The Minnesota Freedom Fund has come under fire after revealing in a tweet that "well over $200k" of the tens of millions in donations has been put toward bailing out protesters.
According to the Minnesota Freedom Fund's FAQ page, the nonprofit organization said that in last few days, "tens of thousands of people from all over the world have donated more than $30 million dollars," which could explain where people are getting that $35 million number.
On Tuesday, MFF released a series of tweets explaining where the money has gone.
Let's stop here, and talk about MFF's increased volunteer interest and paused donations. The former comes as they have an unpaid staff of board members, with their president and treasurer working 15 hours a week, while the rest put in five hours. The influx in volunteers will help them better execute what they envisioned for the organization.
On June 5, MFF announced that the "financial needs for protester bails has almost certainly been met," and the remaining funds would be put toward providing legal support for those who were arrested. Even after placing a pause on donations, people continued to contribute, which is why the surplus in funds will be put elsewhere.
"Further donations will help pay cash bail and immigration bonds for those who cannot afford to do so, and advance our efforts to end the unjust practice of cash bail and pretrial punishment in Minnesota," their statement reads.
A focus on using donations for immigration bonds was reiterated by MFF.
However, this aspect of the initative doesn't appear to be getting such overwhelming support.
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MFF vowed to be transparent about where folks' donations have gone. We just have to make sure they stick to that promise.
