Brooklyn, NY (Dec. 8, 2005) - Working Today - Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs and concerns of America's growing independent workforce, is among the 25 winners of the 2006 Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Awards. This marks the second time Working Today has received the prestigious award.

The program honors non-profits, or "social entrepreneurs," across the nation who combine creativity and ingenuity with business-solutions to address the most challenging social problems today, ranging from poor healthcare in developing nations to unequal education access, homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse in the United States.

Working Today and the other 24 award winners will be featured in the January 2006 issue of Fast Company, appearing on newsstands on December 27.

Working Today- Freelancers Union, Brooklyn, N.Y., independent worker advocate: A shift in the American labor force has left 30 million individuals employed in nontraditional arrangements as freelancers, contractors and temporary workers. Unfortunately, these independent workers lack access to employer-based insurance and must pay regressive self-employment taxes. Working Today is building a new benefits delivery system for New York City's growing independent workforce, providing low-cost health, life, disability and dental insurance through its Portable Benefits Network. In addition, Working Today works to educate thought leaders, policy makers and the public about the needs of the independent workforce. Working Today has over 14,000 members, 8,500 of whom receive health insurance through the Portable Benefits Network. (Half of those previously had no health coverage.) Working Today also has formed partnerships with 48 intermediary organizations, enabling it to reach a network of 45,000 independent workers in New York City. In the future, Working Today hopes to expand its benefits and advocacy to locations beyond New York.

"We are extremely proud of winning this prestigious award for our innovative solutions that address the needs of America's growing independent workforce," said Sara Horowitz, executive director of Working Today. "Our goal from the beginning has been to challenge the existing, outdated system which fails nearly one-third of the nation's workforce - individuals who work independently. This award renews our energy and furthers our commitment. It shows America's thought leaders, business leaders and workers alike that the problems facing the independent worker will not be ignored. Our success is the success of the freelancer, and it serves as a reminder that when banded together, this group is a force to be reckoned with."

Rigorous Evaluation
Working Today was chosen from a field of 240 Social Capitalist Award nominees. Of the 240 nominees, 125 agreed to participate in an evaluation process, which required them to submit two years of audited financials, tax filings and online surveys and to participate in a 90-minute interview with the nomination board.

Working Today will be recognized at a ceremony in New York City, on Thursday, January 12, 2006. This year, The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, started by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, will pick a winner from the Social Capitalists list to receive a free trip to Davos and join its network of global social entrepreneurs.

Investor's Guide to Giving
"We applaud the efforts and business acumen of Working Today, who is not just do-gooder dedicated to addressing the needs of America's independent workforce - it is a business-oriented organization of vision worthy of imitation in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors," said Mark Vamos, editor of Fast Company.

"By approaching social capitalism in a rigorous, data-driven fashion, our evaluation process reveals the truly amazing nature of Working Today - and all of our winners," Vamos said. "And while rating non-profits is controversial, Fast Company thinks it is a necessary step for the sector to grow and improve. Frankly it's a way to see that these excellent organizations get the recognition they deserve."

Fast Company partners with the Monitor Group, a global strategy-consulting firm, to select the award winners. Monitor Group created the first methodology to compare non-profits of different sizes and ages across social sectors. The Monitor Group manages the evaluation process for the awards program and measures each organization's work in five categories: social impact, entrepreneurship, innovation, aspiration and growth, and sustainability.

"Prior to the Social Capitalist Awards, no ranking process existed to directly compare these kinds or organizations," said Mark Fuller, chairman and CEO of Monitor Group. "Our evaluation measures the impact and effectiveness of these non-profits, making the Social Capitalist Awards a robust source of guidance for performance-oriented leaders of such organizations, as well as a donor's guide for those who want their charitable dollars to get the highest 'social' return possible."

About Fast Company and Monitor Group

Fast Company, founded in 1996, is a magazine for and about the creative class. It is a journal of change and changemakers - dynamic, compelling leaders in both the for-profit and non-profit spheres who are making dramatic innovations to shape the future. Visit www.fastcompany.com for more information.
The Monitor Group is a family of professional services firms, linked by shared ownership, management philosophy, and knowledge assets. Each entity in Monitor's global network is dedicated to providing products and services that fundamentally enhance the competitiveness of its clients. Visit www.monitor.com for more information.

The other 2006 Social Capitalist Awards winners are:
ACCION International (Boston, Mass.)
BELL (Dorchester, Mass.)
Calvert Social Investment Foundation (Bethesda, Md.)
Citizen Schools (Boston, Mass.)
City Year (Boston, Mass.)
College Summit, Inc. (Washington, D.C.)
First Book (Washington, D.C.)
Grameen Foundation USA (Washington, D.C.)
Heifer International (Little Rock, Ark.)
Housing Partnership Network, Inc. (Boston, Mass.)
Jumpstart (Boston, Mass.)
KickStart (San Francisco, Calif.)
New Community Corp. (Newark, N.J.)
New Leaders for New Schools (New York, N.Y.)
PATH (Seattle, Wash.,)
Pioneer Human Services (Seattle, Wash.)
Raising a Reader (Menlo Park, Calif.)
Rare (Arlington, Va.)
Room to Read (San Francisco, Calif.)
Rubicon Programs Inc. (Richmond, Calif.)
Teach for America (New York, N.Y.)
Transfair USA (Oakland, Calif.)
Unitus (Redmond, Wash.)
WITNESS (Brooklyn, N.Y.)


For more information about the Social Capitalists Awards program, visit www.fastcompany.com .