American Bar Endowment Opens Applications For 2019 Opportunity Grants

CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Bar Endowment (ABE) an independent, not-for-profit public charity established to advance the American justice system through education and research in the field of law, announced today that it is now accepting applications for its 2019 ABE Opportunity Grants program, which provides support to local organizations and projects that advance social justice and legal assistance in communities across the country.

Now in its third year, the ABE Opportunity Grants program provides direct support for needed 'boots-on-the-ground' initiatives and innovative projects. Since its 2017 inception, the ABE Opportunity Grants program has made – with the help of generous donations from lawyer members of the American Bar Association – a total of $640,815 in grants to 27 organizations in 15 states.

ABE Opportunity Grant funded programs have helped support research to aid low-income tenants in a rural court jurisdiction avoid homelessness, create tools that provide guidance for residents affected by natural disasters in Texas, and have assisted in expanding access to legal services through the use of a mobile legal clinic.

"We're thrilled to announce the third year of our ABE Opportunity Grants program," Joanne Martin, Executive Director of ABE, said. "The ability to fund these types of critical programs is only possible because of the generous donations from the thousands of lawyer members, who gift the annual dividends they get from their ABE-sponsored insurance plans¹ to the ABE. Over the past two years, the organizations that have received ABE Opportunity Grants have been able to increase their efforts to improve access to justice and increase the availability of legal services in underserved communities," Martin added.

The deadline to apply for a 2019 ABE Opportunity Grant is October 31, 2018. Winners are expected to be announced on February 28, 2019.

Past recipients have included the Georgia-based Center for Access to Justice (CAJ) – which supports an interdisciplinary research project that examines how dispossessory courts operate in semi-rural and rural areas of Georgia – and the Alaska State Association for Guardianship & Advocacy (ASAGA), a volunteer organization that provides tools, resources and advocacy to support excellence in adult guardianship and conservatorship.

For more information on ABE and a list of ABE Opportunity Grant recipients, visit http://www.abendowment.org/

For information on how to apply for an ABE Opportunity Grant, visit http://www.abendowment.org/about/opportunity.asp

About the American Bar Endowment (ABE)
The American Bar Endowment (ABE) was established in 1942 and is an independent, not-for-profit public charity. Through the leadership of ABE, lawyer members of the American Bar Association (ABA) are able to protect their paycheck and their lifestyle through participation in a range of ABE-sponsored insurance products underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company – with the option to seamlessly gift any available annual dividends¹ they would otherwise receive to ABE as a tax-deductible donation. In turn, ABE makes grants that support critical law-related public service, educational and research programs. At its core, ABE is a charitable organization powered by generations of lawyers committed to ensuring equal access to justice for all.

¹Annual dividends are not guaranteed.

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SOURCE American Bar Endowment