The Brief Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he has shut down MN Fundraising Initiative (MNFI) for misclassifying paid workers as "volunteers" during events at Twin Cities stadiums. The announcement says the nonprofit operated as a staffing agency, providing labor to for-profit vendors and paying "grants" based on hours worked. Instead of open grant-making, MNFI only awarded "grants" to its own members and barred them from "volunteering" for similar groups. Under the settlement agreement, MNFI is required to end operations in Minnesota and dissolve as a nonprofit operating in the state. "Charities can’t do an end-run around employment law by abusing their nonprofit status to save on labor costs.