Minnesota Nice and Nonprofit Governance

From the FX's Fargo, Season 5

My impression is purely anecdotal, but it seems like Attorneys General are stepping up enforcement of state charitable organizations laws.  Yesterday we reported on Washington State's recent enforcement action against Providence Health System and other hospitals for failing to provide charity care.  In New York, the NRA trial is expected to last another week or two after the state rested yesterday.  Minnesota's charity bureau has also been fairly active, but the latest case exemplifies "Minnesota nice," which Wiki explains thusly:

Minnesota nice is a cultural stereotype applied to the behavior of people from Minnesota, implying residents are unusually courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered compared to people from other states and more akin to their Canadian neighbors in Northern Ontario. The phrase also implies polite friendliness, an aversion to open confrontation, a tendency toward understatement, a disinclination to make a direct fuss or stand out, apparent emotional restraint, and self-deprecation. It is often associated with passive-aggression.

Lately, the stereotypical "Minnesot'n" has been eerily portrayed.  Nice yeah, but your find your your whole body in a woodchipper without your mittens if you cross one of them.  The emerging novelist Catherine Dang, a Minnesotan herself, says this about the eerie-ness of Minnesota nice:

Some dissenters say that Minnesota Nice is a disparaging term, one that hides a far grimmer reality. I think it’s the same reason why the Coen Brothers set their famous crime-comedy film, Fargo (1996), partially in Minnesota, and it’s why I unknowingly set my debut novel in the same state. We were all born and raised here and armed with a knowledge that probably follows us to this day.  There is something inherently creepy about Minnesota Nice, and it lends itself perfectly well to crime writing.  Minnesota Nice is not about niceness at all, but rather, it’s about the appearance of niceness. We are very concerned about the people around us. We don’t want to be judged poorly for our lack of good manners. We want to seem friendly, hospitable. That’s why we’ll smile awkwardly at strangers on the street. That’s why you’ll hear an apologetic, “Ope, just getting through here” as someone passes by in the grocery store aisle.

In the entertainment media, lately, its always the women who are the nicest and most dangerous, have you noticed that?  Petite, but downright cutthroat.  Minnesota nice was what came to mind when I read about the AG's recent settlement with Honor the Earth, a Minnesota nonprofit that focuses on . . . well here is its mission statement because I don't want to get it wrong:

Our mission is to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, the media, and Indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the Earth and be a voice for those not heard.  As a unique national Native initiative, Honor the Earth works to a) raise public awareness and b) raise and direct funds to grassroots Native environmental groups. We are the only Native organization that provides both financial support and organizing support to Native environmental initiatives. This model is based on strategic analysis of what is needed to forge change in Indian country, and it is based deep in our communities, histories, and long-term struggles to protect the earth.

Aww, that's nice.  Recently, a jury ordered HTE to pay nearly a million dollars for a former employee's sexual harassment and retaliation.  The employee even harassed the CEO who complained to the board on multiple occasions, all for naught.  That's not so nice and the jury's verdict caught the AG's attention and he launched what appears to be a real friendly  investigation into the $7 million charity.  Even with that much money, the founder and executive director only paid herself about $90,000 a year.  But she had a habit, it seems, of making interest-free loans to family members to pay rent, buy cars or reimburse expenses without any documentation.  She was probably just being nice.  The pleadings, linked to below, leave the distinct impression that the organization was just helping and "pay us back when you can, yeah?"  

So anyway, the attorney general recently settled an enforcement action that doesn't require any money, not even to reimburse the AG for the cost of investigating the whole mess.  It just requires the organization to keep improving its governance policies the way its been doing since the jury verdict.  Imagine that, a full fledged investigation in which the organization fully cooperated no doubt with a pleasant smile the whole time.  And the AG's conclusion is just, "good job, yeah.  Keep doing what you are doing and we won't be bothering you anymore."  Here is some of the AG's press release:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today announced that he has reached a voluntary settlement with environmental charity Honor the Earth that requires the organization to continue strengthening its governance in the wake of past governance issues uncovered during an investigation by the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office. The Assurance of Discontinuance filed in Ramsey County District Court requires Honor the Earth to continue its efforts to strengthen its governance. Honor the Earth acted quickly to implement significant changes to its policies, procedures, and leadership in the wake of the 2023 jury verdict holding them liable for sexual harassment and retaliation. Those actions include:

• • Replacing every member of its board of directors who served prior to the 2023 jury verdict by the end of 2024.
  • Hiring a forensic accountant to complete a thorough audit of their finances.
  • Hiring an attorney with experience counseling nonprofit corporations on compliance with Minnesota charities laws.
  • Hiring a human resources consultant to strengthen the organization’s policies and procedures.

The Assurance requires the organization to complete its review of its policies, procedures, and finances within one year.

Gee, I'm not sure that sort of kumbaya can be found anywhere else.  You betcha.

darryll k. jones