CBA Record February_March 2016

Chicago Bar Foundation Report

Ten Years of Inf luence and Impact The Investing in Justice Campaign

By Angelika Labno CBF Administrative &

Communications Coordinator W hen the Investing in Justice Campaign launched in 2007, it raised more than $600,000 from about 1,600 individuals at 35 partici- pating law firms and companies within just a few weeks for the cause of access to jus- tice. Skeptics pegged this strong response as a “one-year wonder”; the following year, the economic crisis of 2008 further threat- ened the Campaign’s potential. But the Campaign’s numbers grew even during that time. Amidst the economic upheavals Chi- cago has seen in the last decade, the growth of the Investing in Justice Campaign is proof that we still believe in “justice for all” through thick and through thin. As we celebrate the 10th year anniver- sary, we can proudly declare the Campaign as a national model, with Chicago’s legal community leading by example in the fight for equal access to justice. The Campaign has come a long way since that powerful beginning: it has raised almost $12 million The CBA again is one of the organizations par- ticipating in the Campaign, and we encourage all CBA members to contribute at chicagobar- foundation.org/campaign

in individual contributions to support legal aid over the last nine years. One hundred percent of those dollars went to dozens of Chicago-area pro bono and legal aid organizations through CBF grants, which helped to leverage millions more for the cause from the CBF’s foundation and gov- ernment partners. We have documented the incredible work of some of those organizations in our Campaign in Action series–the CARPLS legal aid hotline and the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Hous- ing’s policy work on behalf of low-income tenants being two recent examples. This year’s goals are to exceed the following three milestones: 5,000 individual donors; 150

participating law firms, companies, and other organizations; and $1.5 million in individual contributions. A small group of influential and dedi- cated lawyers–with invaluable pro bono assistance from a leading legal marketing professional–created the vision for the Campaign to tackle the “justice gap”—i.e. the growing number of people not being able to afford often critical legal help, and the shortage of pro bono and legal aid resources to meet their needs. It was the first sophisticated effort at mobilizing the legal community on a grand scale for two goals: to raise both money and awareness for pro bono and legal aid work.

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