Grants
Since 1986, the Civil Justice Foundation has made grants to over 100 different grassroots consumer advocacy organizations throughout the United States. This page lists all of the Foundation's grants.
As the Civil Justice Foundation's funding interests have evolved throughout its history, this list may not reflect the Foundation's current grant making priorities. Please contact the Foundation office for a copy of the updated grant process or a copy of the full grant history booklet.
Grant Categories
Most Recent Grants - 2009
Consumer Federation of California Education Foundation
To assist with a publication of the California Progress Report, a prominent state news and information website that offers consumer and other progressive advocacy groups a venue to reach a wide audience with information about their public policy work.
National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation
To create a public awareness campaign regarding reducing indoor air pollutants with sager and environmentally friendly alternatives. Create a factsheet which will be available upon request to assist employees in requesting reasonable accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act for environmentally mediated disabilities, explaining their rights under law. Monitor the FDA.
The Group Entertainment
To create the movie “Hot Coffee”, which will show how this case became so popular in the media (along with other examples of ‘frivilous lawsuits), who funded the effort and to what end. The audience will be educated about caps on the amount of money that victims can receive in court in most states, how the federal government has enacted laws to prevent people from their day in court, and how the small print on credit card and real estate contracts, for example, prevent people from being able to get into the court system, denying access to justice.
Grant Explanations
A grant is a gift or endowment provided by charitable organizations like the Civil Justice Foundation that enables a person or group to accomplish meaningful work and promote an important cause. Carefully selected recipients are given a specific amount of funding that can go both for general operating expenses and specific projects.
The Civil Justice Foundation is proud to award grants to grassroots organizations that are at the forefront of the consumer advocacy movement - particularly to groups who have difficulty securing traditional funding because they are newly organized and/or address a controversial issue. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $1,400,000 to more than 112 of these groups.
These modest grants (ranging from $1,500 to $20,000) exemplify the commitment of both the ATLA and the Foundation to preventing consumer injury, protecting the rights of consumers, and preserving their access to justice. The Foundation is funded through contributions from individual ATLA members, state trial lawyer associations, and its Memorial Grant Program.
Grants are one-to-three years in duration and are provided both for general operating expenses and specific projects. To be eligible for a Foundation grant an organization must have, or have applied for, 501(c)(3) status from the IRS; and must have a current annual operating budget under $500,000. The Foundation does not provide grants to support direct social, medical or legal services; the writing or production of books; or litigation.
Please feel free to call the Foundation office at 800/424-2725, ext. 381 to determine whether or not your organization or project meets our funding criteria.
