State bar grants

The Ohio State Bar Foundation Board of Trustees approved $257,355 in grants at its November meeting to be awarded to six Ohio nonprofit organizations through its Racial Justice Initiative.

Established in August 2020, the initiative provides up to $500,000 in new grant funding in support of projects that specifically identify, address and challenge systemic racism that hinders the pursuit of justice and public understanding of the rule of law for historically marginalized communities of color in Ohio.

Phase IV recipients of the OSBF’s Racial Justice Initiative grant are as follows:

■ $50,000 to Case Western Reserve University for its Criminal Sentencing Project Pilot. This study seeks to illuminate inequities for Black and brown individuals who have undergone criminal sentencing in Cuyahoga County between 2010-2020 with the goal of promoting positive change in racial equity in the actions of judges.

■ $50,000 to Case Western Reserve University for its School of Law Racial Justice Fellowships, which will provide opportunities for law students to work with nonprofit organizations that serve marginalized populations and promote racial justice. This program will benefit community partners that do not have the resources to provide paid internships while providing valuable work experience to the law students.

■ $20,000 to Health Policy Institute of Ohio for its Connections Between Criminal Justice and Health Policy Briefs. Funding will support the creation of a second policy brief in the series investigating the connections between criminal justice and health. This research will focus on initial court hearings, pretrial detention, and the bail system.

■ $50,000 to Innovation Ohio Justice Fund for its Justice Agenda for Black Women and Girls in Ohio research project, which will shine a spotlight on the ways in which systemic racism within the legal and criminal justice systems impacts Black women and girls. The project will also look for proactive solutions to address those barriers.

■ $32,392 to Ohio Access to Justice Foundation for its Improving Access to Justice in Ohio’s Civil Legal Arena project, which will convene stakeholders to identify legal issues impacting communities of color and create action plans that eliminate systemic barriers around issues in the civil justice system such as child support, debt and financing, sealing of records, and access to fair and affordable housing.

■ $54,963 to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity for its Opportunity Mapping for Inclusion project. This study will equip policymakers with the data they need to eliminate racial inequality in housing and development and provide the tools to reform zoning updates with the end goal of creating more equitable and just communities in Ohio.

While the foundation has already awarded several grantees since 2020, nearly $100,000 remains.

The next deadline for organizations to apply is March 4.

More information on previous grantees and how to apply can be found at osbf. org/racialjustice. CONTRIBUTED