The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) PAC’s annual chairman’s dinner is coming up on March 24. Cost is $5,000 for a PAC or individual to join the “chairman’s circle.”

The PAC has raised a relatively modest $282,250 so far this election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Congressional Black Caucus came under scrutiny recently by the New York Times as a “fundraising powerhouse,” which collected some $55 million between 2004 to 2008 for its political and charitable wings–of which only about $1 million flowed through the PAC, which is a separate legal entity.

The Times reported that the bulk of the Foundation’s money was spent “on elaborate conventions that have become a high point of the Washington social season, as well as the headquarters building, golf outings by members of Congress and an annual visit to a Mississippi casino resort.”

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the CBC PAC has spent some $111,000 this election cycle, the largest expense being $40,885 in payments to the PAC’s executive director, Jessica Knight. The PAC has distributed just $15,000 to lawmakers so far this election cycle. Most of the donors are other PACs for a variety of unions, companies and organizations such  as Eli Lilly & Co, the American Hospital Association, and Walmart.

Last year Roll Call reported that the chairman’s dinner “is considered an intimate event where donors get to spend one-on-one time with CBC members.”

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