Labor rights and workplace fairness figured prominently in the the recent grant awards of the Sociological Initiatives Foundation.

The research and organizing projects supported by the foundation will investigate wage theft, working conditions for temporary and domestic workers, hiring discrimination, and the challenge of making fair labor practices a part of the growing sustainable food movement.

Most of the projects supported community-academic partnerships and were designed to support regulatory or legislative advocacy campaigns.

To view the grants list, click here.

The Herman and Frieda Miller Foundation recently awarded its second round of grants for its new Innovation Fund.

The Innovation Fund is broadly conceived as a resource that supports innovations, tools, and practices that help social justice organizations and their allies improve conditions and institutions in pursuit of an involved, informed, and active public.

The Fund complements the core grantmaking program of the foundation that funds organizing and advocacy in Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts.

The seven grantees represented a diverse set of organizations that were experienced at community organizing and advancing public policy. Most represented strong coalitions and all were working in concert with other community partners. Nearly all of the projects had a regional or statewide emphasis.

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The major theme emerging from the 2012 grants of the Herman and Frieda Miller Foundation was public policy change through effective coalition organizing.

The series of political victories this year challenge the notion that it is difficult to evaluate advocacy and community organizing.

Illustrative advocacy wins include:

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