20 Degree Trash

The MN Freedom Fund has existed since 2016. Prior to the George Floyd protests, they were a small bail fund that paid out around $1000 per day. Paying out over $200,000 in 20 days puts them at over 10 times their previous payout rate.

They stopped taking donations very early on because the support overwhelmed their capacity.

Their front page now, as it has been since late May, is almost entirely links to local efforts which need more support - Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and funds like Rebuild Lake Street and the Northside Business Association.

Meanwhile, The National Lawyers Guild has said that jails are delaying activists from being able to release protestors.

The MNFF should be transparent about how it’s using the money, yes. I believe they should also redirect the donations they can’t immediately use to other organizations. But they’re a 501©3 nonprofit, there are restrictions on how they can spend and transfer money. You can check out their nonprofit filing forms on ProPublica - no one at MNFF receives a salary.

Keep orgs accountable, keep pushing for transparency, but please do a little more leg work before accusing an org of fraud.