Minnesota Freedom Fund

The Minnesota Freedom Fund is a bail fund in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 2016. The organization pays bail for people who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. The group's executive director Tonja Honsey said that the average amount of money needed by recipients of the fund was $150.[1] Bail amounts of $78, the surcharge cost of Hennepin County court fees, are also common.[2] The organization supports abolition of bail fees.[2]

Minnesota Freedom Fund
Formation2016 (2016)
FounderSimon Cecil
Type501(c)(3)
Location
Websitehttps://minnesotafreedomfund.org/

History

The Minnesota Freedom Fund was founded in 2016 by Simon Cecil, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota who received a $5,000 grant through the university's Carlson School of Management and a further $5,000 from a business competition, the Acara Challenge. By April 2017, the organization reported having posted bail for 33 people, all but two of whom had attended their trial.[2] In 2018, the fund paid $9,464 across 113 bail cases.[3] By March 2020, the group reported having provided bail money in 500 cases, including a limited number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers.[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the group sought the release of more inmates, concerned about the virus spreading rapidly throughout the prison population. It removed its upper limit of $1,000 in bail payments.[4]

Following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, the fund received $20 million in donations over a four-day period,[5] public postings of donations to the group becoming popular on Twitter.[1] On June 2, 2020, the group temporarily suspended further donations, suggesting that visitors to their website donate to the non-profits Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, Rebuild Lake Street, Northstar Health Collective or West Broadway Business and Area Coalition. The fund said that they would prioritize bail for people who have been detained in connection with the George Floyd protests.[3]

gollark: Well, I've started it back up now (without the world files), since that seems to generally be popular.
gollark: No, those are cool.
gollark: I mean, if people do want a wipe or rollback. I suppose I could do something like giving them one item they had on the previous world, to make starting slightly nicer.
gollark: What does it contain?
gollark: Oh dear. We will be so much worse off without your tiny cobble hut.

References
  1. Morrison, Sara (May 29, 2020). "The Minnesota Freedom Fund is all over Twitter. Here's what it does". Vox. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  2. Mannix, Andy (April 5, 2017). "University of Minnesota student takes on injustices in the bail system". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  3. Fagenson, Zachary (June 4, 2020). "Minnesota Freedom Fund: What to Know About the Organization That Raised $20 Million Amid George Floyd Protests". Complex. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. Mannix, Andy (March 27, 2020). "As pandemic spreads, nonprofit is on a mission to clear out Twin Cities jails, one bail bond at a time". Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  5. Engel Bromwich, Jonah (June 1, 2020). "How a Minnesota Bail Fund Raised $20 Million". New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2020.

Further references

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