Shriver Center on Poverty Law to Sunset the End of 2025

The Shriver Center on Poverty Law has been a national leader in the fight for economic and racial justice for over 50 years. To say it has a proud legacy would be an extreme understatement. Formed as the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services, it originally published the critical and groundbreaking Clearinghouse Review, which disseminated vital action research for lawyers in the War on Poverty. That national approach to anti-poverty advocacy was amplified in 2003 when Sargent Shriver–one of the country’s most renowned and revered anti-poverty advocates–gave his name and financial support to the organization. Since then, the Shriver Center has continued to litigate, shape policy, and train and convene multi-state networks of lawyers, community leaders, and activists nationwide, all of which today are informed by a racial equity lens and commitment to economic opportunity for all.

The Shriver Center has faced significant and increasing challenges in recent years. Despite vigorous efforts, we have not been able to overcome a multi-year structural deficit. Our earned and donated revenue has decreased over the years as well, despite the deep and loyal support of many dedicated funders. Over the past year, our Board of Directors has undertaken an intense and wide-ranging evaluation to identify the best path forward for our organization. We have approached this with a commitment to our organization’s mission – knowing that to do our work effectively requires long-term resources. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to continue this work, and we have made the difficult decision to sunset the organization at the end of 2025.

This decision–while deeply painful–is the right one to honor the legacy and mission of the Shriver Center. Much of our work on economic justice, housing justice, and healthcare justice can be found at other local and national organizations, and our network and training approach also is modeled at other local and national organizations. The fact that so many Shriver alumni now populate and lead those organizations will help facilitate this transition.

We at the Shriver Center are deeply appreciative to all of our current and legacy supporters, advocates, and affiliates. And we have tremendous gratitude for our dedicated staff that continued to stay focused on our mission and work during this period of uncertainty. It is because of you that this transition is not the end of the fight for those living in poverty, but rather the beginning of a new chapter.

We will share more information as it becomes available.