Yesterday was Give to the Max day in Minnesota, an effort described by GiveMN on its website:
GiveMN launched in 2009 as a collaborative venture led by Minnesota Community Foundation and many other organizations committed to helping make our state a better place.
To generate excitement for our launch, we organized a little something called Give to the Max Day. That spark touched off a outpouring of generosity — $14 million in 24 hours. Since that trial run in 2009, Give to the Max Day has become an annual tradition. Every year thousands of organizations raise money to improve the quality of life in Minnesota and communities around the world.
We’re thrilled how Minnesotans have embraced Give to the Max Day. But GiveMN is more than a one-day giving extravaganza. We provide a giving website available year-round to link people with nonprofits and schools and make giving soar. In our first decade, more than 300,000 donors have given nearly $200 million to 10,000 nonprofits and schools using GiveMN.org.
Ka-Ching! That sort of fundraising clout appears to have made New House Republican Caucus member Jeremy Munson, Lake Crystal, drool a bit.
Having tried his hand as a doctor a journalist, and an energy expert in the past few months, Munson shifted his career to non-profit fundraiser. Conflating the private nonprofit's high-profile charitable giving event with the state-run, publically-subsidized Political Contribution Refund program, Munson posted on Facebook:
It's "Give to the Max" day. Help us cancel the votes of your friends and family who vote for the wrong party.
Visit jeremymunson.com/donate
Contribute $50 or more and receive $50 back from the State of MN's Political Contribution Refund program ($100 per couple).
We led this post with a screenshot of his effort. Learn more information and history of public subsidy program use at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.
UPDATE: We can't find a campaign committee disclaimer language or link on this particular Munson Facebook page (or its About page), but perhaps the link in the post itself satisfies transparency requirements). [end update]
UPDATE #2 11/15/2019, 11:31 AM: Jeff Sigurdson, Executive Director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board replied to our query:
The disclaimer requirement in Minnesota Statutes section 211B.04 is met when an online communication links directly to another online page that includes the disclaimer. The Facebook page you reference links to the online fundraising page for the Munson campaign committee, which contains the disclaimer required by statute.
He also thought that the implied affiliation with Give To The Max Day would not be an issue under Minnesota's campaign finance law: "I don’t see how that could be an issue under Chapter 10A." [end update]
UPDATE #3 11/15/2019, 5:24 p.m. A reader shared a similar appeal--without the fancy graphics--on the Erik Mortensen For House Facebook page:
Our district needs principled conservative representation that we’ve never had before. With today being “Give to the Max Day” I ask you to donate to my 2020 campaign especially if you’re fed up with phony conservatives that first gleefully funded the fraud-riddled Department of Human Services in May and now seek out the news cameras to talk tough on how something must be done when they could have done something months ago during session.
While we have spineless Republicans throughout Minnesota, we also see Democrats shifting to the far left jeopardizing the preservation of American values that have lifted more people out of poverty than any other nation.
Time to stand up and get involved. Either make a donation or contact me to sit down 1 on 1 and talk about how you can help take our state back in 2020.
Yes, we have a screenshot. Mortensen lost the Minnesota House 55A race in 2018 to former Shakopee mayor Brad Tabke. [end update]
After reading the IRS's information on filing requirements for "campaign committees for candidates for federal, state or local office," we doubt that the Jeremy Munson for State Representative committee registered with the GiveMN organization. As the campaign committee notes, contributions to it are not tax deductible.
Opportunistic? Cynical? Brand infringement? The word "shameless" comes to mind.
Since small contributions aren't itemized on Minnesota campaign finance reports, it will be difficult to discern how many contributions Munson snagged through this piggy-backing on "Give to the Max" day.
We are pleased to learn of the winner of Give to the Max $10,000 Super-sized Golden Ticket. This year, Lights ON! by Microgrants won the drawing. Lights On tackles an issue that plagues low-income people:
Having dependable transportation is pivotal to moving out of poverty. Yet many low-income drivers rely on older, inexpensive cars to get to work and do errands.
The cost of a ticket for a broken car light and the bill for repairing it can easily top $200. For people struggling to make ends meet, a few hundred dollars can undermine their fragile economic security. This can mean a choice between a timely repair and groceries for their families. It also can be the beginning of a downward economic spiral that, for some, leads to multiple tickets, multiple fines, impoundments, loss of vehicle, and even confrontations with police!
Lights On! was created and funded by MicroGrants through individual donations. It is run jointly with 23 police departments across the metro. Now, when a car is pulled over for a lights violation, instead of a ticket, law enforcement can give out a voucher to get the car lights fixed for free at any Bobby and Steve’s Auto World location. MicroGrants foots the bill and Bobby and Steve’s replaces the bulb free of charge.
Lights On! builds goodwill between police departments and the communities they serve, especially people of color and low-income communities.
Since its inception in April 2017, Lights On! has fixed over 700 broken lights, been featured on NBC News and the Washington Post and is being replicated across the country. To extend and expand the program, we need the support of donors like you.
That effort--not building Jeremy Munson's political war chest--is what Give to the Max Day is about.
The Star Tribune tweeted:
Another record: Before midnight, almost $22 million ($21,668,705) had poured to thousands of Minnesota nonprofits and schools for Give to the Max Day. It's the fourth year in a row the online giving marathon trumped the previous year’s mark. #gtmd19 https://t.co/wQIX6KIiLm
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) November 15, 2019
Related posts:
- Rebukes greet New House Republican Jeremy Munson's "$24.88 Life Saving Insulin" video
- Local Madelia businessman and telecom lobbyist vows to get Jeremy Munson tossed from office
- MNHouse Eric Lucero & Jeremy Munson stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anti-vax leaders
- Random white guy with an opinion on PBS thinks Sioux & Dakota fought war against each other
- Mankato Free Press scolds Jeremy Munson for "approach befitting a third grader" on Almanac
- Julie Rosen and Bob Gunther go to bat for Rapidan Township--where's Jeremy Munson?
Screenshot: Jeremy Munson associated the Minnesota Political Contribution Refund program with Give to the Max Day.
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