Barbara McDowell Foundation Releases Results of Grant Applicant Survey

The Foundation in conjunction with its grant review process sent a questionnaire to grant applicants asking why their organizations had applied for a grant.

The overwhelming response was that there are very few foundations supporting social justice litigation. These responses demonstrate the importance of the Foundation’s grants. A sample of the responses from organizations appears below:

“…all of this work is expensive. Few foundations support litigation. Because the Barbara McDowell Foundation does expressly support systemic reform litigation, we were eager to apply.” - Florida Institutional Legal Services

“There are very few foundations which support social justice litigation, which is the mission of our organization. When we learned about the McDowell grants, it seemed like a perfect fit for us to fund a very important issue for homeless persons.” - Southern Legal Counsel, Inc.

“The Foundation is one of the very few options for securing litigation support funds. Our litigation is spread across the country, and our funds are limited. This is a very important option for us.” - Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

“Our motivation was mainly that it is very rare to find anyone willing to fund impact litigation. Many funders are afraid of this sort of work, even though they often benefit from the results. In our world (both litigation and mental health) funding is increasingly scarce, so to have a funder focused in this area is most welcome.” - Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

“Over the years, especially since support centers were defunded in 1995, it has become increasingly difficult to fund class action or other impact litigation. We are currently seeking to stop unlawful and mean spirited collection practices uniquely used against Department of Agriculture borrowers who have lost their homes through foreclosure, and, unfortunately, do not have any funding to pursue this matter, so we thought it was ideally suited for an application to the Barbara McDowell Foundation.” - National Housing Law Project

Additional grantee responses can be found by clicking here. To learn more about all the Foundation’s Grantees, click the button below.