The professional fundraising organization Ride to The Chip and its founders have been barred from all future professional fundraising activities in Minnesota. The organization and its founders must pay the nonprofit the Magnus Veterans Foundation money owed to the charity, roughly $5,000. 

The fundraisers, identified as Tyrone Creer and Alice Arenson, will be required to further pay $75,000 if they violate any part of the agreement with the State of Minnesota, according to an announcement from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

It’s alleged that Ride to The Chip misleadingly claimed that 100% of the funds raised would go to charity when a portion of the funds went toward their profit, and that the organization failed to give donors legally required disclosures about, among other things, its for-profit status. The agreement further alleges that RTTC failed to register as a professional fundraiser and file reports.

The agreement, known as an Assurance, outlines the issues. Creer and Arenson founded RTTC in 2022, after which it organized a motorcycle ride from the Twin Cities to the Buffalo Chip Campground in South Dakota to fundraise for MVF. In 2023, the Attorney General’s Office received a complaint regarding concerns that a donation did not go to MVF, as intended. 

The Charities Division launched an investigation under Minnesota’s civil charitable solicitation and charitable trust laws, which require those who hold charitable assets to adhere to strict registration requirements and fiduciary duties. In Minnesota, the Attorney General through the Charities Division has civil, not criminal, enforcement authority over the state’s charitable solicitation and charitable trust laws.

“It is unacceptable for a fundraiser hired by a charity to keep money they specifically raised for that charity,” Attorney General Ellison said via a statement.

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Source From Non Profit Times