Follow the Money: Politics and Environmentalism Part 3, Tides Edition

Building on the first two parts of this sequence ([1] and [2]), I take a look at the relationships between the Tides Foundation, Minnesota environmentalists, and state Democrats.  (In Minnesota, the Democrats belong the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).)

The San Francisco-based Tides Foundation and the associated Tides Center work to promote progressive causes, including issues such as "environmental sustainability."  Examining the Foundation's IRS 990 forms for the years 2008 through 2010 reveals some interesting Minnesota connections.

In 2008, an election year, the Tides donated to, among others, three Minnesota groups including the Democratic party-related political groups Alliance for a Better Minnesota (Education Fund) and WIN Minnesota, along with the environmental group Conservation Minnesota.

As Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) documented in a compelling graphic, $ millions flowed from WIN Minnesota to the Alliance for a Better Minnesota in the last election cycle to influence the governor's race.  Among the Directors of WIN Minnesota  is Alida Messinger, a Rockefeller heiress and ex-wife of current DFL Governor Mark Dayton (the 2010 winner).  As MPR also documents, Ms. Messinger is one of the state's largest DFL political donors.

At the time of Tides' 2008 donation to Conservation Minnesota, one of its directors was Bill Grant, who now serves in the Dayton Administration as Director of the Division of Energy Resources.

In 2009, a non-election year, Tides made another donation to WIN Minnesota, along with donations to the Minnesota environmental groups Fresh Energy and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) for the Tides' Tar Sands Campaign.

At the time of the 2009 donation, the MCEA was headed by Interim Executive Director Paul Aasen.  Mr. Aasen now serves in Gov. Dayton's cabinet, as Commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.  Then and now, Fresh Energy was headed by Michael Noble.

In 2010, another election year, the Tides made another donation to MCEA for the Tar Sands program and more donations to the Alliance for a Better Minnesota Education Fund and WIN Minnesota.

Today, Alida Messinger and Michael Noble serve together on the board of Conservation Minnesota's Voter Fund political arm.

The donations I've discussed total a mere $335,000 over those three years, a drop in the bucket to the $48 million Tom Steward documents in his Follow the Money series.  But these donations do reveal some interesting interconnections (the Iron Triangle) between a leading national progressive foundation, and local DFL party and environmental non-profits.

Expect more "connect-the-dots" work in this space.