ISAIAH is an activist organization based in Minnesota that recruits left-of-center activists from church congregations in order to advance a number of left-of-center policy priorities. ISAIAH opposes the use of law enforcement to deter crime, advocates for the decreased incarceration of criminals, and works against the enforcement of immigration laws. ISAIAH also supports the implementation of a government-controlled health care system and has argued that the government should intervene to correct disparities in outcomes between racial groups. ^[1] The group opposes election integrity measures, such as requiring voters to confirm their identity and reducing opportunities for the abuse of provisional ballots. ^[2]

ISAIAH is an affiliate of the Gamaliel Foundation, which was founded by political agitator and left-wing activist Saul Alinsky. The Foundation uses religious coalitions to advance left-of-center activism and helps set up local activist groups which then hide their connection to the Foundation, allowing it to be “invisible” in order to make its campaigns appear to be grassroots-led. ^[3]

Initiatives

Identity Coalitions

The ISAIAH Latinx Coalition is a group of activists of Hispanic heritage. The group promotes the same left-of-center political and cultural objectives as the rest of the organization, with a particular focus on opposing the enforcement of immigration laws. ^[4]

The ISAIAH Muslim Coalition claims to promote the interests of the approximately 150,000 Muslims in Minnesota and aims to increase the political influence of the Muslim population as it increases in the state. ^[5]

Issue-Based Groups

To assist in promoting its broad left-of-center agenda, ISAIAH organizes issue-based advocacy groups. The Barbershops and Black Congregation Cooperative is a group of African American barbershop and beauty salon owners who claim to be advancing the interests of their communities. ISAIAH describes barbershops as providing “individual and collective empowerment, esteem and moral [sic].” ^[6]

The Black Church Collective is a group of African American clergy members that describes itself as “reclaiming” what it calls a “holistic perspective of Jesus.” The group, which also refers to itself as the Black Church Coalition, says that its members live out “their christian [sic] call” by promoting and adhering to a left-of-center social agenda. ^[7]

Kids Count On Us is a group of parents and teachers who promote increasing taxpayer funding for education and childcare programs. The group claims that “a few politicians are pitting communities against one another,” but does not provide examples of such behavior or explain how this claim relates to childcare and education funding. ^[8]

The Sanctuary Network is a group of churches that opposes immigration enforcement. The group uses its interpretation of Christian teachings to justify its support for illegal immigration. To enable illegal immigrants to avoid deportation, the group organizes legal defense funds and trainings on how to resist law enforcement and immigration enforcement. The Sanctuary Network has advocated for the state of Minnesota to bar federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from entering the state. ^[9]

Staff

Doran Schrantz is the executive director of ISAIAH. ^[10] She is a long-time activist who received training from a left-of-center organization called the Social Transformation Project and was responsible for scaling up ISAIAH into a group with statewide reach. Schrantz attended the University of Chicago. ^[11]

Lars Negstad is the policy director for ISAIAH. He previously worked for the hospitality services labor union UNITE HERE and its predecessor, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. Negstad attended Oberlin College. ^[12]

Brian Kao is the director of operations for ISAIAH. He previously worked at several Asian advocacy organizations. Kao received his master’s degree from the University of Saint Thomas and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. ^[13]

Financials

Annual grants and donations to ISAIAH grew from just over $1 million in 2011 to nearly $4 million in 2018. ^[14] In 2019, the group received just over $5 million in contributions. ^[15]