The Minnesota Freedom Fund received $40m in the wake of Floyd's death. What happened after?
The Minnesota Freedom Fund received millions in donations in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing protests worldwide. What happened after?
In 2020, the MFF received around $40m in global donations. They say they've spent around $19m of that so far. But who are they, who has received the money, and who should get the rest?The Minnesota Freedom Fund is a non-profit organisation based in the US state of Minnesota. Their primary mission is to pay the cash bail for people who have been detained by police in a potential criminal case but who have not yet been convicted.
"We're often finding individuals that are detained and held in jail for months on something as little as $70, which is the bail amount, and they don't have that money to pay," she says.They aim to prevent people being detained for months without a conviction simply because they can't make bail, and the potential damage this might have on their lives when it comes to employment, mental health, and family separation.
Mr Mendoza has been charged with two misdemeanours for damage to property and was in prison for a month. The donations received by the MFF helped him pay his bail and he's now on a two-year probation period. In August 2019, Kobe Dimock-Heisler was fatally shot by police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, after they responded to a mental crisis call. Mr Dimock-Heisler was allegedly threatening his grandfather with a knife.
While she says it was "amazing" to see money coming from everywhere in the world for racial justice causes, she questions whether people knew exactly what they were donating to. "I feel like a lot of people don't realise that our families are living the trial that everyone watched on TV, but behind closed doors," she says.