hi all! just wanted to share some info (compiled by two of my friends) on the minnesota freedom fund, the nonprofit that a lot of people, myself included, have been donating to, and why our support is better placed with Black-led groups actively on the ground. 1/n

these are MN freedom fund’s public access 990 tax forms. only a small portion of donations were actually allocated to bail fees and immigration bonds, in both 2017 ($698 out of $53k) and 2018 ($10k out of $110k). 2/n

the fund is a new and small organization that runs on volunteers. it’s possible that they didn’t have the staff capacity to process and allocate all those donations. on the other hand, the skeptic in me wonders where all that money went!! 3/n

also, if you look on their website, it’s worth nothing that 6/7 of the MN freedom fund’s board is white, and not representative of the groups they advocate for. always a little suspicious when this happens. the sole black board member is also an emeritus member. 4/n

the fund is a nonprofit, and operates its finances as such. there may be bureaucratic processes that delay release of $$. not all donations go to their intended purposes; some are funneled into the upkeep of a nonprofit. such is the nature of the nonprofit industrial complex. 5/n

this isn’t to invalidate their work, but a reminder that as a nonprofit, the fund is only an intermediary. our support is better placed with the Black-led groups themselves who are physically on the ground in MN. in that way, $ doesn’t get lost to the bureaucracy of the NPIC. 6/n

an alternative: donate to The Black Visions Collective, a Black queer and trans-led group in affiliation with BLM. even MN freedom fund has asked people to donate directly to them, as they are actively on the streets organizing. 7/n

here is Black Visions Collective’s donation link: https://secure.everyaction.com/4omQDAR0oUiUagTu0EG-Ig2 8/n

addendum, since the thread is getting attention: this is not to say the MFF is illegitimate; only that the bureaucracy inherent in a nonprofit may prevent $$ from getting to folks immediately and directly—something that is of utmost importance given the context rn 9/n

also important: i mentioned this info came from friends. the 990 screenshots and numbers came from badass filipinx organizers @Caaarmeluhh and @coldpuzza. I didn’t have their twitter handles at the time, but v v important to give credit to their work! 10/n