The Law & Social Policy Legacy Award was launched in 2021 to recognize organizations defending and advocating for low-wage workers’ rights and to increase knowledge of this work in the philanthropic community. The Public Welfare Foundation spent more than a decade supporting public policy and system reforms to improve the lives of low-wage working people in the United States. This prize commemorates and builds on the Public Welfare Foundation’s support to the field and honors the critical role law and social policy organizations play in building an economy that works for all.

A $10,000 award will be given by EOF with support from the Public Welfare Foundation annually until 2030 as a part of their legacy investment into the Workers’ Rights field. There are no restrictions or limitations on the use of the $10,000 award. Awardees are recognized at EOF’s Annual Budget and Tax Briefing, in front of dozens of funders. A short video about the winner’s work is also produced to share during the recognition event and with EOF members and partners.

The award is open to any 501(c)(3) organization (or fiscally sponsored project) working in the field of law and social policy to advance low-wage workers’ rights in the United States. Anyone can make a nomination and self-nominations are allowed. Nominated organizations may be of any size or budget and work may have just started or occurred over years. Individuals are not eligible. Previous Law & Social Policy Legacy Award nominees are eligible to be nominated again in subsequent years. Previous winners cannot be nominated again. 

Nominations are evaluated on the following criteria:

• The nominee’s work has made a significant difference in the lives of low-wage workers and advances structural and systems change.
• The nominee employs a strong worker-engagement model and centers the voices of low-wage workers in their work.
• The nominee’s work stands out among their peers.

Preference will be given to nominations where recognition from the award will help the nominee capitalize on a specific challenge or opportunity. For example, 1) for a less well-known and under-resourced organization, recognition from this award will help increase visibility to new partners and funders; or 2) for a well-known and well-resourced organization, the recognition from this award will help amplify a new body of work focused on workers’ rights or leadership transition.

MWC was one of 20 nominations for the $10,000 award. Nominees were evaluated on three criteria: significance, collaborative approach, and systemic impact.

A $10,000 award will be given by EOF with support from Public Welfare Foundation annually until 2030 as a part of their legacy investment into the Workers’ Rights field.

Many thanks to The Hatcher Group for their partnership in producing this video.

Agricultural Workers Advocacy Coalition is a group of organizations and individuals, including workers, whose mission is to serve as advocates for agricultural workers on the Eastern Shore.

Arise Chicago partners with workers and faith communities to fight workplace injustice through education and organizing and advocating for public policy changes.

Building Skills Partnership empowers property and airport service workers and their families in California to achieve personal and professional success through skills development, education, and community advancement.

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, UC Berkeley is the national leader in early care and education workforce research and policy.

Center for WorkLife Law is a national advocacy and research organization that advances gender and racial equity by strengthening legal rights for pregnant people and family caregivers.

Farmworker Legal Services is a statewide, non-profit legal services provider that represents low income immigrant, migrant, and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents throughout Michigan.

Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom creates opportunities for workers to learn and exercise their rights, realize their collective power, and develop the leadership skills necessary to advocate for a racially and economically just society in Missouri.

Legal Action of Wisconsin delivers exceptional civil legal services and structural change advocacy, free of cost, to those most in need.

Louisiana Progress works with grassroots partners to identify real problems, develop effective solutions, and successfully advocate to turn those solutions into systemic change to make sure that state and local government works better for the interests of poor and working-class people and not the interests of the wealthy elite.

Migrant Justice builds the voice, capacity, and power of the immigrant farmworker community to organize for economic justice and human rights in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Missouri Workers Center is led by low-wage workers, Black, white and brown, urban and rural across the state of Missouri dedicated to fighting racism and winning economic justice for all.

New Labor is an organization that educates, organizes, and fights for better work conditions and social justice in the workplace in New Jersey.

Organized Power In Numbers combines tried and true organizing with top-of-the-line data and digital tools to build worker power in the South and Southwest and to level up campaigns that reach millions.

Raise The Floor Alliance is a Chicago based non-profit and legal clinic whose mission is to ensure that low-wage workers have access to quality jobs and are empowered to uphold and improve workplace standards.

She Leads Justice advocates for women impacted by systemic injustice because when we center women, our communities win in Connecticut.

Shriver Center on Poverty Law is leading the fight for economic and racial justice by litigating, shaping policy, and training and connecting people in the advocacy community.

State Innovation Exchange is a national organization dedicated to empowering state legislators to lead boldly with their communities and make transformative changes.

Sur Legal Collaborative is an immigrant & worker rights nonprofit legal organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.

United for Respect Education Fund elevates the voices of those employed in the retail economy to call on industry leaders and policymakers to transform jobs so people can lead safe and economically-secure lives.

Workers Dignity is a worker-led center dedicated to organizing for economic and racial justice and empowers workers to lead the fight for fair treatment, safe working conditions, and the recovery of stolen wages in Davidson County, Tennessee.