Grantmaking Philosophy

Gerard Glynn and Ilona Vila of the Barry University School of Law Juvenile Life Without Parole Defense Resource Center, an Improvements in the Administration of Justice grantee.

A goal of The Florida Bar Foundation is to focus grants in areas where the funding  can have a measurable impact. Toward that end, the Foundation concentrates grants for improvements in the administration of justice in five areas, with emphasis on how the courts can operate more effectively and expeditiously.

Areas of Funding
Improvement in the operation and management of the court system;
Improvement and reform of the criminal, civil and juvenile justice systems;
Public education and understanding about the law, including law-related education;
Promotion and support for public interest legal representation; and
Promotion and support for voluntary bar association-sponsored community-service initiatives.

The Foundation occasionally considers projects in other subject areas related to improving the administration of justice in Florida.

Funding Criteria
Preference generally will be given to:
Applicants seeking start-up funds or seed money over a one- or two-year period;
Programs with demonstration value or replication potential; and
Requests for matching funds.

AOJ typically does not fund direct service programs (e.g., drug treatment or counseling), replicas of established programs, local community groups, or programs for which there is a governmental responsibility to provide funding and continuing program support.

2010-11 Grantees	Award
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida Rethinking Restoration of Civil Rights in Florida	$50,000
Barry University School of Law Juvenile Life Without Parole Defense Resource Center	$100,000
Barry University School of Law Juvenile Life Without Parole Defense Resource Center - Request for Continued Support	$91,167
The Childrens' Campaign Florida's Journey to Justice	$28,500
The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Matching Funds for Affiliate Public Service Grants	$27,000
Florida Law Related Education Association General Support	$198,600
Florida Law Related Education Association Justice Teaching Institute	$28,000
Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Advancing Findings and Recommendation of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team Report - Request for Continued Support	$22,500
Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Advancing Findings and Recommendation of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team Report - Request for Continued Support	$7,500
Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Advancing Findings and Recommendation of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team Report - Request for Continued Support	$25,000
Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Human Rights and Immigration Law Clinic	$25,000
Innocence Project of Florida General Support: $304,600; $15,000 Exoneree Emergency Fund	$319,600
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid CLE program on Effective Ways to Work with Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf/Blind Clients	$14,435
TOTAL	$937,302

*This page was updated on August 28, 2011.