Environment charity Honor The Earth reaches voluntary settlement with Minnesota AG
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A settlement has been reached between the State of Minnesota and environmental charity Honor The Earth, the state's attorney general announced Friday.
Attorney General Keith Ellison says the voluntary settlement requires the organization to "continue strengthening its governance" after past governance issues were uncovered during an investigation from the AG's Charities Division.
Honor The Earth agreed to the investigation after a jury verdict ordered the group to pay $750,000 in a sexual harassment case that prompted co-founder and executive director Winona LaDuke to step down. A former employee accused the organization of ignoring her reports of sexual harassment and retaliating against her.
Ellison says the investigation from the Charities Division uncovered "additional evidence of the former leadership's dismissal of internal misconduct." He says it also uncovered inadequate financial controls and recordkeeping, as well as failure to comply with registration requirements for charities that solicit donations in the state.
The settlement is an assurance of discontinuance, filed in Ramsey County District Court, which requires the organization to continue strengthening its governance.
The attorney's office says the group has already acted quickly to make important changes, including work to replace every member of the board of directors who served before the sexual harassment case verdict.
Other actions include:
- Hiring a forensic accountant to complete a thorough audit of their finances.
- Hiring an attorney with experience counseling nonprofit corporations on compliance with Minnesota charities laws.
- Hiring a human resources consultant to strengthen the organization's policies and procedures.
"Every Minnesota nonprofit, no matter the issues they work on or the communities they serve, needs to maintain trust and transparency with the donating public," Ellison said. "Honor the Earth's did not meet the expectations that Minnesotans have for all charitable organizations. I appreciate Honor the Earth's voluntary commitment to strengthening its compliance and rebuilding trust in the community."
The assurance of discontinuation requires Honor the Earth to complete its review of finances, policies and procedures within a year.
Honor the Earth released a statement in response to the attorney general's announcement.
"The new iteration of Honor the Earth has worked tirelessly for the past ten months to redefine the legacy of organizing at Honor the Earth," the statement said in part.
The group says one of the reforms has been to sever all ties with LaDuke and any organization LaDuke is affiliated with "outside of communication to separate the organization and to complete outstanding audits."
Anyone in Minnesota who has concerns about governance or other issues at a nonprofit can submit a complaint on the attorney general's website.