The leading group opposed to Boston’s Olympic bid released a financial report on Tuesday that showed it is operating on a relatively shoestring budget, having raised $14,539 during the first three months of the year.
During the same period, Boston 2024, the group of business executives and formal political figures promoting the city’s Olympic bid, raised $2.8 million plus another $1 million through in-kind contributions.
No Boston Olympics released the financial information after it was accused of hypocrisy for not abiding by the same level of transparency it was demanding of Boston 2024. The concerns were highlighted in a Boston Herald column on Tuesday that quoted Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg urging the group to disclose more information.
Advertisement
“It was clearly becoming a distraction from our message,” said Chris Dempsey, one of three volunteer co-chairs of No Boston Olympics.
The group’s quarterly financial report shows it received 166 donations during the period, and the average contribution was $87.58.
The list of donors who gave more than $500 includes one prominent figure from the business world: Robert Gifford, the chief executive of AIG Global Real Estate, who lives in Newton.
Others who gave more than $500 include Noah McCormack, the publisher of The Baffler, the iconoclastic magazine based in Cambridge, and Joseph Huber, an administrator at Bridgewater State University.
Dempsey said other donors’ names were withheld after they asked to remain anonymous.
“We think it’s important to protect people that have said they fear retribution, or they fear being excluded from the Boston business community,” which strongly supports the city’s Olympic bid, Dempsey said.
During the three-month period, Boston 2024’s top donors were John and Cyndy Fish, who gave between $1 million and $2.5 million. John Fish, who is chief executive of Suffolk Construction, was until recently the chairman of the Olympic bid.
Advertisement
No Boston Olympics said it spent $2,716 during the period on food and meals, rented space for meetings, printing and postage, and taxis and Web services. It has no paid staff. During the same time frame, Boston 2024 spent $2 million on staff salaries, government relations, public relations, architects, and other services.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mlevenson.