The Center will accept grant applications from March 16 until March 31, 2026.

Applicants will be notified by April 30, 2026.

Applications must be for a specific social justice legal case, including the filing of an appeal.

The case must have been filed no earlier than October 1, 2025, or be filed no later than December 31, 2026. Cases can be in the formative stage provided that the parties and issues are identified so long as the filing of the complaint will occur by December 31, 2026.

Grant funds are to be used only for attorney time charges and litigation expenses related to the specific case for which an organization is applying to be funded.

Grants are not made for:

1. Criminal cases.

2. Claim(s) for an individual(s) (unless the case is of significant precedential value beyond the interest of the individual).

3. An amicus brief.

The Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center only provides grants to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations. Applicants may only apply for one case.

All Grant Applications must be submitted using the online form.

Interested applicants should review the Grant Criteria, Application Scoring Criteria, and Reporting and Grant Terms pages below before completing and submitting the online forms.

Applications must be for a specific social justice legal case, including the filing of an appeal. Grant funds are to be used only for attorney time charges and litigation expenses related to the specific case for which an organization is applying to be funded. 

The Center funds litigation matters that are consistent with our namesake Barbara McDowell’s past legal efforts and her beliefs regarding social justice. Read more about an ideal case for our funding and factors considered in our assessment, below.

An ideal case for our funding:

1. Addresses a social justice issue consistent with the Center’s issue areas of interest.

2. Significantly advances the eradication of systemic injustices faced by marginalized persons and/or groups in the United States.

3. Establishes a legal precedent of significant importance to social justice. 

Factors considered in our assessment:

In addition to evaluating if the proposed case meets the three factors in “an ideal case for our funding,” the Center also considers the following in our assessment:

1 . The applicant organization has a strong history of community advocacy, litigating high-impact social justice cases, or is actively developing a case with high impact potential.

2. The applicant organization has a demonstrated need for a grant from the Center, whether or not the applicant organization has or plans to have a litigation partner(s) for the case.

3. If the applicant organization is receiving support from a law firm(s) or another social justice organization(s) in litigating the proposed case, the applicant organization’s partner(s) have a strong history of litigating high-impact cases. As co-counsel the Center could help identify these resources.

Criteria 1: Alignment with Mission

The proposed case will advance the Center’s mission to eradicate systemic injustices.

Criteria 2: Social Justice Impact

The proposed case presents an issue(s) that has significant impact on social justice in the United States today.

Criteria 3: Legal Impact

The proposed case establishes a legal precedent(s) of significant importance to social justice.

Criteria 4: Financial Need

Considering revenue, expenses, and net income, the applicant organization has a demonstrated financial need for a grant from the Center, whether or not the applicant organization has or plans to have a litigation partner(s) for the case.

Six-month and Year-End Report

The Grantee in coordination with the Center will create a six-month and year-end report to be posted on the Center’s website which gives the progress of the case.

Timesheets

The Grantee will submit a Six-Month and Year-End timesheet with the daily time records of the work on the grant funded case. The timesheet should be submitted in a spreadsheet and include:

a)    hours worked each day by tenths of an hour by each attorney who worked on the case for which the grant was received.

b)   description of each task performed by that attorney.

c)    date that the work by that attorney was performed.

d)   hourly billing rate for that attorney.

e)    total hours worked and total time charges for the case for the preceding quarter. 

The hourly billing rate for the attorney(s) working on the grant funded case will be outlined in the Grant Agreement.

Click here to see the terms outlined in the Grant Agreement.

Click here to review and submit grant application.