Aug. 4, 2021 – At the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison, a grant from the Wisconsin Law Foundation helps keep immigrant families together, offering low-cost immigration legal services to more than 300 people.

“This funding truly makes a difference in our program and the lives of the people we serve,” said center director Andy Russell in a thank you note to the Foundation.

Also in Madison, a grant from the Foundation helps support Briarpatch Youth Services’ Restorative Justice Program – assisting more than 3,000 youth and their families, said Briarpatch Executive Director Gloria Reyes.

Thanks to donations from State Bar members, the Foundation annually provides high-impact Truman Q. McNulty grants of $1,000 to $2,300 each to charitable or educational programs or projects that promote greater public understanding of the law and improve the administration of justice, and to projects that directly impact Wisconsin residents.

In 2021, the Foundation awarded $18,835 in grants to 10 organizations that help children and families, support teen court programs, assist those who can’t afford legal representation, create a safer intake process in Milwaukee to eliminate large indoor crowds, and promote public understanding of the law and legal history.

The Foundation grants help the Milwaukee Justice Center (MJC) to serve thousands in Milwaukee who have no lawyer to help them in their civil legal cases. “In the pandemic year of 2020, the MJC assisted over 7,000 people, with the help of many volunteer attorneys, law students, and undergraduate students through our program,” said MJC Executive Director Mary Ferwerda. “We truly cannot do this important work without the involvement of and support by groups like the Wisconsin Law Foundation.”

Milwaukee’s Centro Legal provides legal assistance to those with complex legal issues that impact their families, with the goal of removing legal obstacles for their clients, “so they can establish stable and healthy family environments, remain employed or improve employability, and establish independence and financial stability,” says Molly Dobberke Riehle, Centro Legal’s executive director.

“We work closely with many area organizations, including those that specialize in domestic abuse, so that our clients can make permanent changes to improve their lives. By the time their cases conclude, our clients will have established new, stronger family foundations, with consistency and greater stability that helps lead to a brighter future for themselves and their children.”

“We would not be able to provide our services without the Foundation’s generous contribution,” Riehle said.

In Portage County, a Foundation grant helps to support the Legal Eagle Teen Court Program of the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County. “You help us stay connected and committed to our mission – serving all youth, especially those who need us the most,” said Executive Director Kevin Quevillon.

Your Contribution Makes an Impact

Supported by donations from State Bar members, the Foundation’s Truman Q. McNulty Grants fund innovative programs that improve our justice system, such as teen courts in our state and programs that lessen the chances of Wisconsin’s youth becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence.

Past grants supported projects to educate the public on health care reform, guide pro se litigants through bankruptcy issues, assist Spanish-speaking residents understand family court issues, and provide prevention and intervention assistance to first-time juvenile offenders in teen court programs.

About the Wisconsin Law Foundation

The Wisconsin Law Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that serves to promote public understanding of the law, improvement of the administration of justice, and other law-related public services through funding of innovative and creative programs that improve the vision of the American justice system.