Frequently Asked Questions
Since 2016, Minnesota Freedom Fund’s mission has been to pay criminal bail and immigration bonds for those who cannot afford to, as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing.
Questions about bail and immigration bond decisions
Q: How does Minnesota Freedom Fund make decisions about who gets help?
A: We've been a revolving bail fund since 2016, well before the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Since our founding, we’ve made bail decisions based on factors like bail amount, charge level, and a defendant’s appearance history, and we prioritize people at risk of losing housing and employment or who are facing challenges like homelessness, mental illness, and chemical dependency.
We do not, and will not, make bail decisions based solely on the charge level and type that someone is facing.
Q: I submitted a request and haven’t heard back. What’s the hold up?
A: We receive an enormous volume of requests every week, and our staff evaluate every referral we receive. While every request for help is urgent to us, this process takes time. Please try to be patient; you will hear from us soon. Note that we cannot fulfill all bail requests, and we are not able to respond to all messages received via social media.
In some cases, especially during mass protests, a person may be jailed on a 36 hour hold before they become eligible for bail. If we have approved the request, we will pay the bail as soon as the person becomes eligible.
Q: Will Minnesota Freedom Fund pay the amount I owe to a bail bondsman?
A: Bail bonds companies are built to make a profit. They may charge only 10% of the bail amount, but they keep that 10% (often amounting to thousands of dollars) regardless of whether the defendant appears in court and regardless of ultimate guilt or innocence.
Minnesota Freedom Fund is a revolving bail fund, which means that the money we pay for bail comes back to us when our clients return to court. Then we can use that same money to free someone else. When we pay money to a for-profit bail bondsman, that money never comes back to us.
Because of the type of organization we are, and because we want to maximize the impact of our limited resources, we will only pay bails in cash directly to the courts.
Questions about our work and mission
Q: What is a revolving bail fund?
A: In a revolving bail fund like Minnesota Freedom Fund, the fund solicits money from donors, then we use that money to pay cash bail for people who can’t afford to pay on their own. When those people return to court, as the majority of our clients do, that money comes back to us and we’re able to use the same funds to free someone else.
That’s why, if you have funds to donate, giving to a bail fund is a great way to make a big impact.
Q: How does Minnesota Freedom Fund work to oppose systemic racism in the legal and immigration systems?
A: We pay cash bails and immigration bonds for people who cannot afford to pay for themselves. In doing so, in addition to the criteria given above, we prioritize people hurt most by the interlocking systems of white supremacy, classism, sexism and cis-sexism, and xenophobia:
Indigenous peoples and Black and brown people
Immigrants
People who are unhoused or who experience mental illness and chemical dependency
Pregnant Individuals and caregivers
LGBTQIA, especially trans people
People who have been jailed while fighting for justice
At the same time we provide immediate relief to people jailed pre-trial, we’re also working in the legislature, at the county level, and in the community to eliminate the systems that harm our friends and neighbors and fail to keep us safe.
Nearly half the people we pay bail for have had their case completely dismissed, suggesting there was never a case for the arrest or charge to begin with. Therefore, if a judge has decided that someone can be released so long as they can afford the price, we will pay that fee if we can afford it. That is how we will support an end to a pretrial system that punishes poverty and creates a two-tiered system for those who have not been convicted of a crime.