TakeAction MN (TakeAction Minnesota) advocates for left-leaning causes and candidates in Minnesota. TakeAction MN advocates for raising taxes, 1 a higher minimum wage, driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, mandatory paid sick time, paid family and medical leave, government-funded universal childcare, 2 gender inclusive bathrooms, renters’ unions, taxpayer-funded college tuition, student loan forgiveness, restrictions on gun ownership, 100 percent weather-dependent energy, and restoration of voting rights for criminals. 3
Take Action MN endorsed U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for President in 2020 and helped lead the campaign for Democratic primary voters to vote “uncommitted” in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary unless arms sales to Israel were stopped. TakeAction MN endorsed and supports efforts to re-elect controversial U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN). 4
History
TakeAction MN was founded in 2006 through the merger of two groups, Progressive Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action. 5 TakeAction MN has offices in St. Paul and Duluth and has been called “a powerful advocate for liberal causes.” 6
Positions
TakeAction MN advocates for raising the minimum wage and ending tax cuts from the George W. Bush administration. 7 TakeAction MN advocated for a 2023 state law that requires 100 percent clean electricity in Minnesota. 8 TakeAction MN worked with the Saint Paul Federation of Educators on teacher contract negotiations demanding schools in St. Paul be more environmentally friendly and resilient against global warming. 9 TakeAction MN wants government-funded universal childcare. 10
TakeAction MN states that the criminal justice system in the United States is built on white supremacy. 11 TakeAction MN supported a Minnesota law that prohibits companies from asking job applicants whether they’ve been convicted of a crime. 12 The organization advocates driver’s licenses for all, restoration of voting rights, and reducing gun violence. 13
TakeAction MN wants to expand the public insurance program MinnesotaCare, advocated for a law passed in 2023 that requires paid family and medical leave and paid sick time, advocates social insurance for long-term care and childcare, and fought for a law establishing a Drug Price Affordability Board to mandate to pharmaceutical companies the price of drugs. 14
In 2020, TakeAction MN endorsed U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for President, marking the first time the organization endorsed a presidential candidate. 15 TakeAction MN noted agreement with Sanders’s positions on Medicare for all, a Green New Deal, taxpayer-funded college tuition, canceling student debt, unions for all people, and ending the “prison-industrial-complex.” 16
In 2024, TakeAction MN was part of the “uncommitted” electoral strategy asking Democratic voters in the presidential primary to vote “uncommitted” to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. 17 Minnesota had the largest Democratic uncommitted vote in the nation at 19 percent. 18
Programs
In 2019, TakeAction MN launched Movement Political Leadership to train left-leaning candidates, campaign leaders, and appointed leaders in Minnesota. 19 TakeAction MN has a youth organizer program to engage high school students to push for left-leaning environmental programs and in 2024 focused on school bathrooms and making them more inclusive. 20 In Duluth, TakeAction MN is organizing renters to form a union to fight landlords and work on policy changes with elected officials. 21
TakeAction MN partners with the left wing group People’s Action to canvass, conduct phone banks, and train volunteers. 22
TakeAction MN is active in Not Another Bomb, a campaign hosted on Action Network critical of the Biden administration’s policy on Gaza. It seeks to stop arms sales to Israel and demands a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 23
Finances
In 2023, TakeAction MN had net assets of $4,259,805. 24 In 2023, TakeAction MN recorded $5,176,815 in revenue and had $5,704,946 in expenses. 25 In 2022, TakeAction MN raised $6,097,917 in revenue and had $4,966,369 in expenses. 26
In 2023, TakeAction MN provided grants of $100,000 to Unidos MN for Green New Deal organizing; $100,000 to Faith in Minnesota, the political arm of ISAIAH; $40,060 to TakeAction MN Federal Fund for primary political activity; $30,000 to the SEIU Local 26 for a green janitor program; and $25,000 to the Minnesota AFL-CIO for a paid media plan. 27
Leadership
Elianne Farhat became executive director at TakeAction MN in 2018. 28 Previously, Farhat was the fair workweek campaign manager at the Center for Popular Democracy, lead organizer for the PICO National Network (Faith In Action, as of 2024), strategic partnerships director at the Minnesota AFL-CIO, and deputy field director for the Minnesota DFL Party, the state-level arm of the Democratic Party. 29
References
- “Demonstrators Want to End Bush Tax Cuts for Richest 2%, To Protect Working Families.” TakeAction MN. November 16, 2012. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/pressrelease/demonstrators-want-to-end-bush-tax-cuts-for-richest-2-to-protect-working-families/; Zdechlik, Mark. “TakeAction Minnesota Draws Attention for Political Victories. Minnesota Public Radio News. November 25, 2013. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/25/takeaction-minnesota-draws-attention-for-political-victories.
- “MN United Parents.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/mnup/.
- “Statewide Campaigns.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/statewide-campaigns/.
- “2024 Election Endorsements.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/2024-election-endorsements/; “Ceasefire Now: We Choose Ilhan Phonebank.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://www.mobilize.us/takeactionminnesota/event/624946/.
- “About Us.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/about-us/; Zdechlik, Mark. “TakeAction Minnesota Draws Attention for Political Victories. Minnesota Public Radio News. November 25, 2013. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/25/takeaction-minnesota-draws-attention-for-political-victories.
- Zdechlik, Mark. “TakeAction Minnesota Draws Attention for Political Victories. Minnesota Public Radio News. November 25, 2013. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/25/takeaction-minnesota-draws-attention-for-political-victories; “About Us.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/about-us/.
- “Demonstrators Want to End Bush Tax Cuts for Richest 2%, To Protect Working Families.” TakeAction MN. November 16, 2012. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/pressrelease/demonstrators-want-to-end-bush-tax-cuts-for-richest-2-to-protect-working-families/; Zdechlik, Mark. “TakeAction Minnesota Draws Attention for Political Victories. Minnesota Public Radio News. November 25, 2013. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/25/takeaction-minnesota-draws-attention-for-political-victories.
- “Climate Justice.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/organizing/; “Bringing It Home.” 100 Percent MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://100percentmn.org.
- “Healthy, Green Saint Paul Schools.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/healthy-green-schools/.
- “MN United Parents.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/mnup/
- “Justice 4 All.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/organizing/.
- Zdechlik, Mark. “TakeAction Minnesota Draws Attention for Political Victories. Minnesota Public Radio News. November 25, 2013. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/25/takeaction-minnesota-draws-attention-for-political-victories.
- “Statewide Campaigns.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/statewide-campaigns/.
- “Statewide Campaigns.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/statewide-campaigns/.
- “TakeAction Minnesota Endorses Bernie Sanders for President and the Movement for a People-Centered Democracy.” TakeAction MN. January 15, 2020. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/blog/post/takeaction-minnesota-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president-and-the-movement-for-a-people-centered-democracy/.
- “TakeAction Minnesota Endorses Bernie Sanders for President and the Movement for a People-Centered Democracy.” TakeAction MN. January 15, 2020. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/blog/post/takeaction-minnesota-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president-and-the-movement-for-a-people-centered-democracy/.
- Farhat, Elianne. “Vote Uncommitted Edition: The TakeAction News Digest.” TakeAction MN. March 12, 2024. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/vote-uncommitted-edition-the-takeaction-news-digest/.
- Masters, Clay. “In Minnesota, ‘Uncommitted’ Got 19% of the Democratic Presidential Primary Votes.” National Public Radio. March 6, 2024. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/06/1236396078/in-minnesota-uncommitted-got-19-of-the-democratic-presidential-primary-votes.
- “Movement Political Leadership.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/work/politics/.
- “Youth Organizers.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/youth-organizers/.
- “Duluth Tenants Union.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://takeactionminnesota.org/duluth-tenants-union/.
- “Volunteer with People’s Action in 2024.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://www.mobilize.us/takeactionminnesota/event/650000/.
- “Not Another Bomb.” Action Network. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/not-another-bomb-sign-on-letter; “Events and Volunteer Opportunities Near You.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 10, 2024. https://www.mobilize.us/takeactionminnesota/?org_ids=38953.
- TakeAction MN, Return of a Nonprofit Corporation (Form 990), 2023.
- TakeAction MN, Return of a Nonprofit Corporation (Form 990), 2023.
- TakeAction MN, Return of a Nonprofit Corporation (Form 990), 2022.
- TakeAction MN, Return of a Nonprofit Corporation (Form 990), 2023; “Who We Are.” Faith in Minnesota. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://faithinmn.org.
- “Elianne Farhat.” TakeAction MN. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://old.takeactionminnesota.org/profile/elianne-farhat/.
- “Elianne Farhat.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/elianne-farhat/details/experience/.