Foundation of the Federal Bar Association

About Foundation of the Federal Bar Association

The Foundation of the Federal Bar Association has a clear pattern of backing legal access work alongside professional formation for the federal bar. Its two largest recent grants, both to Justice & Democracy Centers of Minnesota United States District Court in Minneapolis, were direct-cost awards of $228,257 in 2024 and $224,200 in 2023, showing support for a substantial, ongoing project rather than isolated one-off activity. Beyond that, the foundation funds chapter-led public service awards, community outreach, and scholarships tied to federal practice and the legal profession. Its program menu points to a foundation that works at multiple entry points into law: high school students with a family connection to federal public service, law students interested in federal practice, newer lawyers, and chapters delivering local projects. The Foundation of the Federal Bar Association also supports recognition-based grantmaking, including the Shaw Public Service Award and Shaw Younger Lawyer Grant, which connects funding to documented follow-up reporting from recipients. That mix suggests an emphasis on both direct services and structured encouragement of civic and professional engagement within the federal legal system.

What Foundation of the Federal Bar Association Funds

In access-to-justice work, the foundation made its largest awards to Justice & Democracy Centers of Minnesota United States District Court in Minneapolis for direct costs on the Justice & Democracy Centers project. That grant relationship appears in consecutive years, with awards in 2023 and 2024. For community-based legal service, it gave $8,000 to the Federal Bar Association Sacramento Chapter for a Community Outreach Grant and another $8,000 to the Federal Bar Association Eastern District Of Michigan Chapter for the same purpose. The foundation also backed chapter-level public service recognition with $10,000 awards to the Federal Bar Association Memphis Mid South Chapter Inc. and the Federal Bar Association Broward County Chapter Inc. through Shaw Public Service Award funding. On education and pathway building, the foundation funds civics education, legal education and research, and scholarships, including a Diversity Grant to the Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association in Worcester.

How Foundation of the Federal Bar Association Gives