Through its Annual Grants Program, the California Bar Foundation funds projects that further its mission to champion full and equal access to the justice system, invest in the next generation of California's lawyers, educate Californians about their rights and responsibilities under the law, and promote philanthropy throughout the legal community.

Grant Cycle

Grant Applications should be submitted for projects taking place in 2012. The Application Deadline for the 2011-2012 grant cycle is October 5, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. Applicants will be notified in writing of the grant decision in December 2011. Grant recipients will receive an award letter setting forth grant payment arrangements, and a Grants Condition Form setting forth the terms and conditions of the grant.

Program Eligibility

The Grants Program is open to nonprofit organizations serving the public of California, local, minority, and specialty bar associations, the State Bar of California, and California courts in support of projects that build a better justice system in furtherance of the Foundation's mission. Grants are not awarded to individuals.

Funding Guidelines & Criteria

Grant Size: We intend to fund most grants at the $15,000-$25,000 level. The Foundation will support a limited number of smaller projects, typically from smaller organizations, at the $1,000-$10,000 level of funding. If you are a small organization, we encourage you to apply for the lower level of funding.

Grant Duration: Although most grants will be single-year allocations, the Foundation will consider two-year grant proposals.

Priority Areas: For the 2011-2012 funding cycle, the Foundation will exclusively fund projects that fall within one or both of the following priority areas. Projects outside these priorities will not be considered for funding.

• Rural — projects that improve or increase the delivery of legal services and/or legal education to areas outside of the state's major metropolitan areas.

• Diversity — projects that support diversity in the legal profession.

Particular attention will be paid to:

• Projects that involve building and improving upon organizational effectiveness, including collaboration with other community organizations, management training, and fund development.
• Projects supporting diverse, low-income, or under-represented communities;
• Organizations that have been in existence for at least three years.

The Foundation reserves the right to revise, change and expand its funding guidelines and criteria at any time, without notice, and may adopt additional criteria that it chooses not to publish.

Instructions for Submission

1. All portions of the Grant Application (Cover Sheet, responses to the Questionnaire, Signature Page, and all supporting documentation) must be received by the Foundation by 4:30 p.m. on October 5, 2011.

2. Applications may be submitted by fax, mail, email (as a PDF*), or delivery service to:
   California Bar Foundation
   180 Howard Street
   San Francisco, CA 94105-1639
   Attention: Program Director
   Fax: 415-856-0788
   jguillory@calbarfoundation.org

3. Applications postmarked by the Application Deadline but not received in full by the Application Deadline may not be accepted.

4. An electronic version of the Grant Application is available www.calbarfoundation.org.

* if submitting the document via email as a PDF, the entire application should be submitted as one PDF. The only exception is that any financial supplemental document that is over 20 pages should be submitted as a separate PDF.

Conditions

Successful Applicants will be required to sign a Grant Conditions Form and agree to comply with certain terms and conditions set forth by the Foundation, including but not limited to the following:

1. Provide the Foundation a year-end report describing the use of the entire amount funded and results of evaluations of the Project.

2. Acknowledge the California Bar Foundation on all printed materials and all publicity related to activities supported by Foundation grants.

3. Obtain approval from the Foundation in advance for material variances from either (a) the use of funds of a grant, or (b) the timeframe of the Project, as described in the Grant Application.

4. Provide requested documentation, including financials or evidence of tax status, and accommodate reasonable site visits by the Foundation during the year in which grant funds are used by Applicant.

Contact Jasmine Guillory, Program Director, at 415-856-0780, ext. 302 or jguillory@calbarfoundation.org with questions.