Awards
Louis J. Goffman Awards – The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation’s Louis J. Goffman Awards program seeks to recognize and honor an individual and an organization whose commitments to pro bono have enhanced the delivery of legal services to Pennsylvania’s poor or disadvantaged, making a critical difference in the lives of those in need of legal representation. The maximum award is $1,000.
Loan Repayment Assistance
With potentially forgivable loans, we help attorneys, employed at IOLTA-funded legal services organizations, better manage their undergraduate and law school student loan debt so they can afford to remain in public service. Learn more about the PA IOLTA Loan Repayment Assistance Program here.
Grants
The PBF Grants Committee seeks to increase the public’s understanding of the law and its appreciation of democracy and strive to ensure that citizens, particularly Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable, have full access to our legal system. This mission is accomplished by making grants, seeking financial support from individuals and organizations both within and outside of the legal community, and encouraging bar members to donate their time, talent and expertise in service to the public.
Birdsall Impact Grants – The Birdsall Impact Grant program seeks to assist county bar associations in the furtherance of a charitable, educational or pro bono program or project or the enhancement of an existing charitable, educational or pro bono program or project that succeeds in making an immediate impact on the way a county bar operates in service to its members, its court and its community. The maximum award is $1,000.
Unit County Conference of County Bar Leaders Grant – This grant seeks to cover or defray costs for representatives of PBA Unit County Bar Associations to attend the annual CCBL. Conference attendance allows bar association leaders to meet one another, as well as learn and discuss relevant issues and ideas. Preference will be given to those who demonstrate supporting historically under-represented racial/ethnic minorities with legal services, and those who work at solo small firms.
Unit County Grant Matching – This program seeks to help PA Bar Association Unit County Bar Associations and related Foundations by providing limited grants on a matching basis throughout the year. Requests must be consistent with the Pa Bar Foundations purpose of supporting programs that increase the public’s understating of the law and promote equal access to justice. The request would require an equal match by the requesting association for a specific purpose.
Scholarships
James W. Stoudt Scholarship Fund of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation – Supported by individual memorial contributions and the proceeds of “Foundation of Treasures,” the Foundation’s annual silent auction, the James W. Stoudt Memorial Law School Scholarship Fund currently provides three, $3,000 scholarships, two of which are specifically designated to support minority law students, to candidates attending any one of the following ten accredited law schools presently serving Pennsylvania.
Patti Rose Scheimer Bednarik Memorial Scholarship – The Patti Rose Scheimer Bednarik Memorial Scholarship awards an annual scholarship to a law school student or lawyer in practice for less than 3 years who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to animal law/animal welfare. The maximum annual award is $5,400.
PBA Elder Law Section Diversity Scholarship – The PBA Elder Law Section Diversity Scholarship awards up to two $2,500 scholarships annually to law students of diverse backgrounds interested in the field of elder law as a profession and who will eventually better represent the diverse backgrounds of clients who are served by elder law attorneys.
PBA Environmental & Energy Law Section Minority Scholarship Fund of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation – The PBA Environmental & Energy Law Section Minority Scholarship Fund of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation awards annual scholarship to law school students who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to environmental and energy law.
Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Bob and Betsy Fiebach Scholarship – This scholarship seeks to cover or defray costs for individuals to attend annual events held by the Commission on Women in the Profession (“WIP”) as first-time attendees. Conference attendance allows participants to meet one another and build connections, as well as learn and discuss relevant issues and ideas.
Named Scholarship Programs
Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation – the Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship provides a $3,000 scholarship to a fulltime 3L Pennsylvania resident involved in the Penn State Dickinson School of Law trial advocacy program.
The Louise Hoffmeyer-Overmiller Memorial Scholarship of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation – The Louise Hoffmeyer-Overmiller Memorial Scholarship provides a $6,000 scholarship to a fulltime, 3L Pennsylvania resident attending Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
If you are interested in creating your own Named Scholarship Program, visit https://www.pabar.org/site/Foundation/How-To-Help/Named-Scholarship-Program. You can contribute to any of these programs by mail by sending this form with your tax-deductible donation or by clicking here.
Civics and Law-related Educational Programs and Projects
Chester ‘Pete’ Corse, Jr. Mock Trial Grant – The Foundation’s support makes it possible for the Pennsylvania High School Mock Trial Competition finals to be recorded for posterity and training.
Celebrate the Constitution – Designed to teach students about the U. S. Constitution, the award-winning Celebrate the Constitution brings together K-12 students, lawyers and judges for mock Constitution signing programs across Pennsylvania. The annual program kicks-off in September during the national Constitution Week celebration and continues throughout the fall. All participating schools and county bar associations receive Constitution-related materials for the signing programs. To date, schools in nearly all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have taken part in the program and over 75,000 Pennsylvania students have signed the Constitution!
Law Day – Through the Law Day program, Pennsylvania lawyers and judges visit K-12 classrooms throughout the month of May to teach students about the law. Supporting materials, such as law-related lesson plans and souvenirs with lots of kid appeal are distributed to lawyers, judges and schools across the commonwealth making the day not only instructive but also memorable and fun! Since 2000, more than 2,100 schools and 1,900 lawyers and judges have taken part in the program.
Minority Bar Law Day – Minority Bar Law Day programs are pipeline programs specifically geared to encourage historically under-represented minority high school and college students to pursue careers in the legal profession. The program provides participants with insight into the benefits and “how-to’s” of pursuing a legal career
We The People – The “We the People” competition promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s secondary students. At the national competition, the Pennsylvania team joins the other 49 state winners in simulated congressional hearings on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Foundation funding partially underwrites the cost of sending Pennsylvania’s championship team to the finals.
Wills for Heroes – The Foundation is proud to partner with the PBA in the creation of a fund dedicated to the Wills for Heroes (WFH) program. The PBA provides free basic estate planning for first responders and military veterans. For more information about the Wills for Heroes program visit - https://www.pabar.org/site/For-Public/Wills-for-Heroes. To contribute to this fund, click here, or mail your donation with this completed form.