NH Bar Foundation announces 2024 Justice Grant Awards

A committee of four board and Justice Society members made recommendations for awards based on program merits, sustainability, and funds available

The New Hampshire Bar Foundation’s Board of Directors has approved $89,246 in Justice Grants. Funded by generous contributions, endowments, and legacy gifts, Justice Grants support the rule of law, access to justice, and civic education projects across the state. The various Justice Funds,  valued at $1.5 million, are managed by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Grants are awarded every two years.

Twelve applications were received with a total of $133,208 in funding requested. A committee of four board and Justice Society members made recommendations for awards, as follows, based on program merits, sustainability, and funds available.

New Hampshire Historical Society The Democracy Project: $10,000

The Democracy Project’s “Moose on the Loose” K-6 curriculum addresses the precipitous decline in the knowledge of history, civics, and social studies among the population at large and school age children. The Foundation’s Justice Grant Award in the amount of $10,000 will underwrite the program’s expansion to middle schools.

“The Foundation recognizes the critical importance of improving the teaching of history and civics in our schools,” says New Hampshire Historical Society President William Dunlap. “The Bar Foundation was an early funder of the Historical Society’s initiative to develop a new curriculum for the state, ‘Moose on the Loose,’ now being provided free of charge to schools throughout New Hampshire. The Historical Society is grateful for the Bar Foundation’s further support to expand ‘Moose on the Loose’ to the middle schools.”

New Hampshire Public Radio Civics 101: $10,000

The Justice Grant supports the need for civics education through the Civics 101 podcast. Knowing where we fit into the governing structure, our rights and responsibilities, and how to enact change all start with a well-informed citizenry. With an average of 336,793 downloads monthly, Civics 101 helps bridge that information gap.

603 Legal Aid Frontline Justice Advocacy Initiative: $7,971

To assist with implementing a successful nationwide program in New Hampshire that trains and empowers advocates working with vulnerable populations to partner with legal aid to provide legal advocacy under appropriate training and supervision.

Bridges Court Advocacy Program: $4,500

The Court Advocacy Program supports clients through provision of court advocates trained to assist survivors of domestic violence to navigate the court system in protecting themselves and their children. Many of Bridge’s clients are low income and have limited experience with the legal system.

Children’s Law Center of New Hampshire Know Your Rights Brochure: $4,450

Children’s Law Center Executive Director Lisa Wolford describes the value of the Justice Grant in supporting publication of a Know Your Rights in Foster Care brochure.

“Children in foster care have been removed from their families and, in many cases, from everything else they know and love—their pets, friends, teachers, and communities,” she says. “They are often anxious, angry, and bereft. We’re grateful to have received a Bar Foundation Justice Grant to create a guide that will provide kids in foster care easily understandable answers to many of the questions we hear our clients ask: How can I tell the judge what I want? Where will I go to school? Can my brothers and sisters visit me? What if someone hurts me? Can I wear my own clothes? When can I go home?”

Guardian Support Services of New Hampshire Guardian Training Program: $5,000

Guardian Support Services serves approximately 5,900 active family guardians and about 1,000 new guardians appointed annually. The Justice Grant will facilitate the development of a program to provide resources and training for family guardians including a support guide, consultation services, and educational videos.

New Hampshire Bar Association We the People: $9,025

The grant helps support NHBA’s We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Program.

“I cannot begin to express enough thanks for the reach the Justice Grant provided to the program,” says NHBA Law Related Education Coordinator Robin E. Knippers. “We were able to invite New Hampshire teachers to take part in a high-quality professional development program. By providing these opportunities, we were able to enrich their lives with constitutional and civic knowledge they could not receive
elsewhere. They in turn enrich the lives of their students at all grade levels with this valuable information.”

New Hampshire Legal Assistance Housing Project and Internship: $15,000 and $6,200

Justice Grants were awarded for two NHLA projects: supporting eviction defense clinics at court and a summer internship program. In response to the awards, NHLA Executive Director Sarah Mattson Dustin thanked the Foundation.

“The Justice Grant program is an essential funding source for civil legal services in New Hampshire,” she says. “Justice Grants have funded projects that meet a unique need, such as the hosting of a multidisciplinary conference to address the growing problem of elder financial exploitation or the preparation of public awareness materials about property tax relief.”

Mattson Dustin continues: “Justice Grants have also helped build a more effective and responsive civil legal services system statewide. For example, through the underwriting of the Access to Justice Commission’s most recent civil legal needs assessment. With a quick and straightforward application process, the Justice Grant program is an efficient way to provide targeted financial support when and where it’s
needed most.”

Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, and Public Service Summer Fellows Internships: $9,600

Grant funds will provide a summer stipend to two students over the next two years to support work at non-profits and government agencies providing legal services to underserved populations. By tackling growing caseloads, summer fellows help reduce the stress on legal services providers and overcrowded courts. The program also instills in students the acute need for attorneys to perform pro bono work as a professional obligation.

Veterans Legal Justice $5,000

The Foundation is proud to support New Hampshire’s sole legal service uniquely dedicated to providing pro bono legal representation to veterans regardless of income. Grant funds will be used to hire staff dedicated to facilitating client intake, outreach, and training for volunteers, and to expand the network of pro bono lawyers.

New Hampshire Judicial Branch Sequential Intercept Model Mapping Workshops: $2,500

Funds will support the court in exploring opportunities to divert individuals experiencing substance misuse disorder and/or mental health issues from the criminal justice system by mapping out opportunities for intervention and diversion to treatment.

Justice Grants are made possible through the following donor-supported funds: Judge Richard F. Cooper Fund, Charles W. Dean Trust Fund, Advancement of Justice Fund, Richard P. Dunfey Memorial Fund, Vickie Bunnell Memorial Fund, J. Albert and Mildred E.
Lynch Fund, William F. Batchelder Fund, Voluntary Prevention Fund, William A. Baker Fund, Stanley M. and Thalia M. Brown Fund, A.J. McDonough Family Fund, Advancement of Justice Restricted Fund, Arthur and Esther Nighswander Justice Fund, McLane Justice Fund, and the Frederic P. Upton Justice Fund.