Barbara McDowell Foundation hosts inaugural Annual Awards Presentation and Celebration
Washington, D.C. — October 4, 2023— The Barbara McDowell Foundation proudly announced its commitment to advancing social justice by awarding grants totaling $125,000 to five deserving nonprofit organizations. These grants will empower these organizations to pursue and litigate critical impact cases aimed at bringing about positive societal change.
The announcement was made at the Foundation's inaugural Annual Awards Presentation and Celebration held in Washington, D.C., attended by dedicated supporters and former grantees.
“These grants help to fuel the important cases that make meaningful societal changes,” said Jerry Hartman, President and Chair of The Barbara McDowell Foundation. “We are excited to support these organizations that have demonstrated a need for critical funding to initiate their cases.”
Since its establishment in 2009, The Barbara McDowell Foundation has contributed a total of $1.725 million in grants, supporting 75 cases brought by 52 grantees across more than 22 states. These grants have enabled these organizations to litigate across fifteen diverse areas of impact, including discrimination, domestic violence, environmental justice, prisoners' rights, women's rights, and voter's rights, among others.
The latest Grantees include:
A Better Childhood: A national nonprofit dedicated to reforming inadequate child welfare systems. A class action lawsuit, "Johnathan R," has been filed against West Virginia's Governor, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR), and several DHHR executives for violations of foster children's constitutional and statutory rights.
Lone Star Justice Alliance: Founded in 2017, this organization focuses on improving the lives of youth and emerging adults within the justice system. They have filed suit seeking significant changes in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's treatment of nearly 600 detained youth, including excessive use of isolation and lack of access to education and mental health care.
Rights Behind Bars: Committed to challenging cruel and inhumane conditions of confinement for incarcerated individuals. They are preparing to file a class action on behalf of inmates at FCI Dublin, a federal women's prison, where there have been reports of widespread abuse.
Texas Fair Defense Project: This organization has filed a lawsuit, Garces Robles, et al. v. Ramirez, et al., WDTX, on behalf of individuals who were over-detained under Operation Lone Star, a migrant arrest program in Texas.
Upper Seven Law: Located in Helena, Montana, they plan to challenge Senate Bill 458 (SB 458), which they believe violates constitutional rights and discriminates against transgender, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit individuals.
The event also featured the first Champion for Justice Award presented by Terry Moran, Special News Correspondent, ABC News. The year’s inaugural recipient is Lisa Grafstein, Litigation Counsel for Disability Rights NC. (“DRNC”)Lisa has a long history of championing social justice, both in private practice and in her stellar, and prominent career, at DRNC. She has been lead counsel in numerous impactful social justice cases. In Samantha R. v. State of North Carolina, she litigated a successful case against the state establishing significant rights for persons with disabilities living in congregant facilities in North Carolina. In 2017, the McDowell Foundation awarded a grant to her organization to assist in what became a successful litigation of a case against the State of North Carolina on behalf of children with complex mental health issues who were residing in state institutions and receiving insufficient, or nonexistent, supportive care.
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For nearly 15 years, The Barbara McDowell Foundation has been dedicated to achieving social justice and improving the economic well-being, social conditions, and civil liberties of disadvantaged individuals and groups in the United States. For more information about The Barbara McDowell Foundation, please visit www.mcdowellfoundation.org.