Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota is a right-of-center think tank that studies the economic impact of various public policy choices within the state of Minnesota. Issues addressed by the Freedom Foundation include government corruption and economic policy. ¹

Finances

In 2018 the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota received $250,901 in contributions and made $265,079 in expenditures. ² The same year, the organization possessed $25,138 in net assets after accounting for all liabilities. ³

Advocacy

Broadband

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota opposes government-dominated broadband development in Minnesota. In a policy paper, the organization documented the Lake County project to bring high-speed broadband to rural northern Minnesota. The project, which was expected to be covered by $70 million in government support, became a disaster as expenses quickly outpaced funding and the local government was saddled with debt, higher taxes, and forced to issue city bonds to support the project. Ultimately, the Lake County project could not move forward due to a lack of funds, leaving towns saddled with debt. ⁴

The primary culprits in much broadband policy, according to the organization, are government appropriators that fail to correctly predict how costs will be split between the government and local cities, as well as overly eager city councils that promise their citizens that the estimates are correct and that city debt and taxes won’t rise through expansion. ⁴

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota recommends that local town and city councils practice more diligence in examining the claims made by those offering government grants, and for voters to be more attentive to the broadband policies of those running for office and skeptical of their claims regarding development. ⁴

Government Corruption

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has been critical of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Resilient Cities program. The program provides funding to 100 cities across the country to hire what the program refers to as “chief resilience officers.” ⁵ These chief resilience officers (CROs) are tasked with addressing infrastructure, climate change, and issues relating to race and inequality. ⁵ Minneapolis is one of the cities that has accepted Rockefeller Foundation-funded CROs. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota believes that paying Minneapolis accepting money to put in place bureaucrats that agree with the Rockefeller Foundation amounts to government corruption. ⁵

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota has also been critical of the New York University School of Law’s State Energy and Environmental Impact Center (NYU), which provides funding to state attorneys general that agree to adopt adversarial positions against energy companies. The funding is designed to allow state governments to hire more lawyers to advance the positions of NYU. ⁵

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota documented that former Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), currently Attorney General of Minnesota, received two separate grants from NYU and hired lawyers based on the terms of the funding. ⁵

Leadership

Annette Meeks is the founder and CEO of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. ⁶ Before joining the organization Meeks worked for nine years on Minnesota policy at other think tanks and served as Deputy Chief of Staff to then-U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA). ⁶