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She's raised almost $20m to help Minnesota - she thinks you can do it too
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/24/minnesota-ice-money-activismLex McMenamin
Ashley Fairbanks launched Stand with Minnesota as ICE raids rocked her home town -- now donations are pouring in, and families' rent is being paid
rom thousands of miles away in San Antonio, Ashley Fairbanks watched the news pour out of her home town of Minneapolis- federal immigration authorities flooding the streets and regular people stepping up to defend and care for their communities. She knew she had to do something. So the 39-year-old writer, artist and digital strategist started a Google Doc.
. . .
Since its launch, the site has received over 2.4 million hits and helped raise almost $20m for affected Minnesotans, she said.
The site has also been used to coordinate flights - through donated frequent flyer miles - for people returning to Minneapolis after being released from detention in Texas. (Fairbanks lives about 40 minutes from Dilley detention center, where five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was transported with his father from Minneapolis.)
Now, as national attention has shifted away from Minneapolis, Stand With Minnesota is focused on covering families' rent. Donations are being matched by a Minnesota grant-making foundation so residents who have been sheltering in place and have been unable to work during the ICE siege can afford to stay in their homes. The site also hosts a "giving directory" with more opportunities for mutual aid - helping residents with laundry needs, grocery drop-offs and even tow services for those whose cars were abandoned after ICE interactions.
"It's been incredible to get to see all of the generosity and how people are eager to give, especially with the mutual aid efforts," Fairbanks, who wants to help people in other cities set up their own online mutual aid hubs. "The most helpful part of all of this, to me, is actually seeing people just be like, 'Oh, I don't have to just give to a non-profit. I can give to my neighbor.'"
. . .
. . .
Since its launch, the site has received over 2.4 million hits and helped raise almost $20m for affected Minnesotans, she said.
The site has also been used to coordinate flights - through donated frequent flyer miles - for people returning to Minneapolis after being released from detention in Texas. (Fairbanks lives about 40 minutes from Dilley detention center, where five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was transported with his father from Minneapolis.)
Now, as national attention has shifted away from Minneapolis, Stand With Minnesota is focused on covering families' rent. Donations are being matched by a Minnesota grant-making foundation so residents who have been sheltering in place and have been unable to work during the ICE siege can afford to stay in their homes. The site also hosts a "giving directory" with more opportunities for mutual aid - helping residents with laundry needs, grocery drop-offs and even tow services for those whose cars were abandoned after ICE interactions.
"It's been incredible to get to see all of the generosity and how people are eager to give, especially with the mutual aid efforts," Fairbanks, who wants to help people in other cities set up their own online mutual aid hubs. "The most helpful part of all of this, to me, is actually seeing people just be like, 'Oh, I don't have to just give to a non-profit. I can give to my neighbor.'"
. . .