State Rep. Julia Greenfield (D-Mecklenburg) is upset over the cancellation of a “family friendly” drag brunch that was supposed to take place on Aug. 30.
Greenfield is a member of the North Carolina Democrats legislative Progressive Caucus.
In an Aug. 27 Facebook post, Greenfield said she was slated to be a speaker at the “Drag Brunch for a Cause” event, which she said was cancelled due to a “bigoted misinformation-driven campaign.”
The post included the flier for the event.
Greenfield posted a follow up video on her Facebook page on Aug. 30. The post included the text, “Kids. Books. Glitter. That’s it. That’s the whole “scandal.”
Greenfield defended drag queen shows, saying they are family friendly just like there are family friendly broadway shows. She said those criticizing them should go see one and there is “nothing sexual” about them.
Greenfield’s original post said the event was “raising money for the Carolina Migrant Network, an organization doing real, good work supporting immigrant families in our state.”
More To The Story
The Carolina Migrant Network (CMN) was established in 2017. Per CMN’s website, its core mission is “to provide legal services for individuals in removal proceedings.”
“We provide legal education on the US Immigration System and empower immigrant communities to participate in everyday and civic life,” CMN’s site says. “We envision a world of empowered, self-determined, organized communities free from fear of family separation.”
Additionally CMN’s site boasts it “is the ONLY organization in the Carolina’s to provide free legal representation to people facing removal proceedings and in Immigration detention facilities.”
CMN has an offshoot for “community organizing” called Comunidad Colectiva, which is a “Latinx Women-led organization focused on organizing and educating young people to advocate against anti-immigrant policies at a state and local level to support immigrant communities.” CMN’s website says it “absorbed“ that offshoot in 2022.
What CMN’s website doesn’t say is that it has participated in political “No Kings” protests alongside groups like Indivisible, 50501, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. CMN was specifically named as a partner participant in a June 2025 “No Kings” protest in Charlotte.
CMN’s website says the organization is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and it uses Act Blue for receiving donations.
Flush with cash
Why the drag brunch was raising money for CMN is curious given the organization doesn’t seem to be hurting for money. Since 2021, CMN has reported total receipts of $2,615,788.
According to its IRS filings, it pulled in over $1.305 million in 2024 and $768,106 in 2023. The 2024 filing shows CNM’s two co-directors were each paid over $93,000 and that salaries/wages were the organization’s largest expense.
A search of CMN’s tax ID number in ProPublica’s nonprofit database showed its donors are almost all left-leaning and include George Soros’ Tides Foundation, Southern Vision Alliance, Foundation for the Carolinas, Hispanic Federation Inc., Neo Philanthropy, and Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund.
Additionally, over the last five years CMN has regularly received large contributions from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, one of the most prolific funding groups for left leaning and progressive organizations in North Carolina.
2020: $70,000 - One grant for general operating support
2021: $210,000 - Three grants of $70,000 for general operating support
2022: $108,200 - Three grants of $70,000, $30,000 and $8,200 for general support with the last grant tied to an internship program at Guilford College.
2023: $74,800 - Two grants; $70,000 for operating support and $7,400 for a UNC internship.
2024: $88,000 - One grant for general operating support
Total funding from Z. Smith Reynolds: $659,480
At the bottom of the CMN website is a series of group names and their logos, including Z. Smith Reynolds. Among those listed is NC IOLTA, which stands for North Carolina Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts.
NC IOLTA is a NC State Bar program created back in 1983 that makes interest funded grants used primarily for civil legal aid in cases like eviction defense, domestic violence protection, benefits, and family law, plus some administration-of-justice work.
Cumulative awards by NC IOLTA have exceeded $134 million. In 2025 alone, NC OLITA distributed about $12 million to dozens of organizations, including Legal Aid of North Carolina, which was the largest recipient, Pisgah Legal Services, and the left-leaning North Carolina Justice Center.
Former statehouse Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange) resigned earlier this year to head up the Justice Center. Meyer was replaced by NC Democratic Party Vice Chair Jonah Garson.
The Justice Center was the parent organization for Blueprint NC — known for its memo calling for its partners to “cripple, slam, eviscerate” all Republicans, with a focus on former Gov. Pat McCrory. Blueprint NC’s main funding has also come from Z. Smith Reynolds.
Lawmakers cut the cord on funding to NC IOLTA beginning in 2025 by freezing awards and in the most recent budget.
The July freeze involved a provision in the Public Safety Act (SB 429), which barred IOLTA from awarding any grants from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 and only allowed for administrative costs.
Republican lawmakers cited concerns that grants were supporting organizations with “leftist ideologies” or that were engaged in political advocacy, and they wanted time to take a look at the board’s composition and grantee selection.
Following the freeze, Legal Aid of North Carolina closed some rural offices and reduced staff. Other grantees later reported layoffs.
The House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing in October 2025 with representatives from IOLTA, who were questioned about some of the organizations that received grants - in particular those with partisan political or an ideological bent. The full hearing can be viewed on YouTube.
In April 2026, State Auditor Dave Boliek’s performance audit found that grant awards complied with eligibility rules and identified no instances of misspending. However, the audit found weak post-award monitoring and said that IOLTA relied heavily on self-reported data and didn’t independently verify how around $30 million in grants was used.
“The lack of adequate monitoring practices comes as IOLTA’s revenues and grant awards have risen significantly,” Boliek’s press release stated. “IOLTA’s revenues increased from $3 million in 2018 to $16.7 million in 2024, and grant payments nearly doubled from $6 million in 2023 to $11.9 million in 2025.”
Boliek said in his statement that grants were going to organizations “with clearly partisan, political agendas.”
In response, IOLTA and the State Bar emphasized the compliance finding but said they would strengthen oversight.
CMN appears as an approved IOLTA grantee in the appendices of Boliek’s audit under a section title “2024-22 - Immigration Legal Representation,” beginning on page 70. The amount in the following report shows an IOLTA amount of $50,000.
The 2026 budget, signed by Gov. Josh Stein in July, made the 2025 freeze permanent for civil legal aid and restructured the program.
Key changes included:
Up to $2.5 million per year from pre-July 2025 accumulated funds is allowed to go to “administration of justice” grants. Organizations that provide immigration legal services, like CMN, are no longer eligible recipients nor are those that represent or advocate for “gender-affirming” health care, or engage in policy advocacy or grassroots organizing.
Up to $15 million per year of future IOLTA interest earned after July 1, 2025, was directed to the Office of Indigent Defense Services Private Assigned Counsel Fund, which pays private attorneys for court-appointed criminal defense of indigents. That type of activity is one the state is constitutionally required to fund.
Additionally, the nine-member Board of Trustees was revised, with three appointed by the State Bar Council, two by the Chief Justice, two each by the Senate and House. The Chief Justice also gets to select the chair. Previously all members were appointed by the State Bar Council.
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