St. Paul restaurant owner Brian Ingram withdraws charity’s nonprofit status after state warnings

For years, the expanding restaurant empire of Brian and Sarah Ingram became well-known for giving cash and food to people in need, including families of slain police officers or victims of catastrophes abroad, through their charitable arm: Give Hope.

On Monday, Brian Ingram told the state Attorney General’s Office he’s dissolving Give Hope as a nonprofit. His email came after the office alerted him earlier this year that in addition to its federal nonprofit status, Give Hope was required to register as a Minnesota charity.

In an interview Tuesday, Ingram said Give Hope will continue to raise and give away money to those in need. But it’s not worth the trouble to run it as a Minnesota nonprofit, he said.

“We wanted to get rid of all the red tape,” Ingram said. “When I fly into Turkey for earthquake relief, we don’t want to have to answer all these questions. And I don’t have to hold a board vote.”

Ingram said Give Hope will be reorganized as a C corporation, or a charitable corporate entity. He won’t get the tax benefits of being a 501(c)(3), but “we didn’t get into this for tax write-offs, we just got into it to help our community.”

The Ingrams’ action came after they were sent two letters by the Attorney General’s Office telling them that if they solicit charitable donations, they need to register under the state’s Charitable Solicitation Act. The first letter, dated Feb. 20, noted that organizations that fail to register face civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each violation of the act. The second letter, dated May 9, noted that the Ingrams had not responded and asked again that they register.

On Tuesday, Ingram said those letters and a subsequent news report about them on KSTP, were not the reason Give Hope is giving up its nonprofit status.

“We’ve been in the process of doing this for a year, year and a half,” he said. “That was the plan all along.”

Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said Tuesday that he could not say why the office sent the letters to Give Hope, calling it “non-public data.”

In a statement, Evans said: “The Attorney General is the chief supervisor of nonprofits and charities in Minnesota. He investigates potential violations of charities laws and brings civil enforcement actions to protect donors and charitable assets. Registration with the Attorney General’s Office is an important tool because it allows the Attorney General to detect potential violations like misused assets in financial statements and other documents that charities are required to file with us.”

However, Evans pointed out, that statement “should not be interpreted as a comment on the conduct of Give Hope or any specific charitable entity.”

He added: “I wouldn’t want folks to read the part about potential violations and the misuse of assets and think we’re implying that Give Hope has done that, because that’s certainly not the intent of my statement.”

The Ingrams first opened Hope Breakfast Bar in an historic former fire station in St. Paul and soon began to use the restaurant as a way to help the community during the COVID pandemic. In 2020, the Ingrams launched Give Hope to serve as the charitable arm of restaurants that were now regularly donating 3% of their revenue to charitable causes as well as hosting special events to raise money for crime and disaster victims.

Brian Ingram said Give Hope has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and food to multiple causes. A recent event at Ingram’s Apostle Supper Club in downtown St. Paul raised more than $32,000 for the family of slain Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell. Another fundraiser at the Hope restaurant in Eagan raised $23,000 for the two Burnsville police officers and paramedic killed in a shooting in February. Ingram said he flew to Turkey to provide relief to victims of a catastrophic earthquake and to Maui to help victims of wildfires.

The Ingrams recently donated money to help buy Christmas presents for the 30 people who live in the village of one of his cooks after he asked for help. Ingram said they are driven to give by their faith, not by tax breaks.

His accountants have refiled three years’ taxes since they dropped their nonprofit status, Ingram said. “I believe we’re past the finish line on this.”