The Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation

The Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation aims to improve the economic well-being and social conditions of disadvantaged persons and groups in the United States by supporting nonprofit organizations that undertake systemic litigation. The Foundation provides grants for social justice litigation designed to have systemic impact in a wide range of areas, including access to benefits, children's rights, disability rights, discrimination, domestic violence, healthcare, homelessness, housing, Native American rights, prisoners' rights, refugee and immigrant rights, voting rights, and veterans' rights. The Foundation seeks to award grants for 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. The grant application must be for a specific case. Grants will be awarded for a currently active case or a case that will be filed with reasonable certainty within 60 days of the date the grant application is submitted. The Foundation does not support cases where the relief sought is for an individual except if it would involve an important legal precedent addressing a systemic issue. The Foundation does not support criminal cases where an individual is charged with a crime or the filing of an amicus brief. Grants are not provided for general operating support. Applications will be accepted through August 1, 2021.

Visit the "Grant Applications" section of the Foundation's website to review the funding guidelines.