Raise Up Missouri was a left-of-center nonprofit created in 2017 to support the successful campaign to raise Missouri’s statewide minimum wage in 2018 (Proposition B). The proposal set the state’s minimum wage increase to $12 per hour by 2023. ¹

Raise Up Missouri procured funds primarily from out-of-state left-wing interest groups that critics have criticized as “dark money” organizations, most prominently the Sixteen Thirty Fund. ^{2 3 4} Local and national labor unions, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, and SEIU Local 1 also funded Raise Up Missouri. ⁵

After Proposition B passed during the 2018 general election, Raise Up Missouri announced its victory, endorsed the nonprofit Missouri Jobs with Justice, and ended its activity on December 31, 2018. ⁶

Founding

Raise Up Missouri started in August 2017 as a campaign to raise the minimum wage in Missouri. Raise Up Missouri created the campaign in response to a move by then-Governor Eric Grietens (R) to block left-wing municipalities from raising local minimum wages above the state-set level. The campaign launch was backed by Kansas City AFL-CIO, SEIU Local 1, Stand Up Kansas City, and Missouri Jobs with Justice. ⁷

2018 Ballot Measure Campaign

Raise Up Missouri later pushed a ballot measure closely tied to the contested 2018 U.S. Senate race of incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO.) against then-State Attorney General Josh Hawley (R). Senator McCaskill was the highest profile official from Missouri to support Raise Up Missouri’s campaign for Proposition B. Raise Up Missouri raised a total of $6.99 million for Proposition B. ⁸

Funding

Raise Up Missouri raised 90 percent of its campaign funds from out-of-state groups and labor unions. Raise Up Missouri received $4,783,500 from Sixteen Thirty Fund, including a single contribution of $3 million in August 2018. Sixteen Thirty Fund is a left-wing funding group for lobbying and electoral projects that is part of the network of nonprofits run by the philanthropy consulting firm Arabella Advisors in Washington, D.C. ⁹ Raise Up Missouri’s acceptance of donations from Sixteen Thirty Fund through undisclosed sources was reportedly criticized by Democrats supportive of minimum wage increases. ^{10 11} A large part of the funds funneled through Sixteen Thirty Fund come from labor unions. ¹² Although Amendment 2 in Missouri limits election campaign contributions, ballot initiatives are not subject to the rule. ¹³

Raise Up Missouri donated $10,750 in 2018 to MOVE Ballot Fund. MOVE Ballot Fund also received $300,000 from the Open Society Policy Center, the lobbying arm of George Soros’s philanthropic network, in January 2018, previously reporting having $84 in its account until that point. MOVE Executive Director Molly Fleming noted the group was established to legally move funds to lobby for the passage of a constitutional amendment on redistricting. ¹⁴

1. “Missouri Proposition B, $12 Minimum Wage Initiative (2018).” Ballotpedia. 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Proposition_B,_$12_Minimum_Wage_Initiative_(2018)
2. Saltsman, Michael. “Dark money casts a shadow over Missouri’s minimum wage debate.” The Kansas City Star. October 28, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article220347390.html
3. “The Dark Money behind Missouri’s Minimum Wage Push.” Minimum Wage. September 25, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.minimumwage.com/2018/09/the-dark-money-behind-missouris-minimum-wage-push/
4. Murgatroyd, Laura Rose. “State minimum wage effort nabs $3 million from dark money group.” The Columbia Missourian. September 5, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/state-minimum-wage-effort-nabs-million-from-dark-money-group/article_dbf0ff90-b10c-11e8-a6e4-afe5bc6c86dc.html
5. Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards from Annual Reports of Labor Organizations filed by labor unions. Queries conducted July 29, 2020.
6. Facebook. Raise Up Missouri. December 31, 2018. Accessed March 15, 2021. https://fb.watch/4gDxjKjVjb/.
7. “SEIU Local 1 Members, Allies Kick Off Fight to Raise Missouri’s Minimum Wage.” SEIU Local 1. August 14, 2017. Accessed July 17, 2020. http://www.seiu1.org/2017/08/14/seiu-local-1-members-allies-kick-off-fight-to-raise-missouris-minimum-wage/
8. “Missouri Proposition B, $12 Minimum Wage Initiative (2018).” Ballotpedia. 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Proposition_B,_$12_Minimum_Wage_Initiative_(2018)
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Sixteen Thirty Fund. 2018. Schedule I. Accessed July 16, 2020. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/11/Sixteen-Thirty-Fund-2018-Form-990.pdf
10. Taylor, Jason. “Minimum wage hike in Missouri taking effect with the new year.” Missourinet. January 1, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.missourinet.com/2019/01/01/minimum-wage-hike-in-missouri-taking-effect-with-the-new-year/
11. Saltsman, Michael. “Dark money casts a shadow over Missouri’s minimum wage debate.” The Kansas City Star. October 28, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article220347390.html
12. Markay, Lachlan. “Left-Wing Front Groups Make Anti-Trump Money Untraceable.” The Washington Free Beacon. February 22, 2017. https://freebeacon.com/issues/left-wing-front-groups-make-anti-trump-money-untraceable/
13. “Missouri Proposition B, $12 Minimum Wage Initiative (2018).” Ballotpedia. 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Proposition_B,_$12_Minimum_Wage_Initiative_(2018)
14. McDermott, Kevin. “Progressive mega-donor George Soros bigfoots into Missouri ballot fight over redistricting, ethics.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 29, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/progressive-mega-donor-george-soros-bigfoots-into-missouri-ballot-fight/article_e40db1e8-ca97-5b41-bee2-1a82bb1aa03c.html