‘We Win’ but taxpayers lose when politics, nepotism and nonprofits meet
Several people sent me the notice of the introduction of Senate File 1140, which provides a $15 million state grant to the nonprofit We Win Institute of Minneapolis. The bill was introduced by second-termer state Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-62, Minneapolis) who is also running for Mayor.
The bill would pay for a land purchase by We Win, and, if passed, the money would be used,
to continue and expand the renovation of their currently owned facilities to provide academic, social, and culturally specific programming and food services for black students in the city of Minneapolis. This appropriation may be used for the property acquisition of an additional property in the city of Minneapolis to be used for a meeting and gathering space to work with and support community-based organization partnerships.
The words “an additional property” is a reference to a 2023 state grant (p. 54, line 29) for $3,500,000 already received by We Win. Sen. Fateh was also the lead author on that bill.
What commentators point out is that another state Senator, first-termer Zaynab Mohamed (DFL-63, Minneapolis), appears to be a board member of the We Win nonprofit, as shown by the organization’s most recent (2023) tax return (p. 7, line 10).
Zaynab does not appear to have been a board member prior to her election to the state Senate, based on previous tax returns.
By sheer coincidence, Sen. Zaynab Mohamed is Sen. Omar Fateh’s sister-in-law.
[Update #1: I used the word “appears” above in describing Sen. Mohamed’s board membership. For her part, she denies ever having been a member of the We Win board, issuing the following statement,
“I have never been a board member of the We Win Institute, Inc. I only became aware of this situation late last week, and have taken steps for the organization to correct its records.”
This secret-board-membership incident brings to mind a similar revelation that came out in the current Feeding Our Future trial.
The Minnesota Reformer has published a report, which includes a statement from We Win.
We Win has not provided any board contemporaneous board minutes or any other documentation to bolster the Senator’s account.]
[Update #2: We have been informed that Sen. Fateh intends to withdraw his S.F. 1140 from consideration. The House version of the bill, HF 496, remains active.]
We Win has been around for some thirty years, having been incorporated in 1995. Tax returns show the nonprofit producing annual revenue of between $200,000 and $300,000 in the decade from 2010 to 2020. But this chart by ProPublica shows the explosion of revenue in 2023, corresponding with Sen. Mohamed’s [alleged] arrival on the nonprofit’s board.
And we have you, the taxpayer, to thank.