Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation

Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation makes grants to organizations and people who are committed to providing women and minorities with greater access to the justice system.

During the past several years, the Foundation has made grants to:

• Lane County Legal Aid & Advocacy Center (Domestic Violence Clinic & Stop Violence Again Women Clinic Projects)
• Child Centered Solutions
• Small Business Legal Clinic
• CASA of Linn County
• CASA of Clatsop County
• Red Lodge Transition Services
• Volunteers of America/Courtcare
• Portland Women’s Crisis Line
• Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
• St. Andrew Legal Clinic

If your organization would like to apply for a grant, please download the Grant Application.  The deadline for the grant applications is October 31st.  If you have questions about the application process, please contact Kristin Larson, chair of the Foundation Grant Committee. Please allow several days for a response.

OWLF is offering community grants of $2,000 to $6,000 to non-profit organizations for projects that will open doors for women and minorities to access and participate in the justice system.

During the Opening Doors campaign our Community Grant Program will give preference to grant projects that align with our mission and:

1. Involve members of the legal community as givers
2. Help women and minorities through barriers to a successful legal practice
3. Help women and minorities gain access to the legal system
4. Reach outside the Portland-metro area
5. Have significant impacts in rural Oregon communities
6. Can provide tangible, measurable results using modest funds

The Foundation is also very proud to offer the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant, which provides selected applicants with the $525 fee required to register to sit for the Oregon State Bar exam.   The Vernellia Randle Bar Exam Grant is available to single custodial parents with children under the age of 18.  The Foundation will award up to 6 grants a year.   In reviewing applications, the Grant Committee will heavily consider the ages and number of children of the applicant.  Special consideration will be given to students with children under the age of 6.  The recipient must be in her or his final year of law school at the time she or he receives the Bar Exam Grant. 

 To complete the on-line application form and for deadline information, click here.

The bar exam grant is named in honor of Vernellia R. Randall who has made a lasting contribution to the Foundation and is playing a significant role in the efforts to give women and minorities greater access to the justice system.

The Foundation is also proud to offer the Armonica Law Student Grant Program in honor of late Foundation Board member Armonica Gilford.  The grant is available to 3rd year students attending the three Oregon law schools who can demonstrate a commitment to the Foundation's goals through their personal, volunteer, or educational experience. Ethnic minorities and women are especially encouraged to apply. Annually, one recipient is selected from each of the Oregon law schools to receive a text book grant in the amount of $500. In addition to the monetary grant, each recipient is matched with an ethnic minority female judge or attorney, who serves as the student’s mentor for the year.  A detailed overview of the Program is available as a .pdf by clicking here.

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 Armonica Grant recipients:  Fabiana Ochoa from Lewis & Clark Law School and Jacqueline Alarcon from Willamette College of Law.  An award was also made to a University of Oregon law student.

Applications for 2010-2011 will be available in August 2010.