Advocacy Finalists

Voting for the 2026 Minnesota Nonprofit Mission Awards has closed. We hope you’ll join us at the 2026 MCN Annual Conference to learn about and hear from this year’s recipients!

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EVA’s persistent efforts led to the first-ever Minnesota licensure requirements for assisted living facilities in 2019. In Committee, Senator Dibble recently reiterated EVA’s leadership in this important milestone, and lobbyists from AARP and Legal Aid have stated that they could not make progress on this issue until EVA put a face to the issue. Public policy remains at the heart of EVA’s mission.

Most recently, EVA successfully advocated for the passage of “Larry’s Law,” named after Larry Thompson. In 2025, Larry fell off his scooter inside the Meadow Ridge Senior Living facility and was pinned between his scooter and the wall, slowly suffocating to death while staff stood by. The facility had a “no lift” policy, which instructed staff to call 911 and not touch residents after a fall. Larry’s Law now compels providers to develop and implement plans for facility staff to immediately attend to residents in medical emergencies.

In this recent legislative session, EVA also championed measures to add staffing requirements and strengthen guardrails for for-profit entities. The bill would require staffing ratios for facilities and require a nurse to be on-site 24 hours a day. It would add disclosure requirements and regulations when for-profit entities acquire nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They would be barred from stripping a facility’s assets and would have to spend at least 75% of the public funds they get on direct resident care. EVA also called for increased provider fines in the event of a resident death resulting from abuse and/or neglect. Currently, these provider fines are only $5,000, which is less than some of Minnesota’s traffic violation fines.

While EVA was unable to secure all these measures this year, this advocacy has generated significant legislative attention and urgency. One senator commented that it is the stories EVA brings forward that compel legislative action, and the Minnesota Office of Legislative Auditor has requested our data for their work on auditing the state’s assisted living facility licensing program.

The other measures introduced and championed by EVA that were not signed into law have still created meaningful outcomes for Minnesota’s elder community. EVA has started to pull back the curtain on for-profit care providers’ finances, the lack of appropriate staffing regulations, and the dismally low fines associated with wrongful deaths. Even with a closely divided legislature, EVA has kick-started conversations that need to occur. EVA will continue to fight for the rights of older adults and people with disabilities through legislative action, advocacy, and leadership. The organization’s has achieved stronger oversight, licensing, and accountability in the guardianship system, and promoted protections around visitation, electronic monitoring, and resident advocacy to give families peace of mind and ensure that legal rights are protected.

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In 1976, Gov. Wendell Anderson signed a state executive order creating the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area to protect its natural, cultural and scenic resources. Federal recognition soon followed in 1988 for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a national park unit along the same 72-mile stretch. These designations, though significant, didn’t come with airtight legal protection. Imprecise guidelines led to inconsistent approaches to development in each of the 25 critical areas’ cities and townships.

FMR has worked alongside community members to advocate for the riverfront they wanted, but proposals would often come forward for a development that threatened the river’s health or public access, and it was difficult to challenge variances because of the unclear guidelines.

In 2007, in a bid for clarity, FMR launched a study looking into potential fixes for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) critical area program that led to building support for state legislation that would apply clear, science-based state rules along the metro river corridor. FMR recruited legislative champions, marshaled grassroots advocates and lobbied the bill through multiple committees. In the end, the reform bill passed with narrow, but bipartisan support in the 2009 legislative session, giving the DNR the go-ahead to create consistent state rules.

Finally, after years of listening and balancing interests, in 2016 the DNR released the final cohesive, protective development rules for the 72-mile stretch of our metro Mississippi River. Reflected in the package were many measures FMR championed, delivering a much-improved overall baseline for river development.

The next step was working with the 25 cities and townships in the critical area to fold the rules into their plans and adopt official ordinances. FMR activated hundreds of residents to advocate for their cities’ ordinances and in some cases add even stronger protections, like bird-friendly lighting requirements for riverfront buildings. By the end of 2025, all 25 cities and townships completed this process.

FMR worked with thousands of local advocates and community organizations throughout this two-decade advocacy effort, which led to the creation of FMR’s thriving River Guardians program in 2016, a program engaging community members to advocate for the river by writing to legislators, commenting on riverfront development, and attending important hearings and events.

The Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area Rules, now adopted and folded into the plans of all 25 Twin Cities-area river corridor cities and townships, protect the river — its shorelines, trees, habitat, migration routes, bluffs, community access and more. Designed to be clear, usable and protective, these rules will prevent many development projects from even being proposed. And, if a development proposal fails to meet standards, an individual, organization or public agency can take legal action to ensure compliance. Thanks to decades of river advocacy, including that done by FMR, people across the political spectrum understand the draw of our stretch of the Mississippi, the sense of place it gives, and our responsibility to sustain its health as it sustains ours.

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The organization offers emergency shelter, crisis intervention, court advocacy, Orders for Protection and Harassment Restraining Order assistance, safety planning, housing support, and ongoing transitional services for survivors and their children. Through strong community partnerships and survivor-centered programming, the organization addresses immediate safety needs while promoting long-term healing and stability.

The Women’s Shelter and Support Center also prioritizes prevention and systems change through community education, legislative advocacy, and collaboration with local and statewide partners. Its constituency includes survivors of all ages, backgrounds, and identities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, families with children, older adults, and culturally diverse communities throughout Southeast Minnesota.

The organization’s advocacy model goes beyond crisis response by helping survivors navigate complex systems that often create barriers to safety. Staff provide court advocacy, assistance with Orders for Protection and Harassment Restraining Orders, safety planning, housing support, child and school safety planning, emergency shelter, and ongoing transitional support. This holistic approach ensures survivors receive both immediate intervention and long-term support as they rebuild their lives.

The organization has demonstrated responsive and innovative advocacy by addressing one of the lesser-discussed barriers survivors face: concern for their pets when leaving abusive situations. Through successful grant advocacy, the Women’s Shelter and Support Center developed a pet program that assists with veterinary care, vaccines, boarding, and onsite pet accommodations. This initiative allows more survivors to seek safety without fear of abandoning beloved animals.

The Women’s Shelter and Support Center strengthened its advocacy efforts through its partnership with Violence Free Minnesota, working collaboratively to amplify survivor voices and advocate for policies supporting victims of domestic violence across Minnesota. Through this partnership, staff regularly communicated with Violence Free Minnesota team members to learn how to most effectively engage legislators and advocate for key bills impacting survivors and victim services.

The Women’s Shelter and Support Center has made a significant and lasting impact on victims and survivors of domestic violence throughout Southeast Minnesota by expanding access to safety, advocacy, education, and long-term support services. Serving a 10-county region with physical locations in Olmsted, Fillmore, and Dodge Counties, the organization has strengthened both individual survivor outcomes and broader community response systems.

One of the most direct impacts of the organization’s recent work was the development of a new shelter facility, allowing the organization to serve survivors in a safer, more supportive, and trauma-informed environment. This expansion increased the organization’s capacity to respond to community need while creating opportunities for enhanced partnerships and services. Through a collaboration with Fernbrook Family Center, survivors now have access to onsite mental health support in a familiar and secure setting, reducing barriers to care and increasing access to healing-centered services.

The organization’s advocacy and grant efforts also led to the development of a pet program that helps survivors with veterinary care, vaccines, boarding, and onsite accommodations for pets. This program directly addresses one of the most common barriers survivors face when attempting to leave abusive situations: fear for the safety of their animals. By removing this barrier, more survivors are able to safely seek shelter and support.

The organization’s legislative advocacy efforts have also ensured that the voices and experiences of survivors in Southeast Minnesota are represented in statewide policy discussions. Through continued engagement with lawmakers and statewide advocacy coalitions, the Women’s Shelter and Support Center has helped advocate for policies and funding that strengthen protections and services for survivors across Minnesota.