Project

ABA Fund for Justice and Education

$200,000 to bring communities together to begin restoring productive public discourse on critical topics, leveraging state and local bars’ legal expertise and leadership to develop a framework for community conversations to strengthen democracy.

Project

University of Maryland Law School, Center for Dispute Resolution

The project equips Anne Arundel County Government civil servants with training and support to engage constituents and fulfill their organization’s mission while promoting civil discourse in communities. The Public Sector First Responder training builds on the first responder concept to equip civil servants with skills to gather information, make quick assessments, and address conflict.

Project

Everyday Democracy

To train librarians in dialogue facilitation to foster civil discourse in 10-12 library systems across the U.S. in partnership with the Urban Libraries Council.

$172,000 to reduce barriers to ODR for self-represented parties, especially those with low literacy. RSI will develop guidance for courts to prepare parties for ODR.

Project

Resolution Systems Institute’s Holistic Online Program for Evictions (HOPE) Mediation Program

The Foundation has given $156,000 to the HOPE Mediation Program, designed to prepare self-represented tenants for mediation by giving them an overview of the court process, and educating them on what they can expect and what resources are available. Tenants fighting eviction will receive assistance from Resolution Systems Institute’s Eviction Program Coordinator via Zoom or phone to be directed to proper resources. Legal aid and financial counseling partners also meet with tenants digitally prior to mediation, and the program will administer online mediation between tenants and landlords. The Foundation’s grant money will be used in part to develop guidance about eviction mediation, including a robust evaluation of the program’s first year, to more jurisdictions that can use the HOPE Mediation Program as a template.

Project

Western Justice Center Foundation

WJC will bring conflict resolution education to 40 schools in LA County and affect learning environments for 25,000 youth annually to drive transformative change in Pre-K-12 education.

Project

Dayton Mediation Center

$150,000 to support the creation of a Mediation Response Unit pilot with Montgomery County Regional 911 Dispatch System in Dayton, Ohio. The Mediation Response Unit will train civilians to respond to low-level 911 calls to ease the burden of calls handled by the police department and empower citizens to handle conflicts and disputes with the least invasive response.