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Follow the Money
Seven Funders Supporting Minneapolis — And How to Find Nonprofits to Back
Dawn Wolfe | January 28, 2026
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Credit: Christopher Penler/Shutterstock
Government agencies in the United States have a long history of committing lethal violence against racial minorities and the white individuals who support them. During the 1960s, local police departments throughout the country used violence to attack and undermine the civil rights movement — including by spraying 1,000 rounds of live ammunition into a single Texas Southern University dorm room. Unlike in the civil rights era, though, today, the federal government is perpetrating the worst violence.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may be a Johnny-come-lately in the world of law enforcement, but its agents joined the deadly violence party well before the current destructive occupation of Minneapolis and other areas. According to a 2024 collaborative report conducted by The Trace, in partnership with Business Insider and Type Media Center’s investigations project, ICE agents were responsible for 59 shootings, 23 of them fatal, from 2015 to 2021.
Even accounting for this country’s difficult history, the widespread, highly documented federal government brutality taking place in Minneapolis today is virtually unprecedented. The response by everyday citizens, nonprofits and philanthropic donors may prove to be unprecedented as well.
One neighborhood organizer who spoke with Mother Jones earlier this month estimated that “tens of thousands” of everyday Minnesotans are participating in patrols of their schools, blocks and neighborhoods, with 12,000 Minneapolis residents working on neighborhood rapid-response efforts alone. The Atlantic recently agreed with that estimate, reporting that “at the very least,” tens of thousands of Minnesotans “are risking their safety to defend their neighbors and their freedom.”
Where the people have gone, the money has followed. Companies including Target and General Mills have provided $3.5 million in grants to support small businesses affected by the occupation, though Target is still a focus of protestors’ ire after rolling back its DEI initiatives last year in the face of the Trump administration’s threats. The funds will be distributed by the Minneapolis Foundation.
Individual Americans are also being generous. A GoFundMe campaign for ICE shooting victim Alex Pretti’s next of kin has already topped $1.6 million. On Jan. 23, Newsweek reported that a fundraiser for Liam Ramos, the five-year-old child whom ICE agents are accused of using as bait to entrap the child’s mother had raised more than $200,000; that figure has since broken the $300,000 mark. An informal group calling itself Safe Haven MN began greeting detainees on release from the Whipple Federal Building, providing them with phones, rides and jackets against the bitter cold. The group got its start the week of Jan. 12; its GoFundMe has already raised $420,000.
Institutional philanthropy is also playing a role in the emerging picture. Minneapolis nonprofits serving the newfound targets of ICE on the ground are receiving money from at least two long-time legacy foundations, a major funding collaborative and smaller grantmakers. These funders are quickly moving money, or gearing up to do so, for a large swath of work, including legal services and other direct and indirect support for individuals and communities that have been targeted by ICE.