Campaign to disband Minneapolis Police Department raises $30M, plans in works to redistribute funds

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A campaign calling for the defunding and disbanding of the Minneapolis Police Department has raised more than $30 million. Now, they're trying to figure out the best way to make a difference with all of that money.

Two groups have led the movement to defund the Minneapolis Police Department - Black Visions Collective and Reclaim the Block. The groups are trying to be more transparent and accountable about the millions of dollars they have collected since the death of George Floyd.

"We've been trying to take time to slowly build our organization and develop resilient trust among ourselves," said Kandace Montgomery with Black Visions Collective.

During a community meeting on Zoom, Black Visions Collective said it has raised $19 million in donations over the last four weeks, while Reclaim the Block has raised $11 million.

The groups say they were overwhelmed by the number of contributions and plan to redistribute 75 percent of the money to other community organizations and individuals.

“We don't have the capacity to hold the process of giving out a lot of money," said Yolanda Hare with Black Visions Collective. "That's why we are partnering with Nexus to give out money more efficiently to community members."

In the short term, the groups say they plan to give money to Nexus community partners to administer emergency response funds to community members. In the long term, they plan to support other Black-led organizations and continue their campaign to defund the MPD.

“If this is a very small organization - less than 50 members, less than 10 members in their core leadership - and then all of a sudden they are dealing with tens of millions of dollars, you can't expect for them to have a plan for that overnight,” said community member Maisah Outlaw.

The groups say they will hold another community meeting next month to reveal more concrete plans for building the infrastructure they need to continue their work in the future.

“The type of organization we want to be is trying to model something closer to what we want in the world," Montgomery said.