Nonprofit or For Profit?

In case it’s fallen off of your radar, American Public Media Group and its company of brands
including Minnesota Public Radio are facing some ugly allegations. A rotating series of
employee surveys and debrief sessions point to a toxic culture and employees have banded
together to say that they have had enough. They want accountability, transparency, and are
demanding change.

2020 has brought more reports of discrimination including racism, ageism, harrasement,
bullying, and intimidation. There is another EEOC complaint, calls for union intervention, and
renewed interest in the 990’s showing executive salaries and legal departments with bills that
mirror those seen in for-profit conglomerates. All of this comes at a price paid dearly by APM|
MPR members, volunteers, and anyone who donates time and money to our beloved
institutions of public service. A nonprofit designation assumes a mission so critical to the fabric
of society that it needs a buffer from the political and financial pressures of the free market to
deliver focused resources to an explicit, demonstrated need in our communities. For some
organizations, it’s the difference between life and death for the individuals and families they
serve. For MPR it’s a privilege we see exploited for the personal gain of a few but repackaged
and sold to us as a vital service worthy of our unchecked trust.

It seems MPR has moved away from public service but stuck close to its roots in education. It
exists today as a marketing tool to the elite left and like minded for companies looking to sell
their wares to a relatively homogeneous group of highly educated, high income earners. The
nonprofit designation is irrelevant for those companies that can also check off corporate social
responsibility in the process. However, for those of us who continue to buy into the illusion, we
can no longer do so under the guise of public benefit. I’ve spent my career working with
nonprofits small and large including MPR that spanned over 20 years. I am one of the 28 they
laid off back in June 2020; or at least I think I am according to the voicemail I received. The
image painted for donors and funders through marketing campaigns are for the benefit of
reputation and positioning not of mission and public service. Hell, even the Chinese
government sees the disconnect and is asking questions.

The trust we lend MPR casts doubt over the legitimacy and reduces the efficacy of charitable
approaches to societal ills. There are a multitude of nonprofits and social justice movements we
support at this time of year to help individuals, families, and communities at risk reach the
levers to fully participate in society. There is not enough money to cover the basic necessities
such as stable housing, food, and education for our neighbors; even more so due to COVID19.
Large, legacy nonprofits such as MPR with established philanthropic arms are putting additional
pressure on those resources; through deferred giving, they pull wealth from future generations
whose giving behaviors differ from their parents and grandparents. Their worlds are different as
are the expectations, relationships, and habits that have formed while MPR doubled down on
“education”.

Trust and confidence are essential to nonprofits that must navigate the expectations of
individual donors, large funders, volunteers, and the public at large for the financial backing to
deliver on its public service missions. We need more scrutiny around our institutions of public
benefit. MPR is not immune to the larger industry trends driven by cheap tech and more power
and choice for consumers. The nonprofit designation has shielded it from the tension,
motivation, and direction required to innovate into a relevant resource for most Americans.
What we are seeing out of MPR serves as a testament of how government protections designed
to ensure that we all have a seat at the table can be exploited. The continued calls to protect
only highlight the privilege and is more damaging than the overt acts to undermine our public
service institutions. The acts we publicly condemn. Challenging the safety net of nonprofit and
the halo we attribute to it would allow MPR to compete not as a charity but as any other media
company - just as it behaves.

Danielle Y Duncan
DanielleYB12@gmail.com
651-895-5211