The charitable arm of the BADC
Foundation of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia
The Foundation makes grants to legal services organizations so that poor and disadvantaged residents of the District of Columbia can get real legal help, with a special emphasis on the needs of children.
Our purpose
Putting lawyers where they are needed most
“The purpose of the Foundation of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (“Foundation”) is to accept and approve applications for grants from tax-exempt legal service provider organizations and other justice related entities and to thereby enable such organizations to provide legal representation and related direct services to poor and disadvantaged persons in the District of Columbia, with a special emphasis on the needs of children.” By-Laws of the Foundation of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Purpose
The Foundation is the charitable counterpart to the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Where the Association serves its members and the profession, the Foundation turns the bar's resources outward. It does not deliver legal services itself. It funds the organizations that do, so that money raised from the District's legal community reaches the people in it who cannot afford a lawyer.
What the Foundation supports
Grants, education, and the annual banquet
501(c)(3)
Grants to legal services
The Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, so contributions to it are tax deductible. It makes grants to local agencies that provide legal counsel to meet the needs of the District's children and the less fortunate.
Public
Legal education
The Foundation sponsors programs that educate District residents on family law, reaching people who may never walk into a lawyer's office.
December
Annual Banquet
The Foundation's black-tie Annual Banquet each December is a fixture of the D.C. legal calendar.
Programs as described by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Tax-exempt status per IRS records; EIN 52-6078388.
Governance
How the Foundation is run
Board of Trustees
Twelve Trustees govern the Foundation, one of whom serves as the representative of the Young Lawyers Section. A majority of the Trustees constitutes a quorum at any meeting.
Election of Trustees
Trustees are elected at the same time and in the same manner as the officers and directors of the Bar Association, and take office at the Foundation's next Annual Meeting.
Officers
The Trustees elect a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer by majority vote at the annual meeting. The Board may also elect a Vice President of Grantmaking and a Vice President of Fundraising.
Annual meeting
The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees is held in June of each year. Special meetings may be called by the President or the Secretary, or by a majority of the Trustees, on not less than three days' notice.
Accountability to the Association
The Foundation's President reports each year to the presiding officer of the Bar Association at its annual meeting, including a statement of the Foundation's financial condition.
Fiscal year
The Foundation's fiscal year is the same as that of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
These governance provisions are set out in the Foundation’s By-Laws, executed September 2012.
Get involved
Support the Foundation's work
To ask about grant eligibility, to give, or to learn more about the Foundation's programs and its Annual Banquet, contact the Bar Association office.