Minneapolis ‘safety-beyond-policing’ department requests $1M contract for group owned by staffer’s sister

The fledgling Minneapolis “safety-beyond-policing” department, which has been accused of mismanaging contracts with violence interrupters, is again under scrutiny for requesting nearly $1 million for a business owned by the sister of one of its staff members.

Unanswered questions about the Black Business Enterprises Fund and the purpose of the contract have repeatedly delayed a City Council vote on the contract.

Neighborhood Safety Director Luana Nelson-Brown came before the council’s administration oversight committee on Oct. 7 to argue for giving the business a one-year, $992,400 contract for “capacity building and compliance consulting services.” Black Business Enterprises Fund would use the money to employ a team of 17 experts to coach violence interrupters on financial literacy and how to comply with government accounting requirements.

“A good financial system allows organizations to track their spending accurately, ensuring that funds are used properly and enabling them to prepare regular reports that meet government expectations,” Nelson-Brown said. “It also streamlines invoice reimbursements, which allows us to make more timely payments, and it is necessary for audits and evaluation of program success. I also want to note that these are all things that have been identified as weaknesses.”

Nelson-Brown said the need for the contract is underscored by a lawsuit that accused the city of arbitrarily awarding millions of dollars to violence prevention groups without proper accounting, as well as the “Safe and Thriving Communities” report on building a comprehensive model of public safety. The city commissioned the Harvard University report after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

City Council members have also been pushing for greater accountability in the Neighborhood Safety Department, particularly after a whistleblower complaint shared with council members this year questioned the relationships between contract recipients and department staff. One of the whistleblower’s claims had to do with Black Business Enterprises Fund owner Nancy Korsah, and her sister, Neighborhood Safety Department staffer Georgia Korsah.

On Oct. 7, council members asked Nelson-Brown about that relationship, whether the business had experience working with nonprofits — particularly those that provide violence prevention services — and whether it is an organization capable of helping others build theirs.

Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said she wasn’t aware of what the Black Business Enterprises Fund had done besides “having a gala.” Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said a review of the organization’s website raised a “red flag.”

Council Member Robin Wonsley asked whether an organization of Black Business Enterprises Fund’s size could handle a $1 million city contract, which would appear to triple its operating budget. The most recent publicly available financial statements for the nonprofit Black Business Enterprises Fund show it had about $350,000 in revenue and $346,703 in expenses. Nancy Korsah also incorporated a for-profit company by the same name.

Nelson-Brown said she believed Black Business Enterprises Fund could scale up to handle the contract because the Neighborhood Safety Department frequently buoys smaller organizations in need of extra support.

“I feel confident that, because of their experience working with the vendors that we actually fund, and with their fiscal management work, I feel confident that we’ll be able to collaborate well and make the services happen,” she told council members.

“Typically that would be something to raise an eyebrow with, for sure. If I were sitting in your shoes, I’d do the same. But that is something that, as we bring forward this work, we’ve had to do with several organizations.”

Nelson-Brown could not specify how Black Business Enterprises Fund has worked with the city’s violence interruption vendors in the past. She said the city held a contract procurement training about a year ago, which Black Business Enterprises Fund “assisted.”

The committee postponed her request to its Oct. 21 meeting, then referred it back to staff after council members’ concerns were not satisfied. This means that if Nelson-Brown wants to bring the contract back to the council for approval, it would need to be substantially different.

A Minnesota Star Tribune data request found that last year the city paid Black Business Enterprises Fund $5,000 to provide financial management consulting and conduct two training sessions. The city contact listed on the purchase order was Georgia Korsah.

The Black Business Enterprises Fund also received $125,000 of federal COVID relief funds through the Neighborhood Safety Department to provide “community trauma response programming” throughout the city, according to a recent report of American Rescue Plan Act expenditures issued between July and September of this year.

Wonsley said it’s unclear how Black Business Enterprises Fund qualified for that money and how it was spent.

Nelson-Brown and Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette declined interview requests.

The Minnesota Star Tribune asked Nancy Korsah about Black Business Enterprises Fund’s experience providing capacity and compliance assistance to violence prevention nonprofits. She agreed to answer the question at an in-person interview at her office in the North Loop, but did not show up.

Instead, she texted through a volunteer for her annual Black Business Ball, which took place on Oct. 19, that she was no longer available.