After two days of intense public blowback, the Baltimore Community Foundation CEO said she plans “to get things back on track” by working with City Hall to find ways to support the families of the six men who died in the Key Bridge collapse.

In an email to “friends and supporters,” Baltimore Community Foundation President and CEO Shanaysha Sauls wrote, “At the heart of this is the question of whether the families are getting what they need and whether the City has the resources to extend its support to them for two more years as requested. This issue now has my full attention.”

The Baltimore Banner reported Wednesday that none of the $16 million BCF raised following the bridge collapse has gone to the families of the six victims or the two survivors. The foundation explicitly stated in fundraising emails, messages and on its website that some of the funds would be used for that cause.

“Honoring donor intent is a key value of BCF,” Sauls said. “If in any way our efforts suggest otherwise, it was far from our intent and was more a result of misunderstanding, uncertainty and speed, rather than malice.”

The Baltimore Community Foundation is a donor to The Baltimore Banner and Sauls sits on The Banner’s board of directors.

A spokesperson told The Banner that the Baltimore Community Foundation decided to focus on other areas of relief because Mayor Brandon Scott’s office had organized its own fund to support victims.

The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant affairs raised just north of $1.1 million for families and survivors. The money is being disbursed through the Baltimore Civic Fund, a nonprofit controlled by the mayor’s office, and has been used to cover funeral expenses, repatriation of remains, child care, remittance to families abroad, and housing, among other costs.

That fund, which one worker’s widow called a lifeline, will run out in December. The families have sued the ship’s owners, but those lawsuits could take months to resolve.

Saul’s letter to donors followed Scott’s appearance on WBAL Radio’s C4 and Bryan Nehman show on Thursday morning, when he said the foundation was being untruthful.

“Anybody that said the decision about this other fund ... was made out of respect to the mayor’s office is telling a lie. Flat out,” Scott said.

“If anyone at the Baltimore Community Foundation had asked me, I would’ve said ‘Money has to go to the families,‘” Scott added.

The Baltimore Community Foundation did not award any grant money to the mayor’s fund. A BCF spokesperson previously said that was because the city did not apply for any funding. If they had, the foundation would have “entertained that proposal,” she said.

But Scott said there was a reason the city didn’t apply: The community foundation told his administration not to.

“They told my folks that government could not apply,“ Scott said. ”So why would we apply if you told us not to?”

The Scott administration said it would be more than willing to facilitate getting additional funds to the families if the Baltimore Community Foundation or another organization would like to make a donation.

BCF previously said all $16 million they raised had been allocated. In her email Thursday, Sauls said the group planned to reengage with city leadership to see if they could support the city’s efforts to aid the families.

Sauls also noted that the foundation did not assess any administrative fees on the fund or “directly benefit in any way from the funds raise.” The foundation contributed to the fund, she said, and covered expenses.

In a joint statement issued Thursday night, Sauls and Scott provided a detailed accounting of the city’s $1.1 million fund, which will be depleted by the end of the year. They also reiterated that the $16 million Maryland Tough, Baltimore Strong fund had been fully allocated, with nearly $8 million disbursed to organizations providing direct relief, small business recovery and other efforts.

“We are aware of the request to extend financial assistance for the families,” they said. “The Baltimore Community Foundation and the Mayor’s Office are actively in conversations and are exploring options and engaging with partners to identify ways to continue supporting the families beyond the current timeline.”

The Maryland Tough, Baltimore Strong fund was up and running two days after the bridge’s collapse and said in various messaging that some of the proceeds would go toward supporting the families of the six construction workers who died as well as the two survivors.

Donations poured in from around the region and country, including a joint $10 million commitment from the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens.

Although numerous people expressed outrage online about the foundation’s choices, some donors said it deserved the benefit of the doubt. Lisa Akchin , a former communications official at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said she had confidence the foundation would do what is right.

“As a donor, I have always trusted the Baltimore Community Foundation to have Baltimore’s best interest in mind,” she said.

Of the grant recipients so far, the three largest the Baltimore Community Foundation awarded are: $4.4 million in cash assistance to port workers; $1 million to Associated Catholic Charities to establish a human services center in Dundalk; and $570,000 to the Baltimore Museum of Industry for an exhibit memorializing the bridge collapse. In her email, Sauls said new awards would be announced soon.

She acknowledged that communication could have been better. “Relationships have ups and downs, but we remain partners with Baltimore City, the Mayor and City Hall,” she wrote.