Lyons says Lydgate's professional success is separate from the Healey administration. “First Lady Joanna Lydgate is an accomplished CEO who built States United from the ground up,” Lyons told *The Herald*.