With generous support from ABE insured lawyer members, ABE’s annual grants support vital law-related public service, educational, and research programs and projects at national and local levels. These projects and programs advance access to justice, improve the justice system, and increase the public’s understanding of legal rights and responsibilities. This release can be accessed at The American Bar Endowment Addresses Pressing Legal Issues With 2023 Grants. - American Bar Endowment (ABE) (abendowment.org)
The past several years were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic which exacerbated access to justice issues for thousands of vulnerable Americans. Legal service provider organizations across the country worked tirelessly to address new challenges in the need for, and provision of, services to underserved populations. The American Bar Endowment (ABE), an independent, not-for-profit public charity, has provided annual grants for over 65 years to support projects and programs designed to assist these groups in addressing these needs.
Joanne Martin, the ABE’s Executive Director, said, “The ABE is proud of having a long history of providing funding support to efforts across the country that address urgent legal issues affecting underserved communities and to help people understand their legal needs and access the justice system to solve them. ABE grants support the stellar ABF research projects that enhance understanding of the law and its impact on society and the many FJE public service initiatives that, for example, help ensure the legal rights of individuals by training lawyers in specialty areas of law such as child welfare, immigration, domestic violence, and veterans’ benefits.”
Additionally, for the seventh consecutive year of the program, the ABE awarded twelve Opportunity Grants totaling just under $300,000 for new, innovative projects across the country that focus on enhancing access to legal assistance and providing new tools and resources in underserved communities. Ms. Martin noted, “With the financial support of our insureds, this year we were able to support a diverse array of projects that addressed critical needs by:
- serving those at risk of losing their homes;
- safeguarding due process for underserved youth, immigrants, and asylum seekers;
- providing needed bankruptcy support for people overburdened by debt;
- streamlining access to name change proceedings for transgender and non-binary people;
- educating medical professionals, law enforcement, and legal services organizations on how to identify and support sex trafficking survivors; and helping people understand their legal needs and connecting them to lawyers and self-help resources.
The 2023 ABE Opportunity Grant Recipients are:
Amara Legal Center (MD, DC, VA)
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (National)
Lone Star Justice Alliance (TX, OK, AR, KS, MO)
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MA)
Memphis Public Interest Law Center (TN)
Mobile Pathways (National)
Montclair State University Decision Making Lab(NJ, NY)
New Friends New Life (TX)
Resources Inspiring Success and Empowering (TX)
University of Nevada Las Vegas (NV)
Women and Children’s Horizons (IL, WI)
For more information on the ABE and its grant-supported programs, visit www.abendowment.org or contact Joanne Martin at grants@abenet.org or 312-988-6408.
About the American Bar Endowment (ABE)
Established in 1942, the American Bar Endowment (ABE) is an independent, not-for-profit public charity. The ABE provides ABA lawyer members with a unique way to protect themselves, their families, and their professional endeavors through participation in a range of ABE-sponsored group insurance plans underwritten by New York Life. With the option to seamlessly give any available annual dividends they would otherwise receive to the ABE as a tax-deductible donation, insureds help achieve the ABE mission. With their support, the ABE makes grants that support critical law-related public service, educational, and research programs and projects. At its core, the ABE is a charitable organization powered by generations of lawyers committed to ensuring equal access to justice for all.