Morrison & Foerster Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Morrison & Foerster Foundation supports local, national and international organizations in locations where the firm has an office. Its grants typically support initiatives for disadvantaged children and nonprofits in the areas of housing and community development, health, human rights, women and girls and the arts. The firm also provides pro bono legal representation to low-income individuals.
IP TAKE: This corporate funder’s philanthropy focuses on disadvantaged children in geographic areas where it maintains operations. A significant portion of its philanthropy consists of pro bono work. Other areas of interest include housing, health, human rights, women and girls and the arts. In the U.S. grantmaking prioritizes Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Northern Virginia, San Diego, San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. In Europe, the foundation gives to organizations in Brussels, Berlin and London. Grantmaking for Asia generally goes to U.S.-based organizations that work broadly on the continent.
Morrison and Foerster is not an accessible grantmaker. The foundation works exclusively with organizations with which its employees maintain interest and connections, so the best way to begin to get a grant here is to reach out to employees at local operations via the firm’s staff or offices directory pages.
PROFILE: The partners at the law firm Morrison and Foerster established the Morrison & Foerster Foundation in 1986. It seeks to enable “the people of Morrison & Foerster to focus their charitable giving on nonprofit organizations serving people in the communities in which the firm’s personnel live and work,” including multiple locations in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The foundation supports “underserved communities and equal access to justice of all kinds,” and promotes “collective social engagement while strengthening […] local communities.” Its main areas of giving are support for disadvantaged children and pro bono legal services for low-income individuals. To a lesser extent, the foundation supports organizations working in the fields of health, food, shelter and the arts.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
Morrison & Foerster names support for disadvantaged youth as one of its core funding areas, and funding for early childhood education falls squarely within this category. The foundation does not outline specific goals for its work in this area but has demonstrated an interest in programs for children with special needs and early literacy programs. Past grantees include BronxWorks' Early Childhood Learning Center, Pacific Autism Center for Education’s Early-Intervention/Preschool Program, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles and Behind the Book’s literacy program.
Grants for K-12 Education
This funder does not name K-12 education as an area of focus, but its support of disadvantaged youth serves K-12 populations with apparent focus on children in foster homes and out-of-school learning and mentoring programs. Recent recipients include Oakland’s First Place for Youth, the YWCA of Silicon Valley and Behind the Book, a New York City-based organization that provides innovative literacy programs to public school classrooms.
Grants for Housing and Community Development
Morrison & Foerster does not have a dedicated community development program, but it does have a history of making grants in this area, with many of its grants within the focus areas of disadvantaged youth and pro bono legal work falling within this space. Past grantees include LavaMae, a San Francisco project to bring “pop-up care villages” to unhoused people, and Los Angeles’s First Place for Youth, which helps homeless youth find housing stability.
Grants for Higher Education
While support for education is not a stated funding priority for the foundation, it does make grants to nonprofits providing scholarships, fellowships and programs that support diversity in higher education. Morrison & Foerster has given a total of over $4.8 million to the Equal Justice Works’ fellowships program and over $3.2 million through its own Terraciano Scholarships program. Other grantees include the Seven Tepees Youth Program’s College and Career Program and Oakland Promise’s College Access Program.
Grants for Global Security and Human Rights
While human rights is not a named area of interest for the foundation’s grantmaking, its tax filings indicate an interest in this field. Past grantees include Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law and the Lighthouse Center for Human Trafficking Victims.
Grants for Public Health
Health is not a named primary area of interest for the foundation, but a portion of its recent grantmaking has supported health initiatives, including programs for patients with HIV/AIDS and local healthcare programs for underserved individuals and families. Grantees include San Mateo’s Mission Hospice and Home Care, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of San Jose and the Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles.
Grants for Women and Girls
Although the foundation does not directly name women’s and girls’ causes as an of grantmaking interest, its tax filings indicate an interest in this funding field. In a recent year, the foundation supported Mother’s Choice USA, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) and La Casa de las Madres.
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
Support for organizations providing relief from natural and humanitarian disasters is not a core funding area for Morrison & Foerster; nevertheless, it consistently makes grants in this space. It has given support for organizations providing relief and recovery from “the earthquakes in the Kumamoto Prefecture of Japan in 2016, Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017, the Northern California Wildfires in 2017, and the California Wildfires in 2018.” It has also given to local food banks and other organizations providing relief and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past grantees include National Parks Foundation, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, Bread for the City, Feeding America, Martha’s Table and World Central Kitchen.
Grants for Arts and Culture and Arts Education
Morrison & Foerster’s grantmaking in this space tends to support established arts organizations across the arts spectrum rather than prioritizing funding within one arts category. It broadly seeks to “enrich […] communities through creative and thought-provoking expression.” Most of its arts and culture grants support organizations with programs that include public outreach or educational components. Past arts grantees include the Oakland Museum of California, which received funding for its learning initiatives; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which received support for its education programs. Other grant recipients include the San Diego Symphony, Clubbed Thumb and Sitar Arts Center of Washington, DC.
Important Grant Details:
The Morrison and Foerster Foundation made about $3.3 million in grants in a recent year. Grants generally range between $200 and $250,000, with the average grant amount falling somewhere around $3,000. This funder supports a broad range of organizations, including some smaller community groups, particularly in the area of child welfare. U.S. areas of focus include Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Northern Virginia, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. In Europe, the foundation focuses on Brussels, Berlin and London. Grantmaking for Asia tends to go to U.S.-based organizations with broad reach. To learn more about Morrison & Foerster Foundation grantees, explore its annual report.
The foundation only considers funding for organizations sponsored by Morrison & Foerster lawyers or staff. It is not currently accepting unsolicited grant applications or requests for funding. Prospective grantseekers might use the firm’s staff database to contact employees at branch offices in their geographic area. Contact information for the firm’s several offices is also available on the Morrison and Foerster website.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
