The Atlanta Lawyer December 2017/January 2018 | Page 6

FROM THE FOUNDATION Atlanta Bar Foundation Year In Review Michael B. Terry President, Atlanta Bar Foundation [email protected] The Atlanta Bar Foundation con- cluded a historic year in 2017. One year ago, I predicted in this space that the Foundation “is poised for a record-breaking year in 2017.” This was, perhaps, an understate- ment. Major events, achievements and milestones were reached. But it was a year punctuated by loss, as well. The Atlanta Bar Foundation is the charitable arm of the Atlanta Bar Association. The Foundation is charged with fundraising, man- agement of funds, and the expen- diture of funds to further the char- itable purposes of the Atlanta Bar Association. Its focus is Atlanta Bar affiliated and supported charitable projects that promote equal access to justice, assistance to youth and public understanding of the law. The Atlanta Bar Foundation also maintains an annual grant pro- gram to support Atlanta-area pro bono legal service providers serv- ing low-income citizens in Atlanta. Here are some of the highlights from 2017. Grants in Excess of One Million Dollars Several years ago, the Atlanta Bar Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) and the Foundation combined their resources to create a joint grant program. The joint grant program takes applications and makes grants to programs that advance the charitable purposes of the Atlanta Bar Association. In addition to the Summer Law In- ternship Program (SLIP), Minority and Diversity Clerkship Program (MDCP), and Police Scholarship Fund discussed above, recent grant recipients have included the Truancy Intervention Project, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers’ Foun- “This year, the cumulative grants program surpassed one million dollars in giving since its inception in 2009.” 6 December 2017 / January 2018 dation, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, Fulton County, CASA, Georgia Asylum & Immigration, Georgia Innocence Project, Georgia Justice Project, Georgia Law Center for the Homeless, Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Gideon’s Promise among others. This year, the cumulative grants program surpassed one million dollars in giving since its incep- tion in 2009. The Bard Show - Cathy O’Neil Memorial Bard Show Fund The Foundation puts on three sig- nature fundraising events. The longest-running event is the Bard Show, a musical theater comedy extravaganza written, choreo- graphed and performed by a cast of up to 70 Atlanta lawyers and judges. There are currently TWO Bard Shows in pre-production. Coming in the fall of 2018, we will be producing and performing a Bard Show Tribute Show which will include some of the best scenes from past shows, woven together into a single narrative by our expert scriptwriters. Then, in the fall of 2019, we will be per- forming “A Courthouse Line XIII: A Nightmare on 14th Street.” We are excited about these upcoming shows and urge your sponsorship