Grant History

$20,000 to Mid-Ohio Psychological Services Inc for their Ethics, Legal, & Diversity Training Expansion project which will enhance training programs to promote the education of justice, fairness, and collaboration with the legal systems for Ohio mental health professionals.

$7,500 to Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO) to upgrade the Collaboration to Improve Access to Justice project’s listserv platform for statewide legal aid staff. The funding will facilitate a migration to a modern listserv management platform for better communication and information sharing. Serving counties statewide.

$10,000 to Women Helping Women for the Increasing Awareness and Access to Legal Advocacy Services for Survivors project which will provide support, education, and legal advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

$52,770 to The University of Toledo Foundation for the Launch into Law project which seeks to increase the number of historically underrepresented students enrolled in law school.

$50,000 to Summer Work Experience In Law to grow it's membership program which supports Black high school and college students interested in careers in the law. This project will fund student internships with government offices and nonprofit organizations.

$18,000 to Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence for the Contextualizing Sexual Violence in Ohio’s Legal System project which with create two training series to increase legal professionals knowledge about sexual violence and providing trauma-informed care, and educate survivors on legal system options. Serving all 88 counties.

$25,000 to Equality Ohio Education Fund to update and disseminate the Ohio Trans Know Your Rights Guide. This project will revise the guide to reflect current challenges and distribute it widely, empowering transgender individuals and service providers with crucial information. Serving counties statewide.

$30,000 to YWCA Columbus for their Racial Equity 101: Train the Facilitator pilot project which will teach high school girls in the Bright Futures empowerment program to facilitate racial literacy and anti racism trainings.

$30,000 to Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition for the Behavioral Health in Ohio: Improving Data, Moving Toward Racial and Ethnic Equity Research and Report project which will identify areas of inequity in the behavioral health system, propose solutions, and make policy recommendations. Serving all 88 counties.

$30,000 to We Amplify Voices (WAV) to fund the Life Stories II project. This initiative provides law students, attorneys, judges, and public defenders an intimate look at the lives of inmates sentenced to life in prison, promoting trauma-informed practices. WAV will create educational modules based on interviews with inmates, available for free on digital platforms. Serving Franklin, Marion, and Union counties.

$56,832 for the The JusticeTech Program at The Ohio State University which aims to enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of eviction prevention tools through a hands-on learning approach for law students. This project enriches students’ education by integrating real-world data into their coursework while also making significant community impacts by developing tools that facilitate easier navigation of legal processes for the public.

$25,000 for the Driving Justice Project will give Ohioans with suspended driver's licenses step-by-step action plans to help them understand and navigate the various court and administrative processes required to complete the reinstatement process. It will also screen for eligibility for fee reductions and provide information for local organizations that assist with reinstatement for individuals who require additional assistance.

$25,000 to Ohio Domestic Violence Network for their Seeking Freedom & Safety: Legal Information for Community Based and Incarcerated Survivors project which will update Self Help Legal Manuals in English and Spanish and distribute them to domestic violence programs statewide; additionally educational workshops will be offered to incarcerated survivors on topics of judicial release, clemency, and more.

$15,000 to Northeast Ohio Worker Center for the Worker Justice Project which will support wage theft clinics providing education on wage theft, overtime, classification, and harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Counties Served: Cuyahoga, Ashland, Erie, Holmes, Huron, Lorain, Medina, Richland, Ashtabula, Geauga.

$15,500 to revitalize the Victim Offender Dialogue program, which will be conducted with the goals of healing, accountability, restitution, and improving the justice system.

$35,000 to create and distribute a policy brief focused on the mental health and well-being of system-involved children and youth, focused on children involved in the juvenile justice system and including impacts of other systems, such as children services and behavioral health. The brief will highlight the mental health conditions and treatment access challenges experienced by system-involved youth, as well as potential changes to law and other policies that could lead to improved health and well-being for these youth.

$35,000 for the Legal Assistance for Unaccompanied Minor Children to protect children’s rights by helping them navigate the overwhelmingly complex immigration process with appropriate legal representation in immigration proceedings.

$24,000 for the Portage County Juvenile Court leaders to implement a pre-adjudicatory child protection mediation program, designed to mediate both adjudication (complaint) and disposition (case plan). The program focuses on improving outcomes for families and reducing time to permanency for children. The goal of this program is to move from an adversarial model to a collaborative model on appropriate abuse, neglect, and dependency cases.

$60,145 to Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio to enhance its Expanding Attorney Volunteer Engagement in Pro Bono Services for Nonprofits project. This funding will help expand the attorney volunteer base, appreciate current volunteers, recruit new corporate and transactional attorneys, and improve volunteer communications. Serving Hamilton, Montgomery, and Warren counties.

$15,000 to The International Welcome Center for the Pursuit of Happiness - Educational Sessions on Navigating the Path to Citizenship initiative. This project will fund virtual seminars and translation services.

$66,111 to conduct outreach and training to the courts, prosecutors, victim advocates, and homicide co-victim support groups to educate them about the legal rights of co-victims and the resources available to them. This project continues a multi-year endeavor that OVWA has undertaken to improve the provision of services and access to justice for those who have lost a loved one to homicide.

$50,000 to strengthen the Prison Visitation Program in two Ohio facilities: Pickaway Correctional Institution and the Northeast Reintegration Center while also expanding to additional facilities across Ohio. This project facilitates open and uncensored dialogues in an effort to humanize incarcerated participants with a focus on a more successful reentry into society.

$50,000 to the University of Cincinnati Foundation to support the Social Justice and the Law: Assessment and Application in Ohio project which will conduct an assessment of the inclusivity, diversity, and racial equity of the legal profession in Ohio.

$19,550 for The Summits for Racial Justice project to create targeted events to address racial and systemic discrimination against BIPOC workers in the workplace.

$35,000 to Ohio Legal Help for the Legal Information and Action Plans for Mental Health project which will develop new legal content to educate and support Ohioans with mental health concerns as they navigate the mental health system. Serving all 88 counties.