Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation
OVERVIEW: The McDowell Foundation funds organizations engaged in litigation to improve the economic well-being and social conditions of marginalized groups and disadvantaged persons.
IP TAKE: This is an approachable funder with an accessible online application process, but it only funds a handful of proposals per year making this a more competitive space. It also appreciates transparency regarding its grantmaking. They’re responsive, so contact them with any questions. However, they’re not particularly collaborative, preferring to give targeted support for ongoing litigation rather than general operating support.
PROFILE: The Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation was established in 2009 by New York lawyer Gerald Hartman in honor of his wife Barbara McDowell, who died of brain cancer at the age of 56. The foundation’s mission is to carry on Barbara’s legacy of social justice advocacy by working to “improve the economic well-being and social conditions of disadvantaged persons and groups in the United States through the making of grants to organizations that undertake systemic litigation with the funds they receive.” Foundation grants do not support specific projects or organizations, instead these funds go toward social justice litigation cases. Since its inception, the foundation has given away over $1.1 million to these causes. In addition to its grants program, McDowell’s High Impact Project provides pro bono legal services to low-income and disadvantaged people.
Grants for Housing and Community Development, Democracy, Immigrants and Refugees, and Violence Prevention
Beyond broadly supporting litigation that improves “the economic well-being, social conditions, and civil liberties of disadvantaged persons and groups in the United States,” McDowell does not have clearly delineated focus areas. However, in the past, the grants program has supported low income housing cases, among other issues such as access to benefits, children’s rights, civil rights, constitutional rights, discrimination, disability rights, domestic violence, and refugee and immigrant rights. McDowell prioritizes “systemic type cases that will have an impact on a specific area of the law or a legal issue through the establishment of a legal precedent.” It will not generally fund relief for individuals, criminal cases or general operating support.
McDowell’s funding is comprehensively transparent. It provides detailed descriptions of each current and previous grantee, their six-month and yearly reports, and the cases for which they received foundation funding on its Grantees page. Previous Foundation grantees include the Public Interest Law Center, Sargent Shriver National Center on Law and Poverty, Western Center on Law and Poverty, American Immigration Council, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Native American Rights Fund, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
Important Grant Details:
McDowell’s grants generally range from $10,000 to $30,000. McDowell accepts applications online once a year, with the deadline generally falling in August. Read more about the process for applying here and apply online here.
PEOPLE:
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