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Through a collaborative grantmaking approach, the Bridging the Economic Divide (BED) Fund supports living wage campaigns and economic justice organizing throughout the U.S. Grants from the Fund help build strategic alliances among community, labor, and faith-based groups and strengthen the leadership and involvement of those most affected by poverty. Over the past five years, the Fund has seen:
Since the first living wage ordinance passed in 1994, living wage organizing has emerged as a key wage-based strategy that empowers low-wage workers and builds momentum for a broader economic justice agenda. Diverse coalitions of community, labor, and faith-based organizations in communities all over the U.S. have won passage of 130 living wage ordinances, requiring private firms contracting with city or county governments to meet certain standards regarding wages and benefits.
As a direct outgrowth of the living wage successes, 18 states have also passed legislation or initiatives to raise statewide minimum wages higher than the federal level. Many of these living wage campaigns have been supported by the BED Fund.
At the core this is about raising wages for working people. But perhaps just as importantly it is also about civic participation and expanding democracy. The Bridging the Economic Divide Initiative supports not only living wage campaigns, but also the broader economic justice movement. Given the complexity of the current economic crisis, the Initiative works to support creative, innovative organizing strategies, many of which come from low-wage workers in the informal economy where laborers cannot benefit from a living wage, as well as from "no-wage" workers (i.e. workfare workers) who are attempting to make the difficult transition from welfare to work.
Combined, these efforts highlight the importance of building relationships across strategies and constituencies and forming the foundation for an economic justice movement with a stronger, more multi-faceted agenda-a movement with the power to fundamentally impact the bridging of the economic divide.
Defined and driven by donor participation, the Bridging the Economic Divide Initiative allows donors to join with like-minded people to make strategic funding decisions and increase the impact of your charitable giving.
As a collaborative member, you have the rare opportunity to become directly involved with this issue, to meet the key players, and to craft strategic, responsive grantmaking programs. To learn more about the Initiative and how you can become a donor and collaborative member, please contact Jane Lin at 415.561.7810 or jlin(at)tides.org.
