Dear Fellow MCBA Members,

On behalf of the Board of the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar, I am requesting your support of the 2022 Raise the Bar Annual Appeal. We are making a final push for donations as the fundraising deadline ends on December 31.

What is the Foundation?

As many of you already know, the Foundation is the charitable arm of the Bar. Its mission and purpose is to advance and improve the administration of justice by supporting the charitable, educational, civic and humane purposes of the MCBA and the legal community. The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring access to justice for all, educating the community about our legal system and assisting members of the MCBA in need.

Each spring, the Foundation awards grants to deserving community agencies providing services supporting the Foundation’s mission. Past grant recipients include the Worker Justice Center of New York which provides legal assistance to individuals and groups in matters affecting the rights of agricultural and other low-wage workers, the Willow Domestic Violence Center’s court advocacy program, which assists domestic violence survivors in seeking orders of protection and providing related support, and the Center for Youth’s Rochester Teen Court sentencing program for non-violent offenders who have accepted responsibility for their actions in a traditional court room setting.

The Foundation has also awarded grants to the MCBA sponsored programs including the DEAFund which is committed to promoting equal access to local attorneys for the Greater Rochester Area's 50,000 deaf and hard of hearing citizens and the Hon. Roy W. King Diversity Clerkship Program (also sponsored by the RBBA and GRAWA), which aims to increase diversity in the legal profession in the Rochester area by attracting qualified first-year law students from under-represented groups within the legal profession to work in paid positions with Rochester area law firms and other legal employers.

If you know of an organization deserving of a Foundation grant, please let us know, and we will reach out with grant application information.

2022 Fundraising Efforts

The Foundation’s ability to support these deserving organizations and programs is directly affected by its ability to raise funds. That’s where you come in. The Foundation’s deadline to raise funds for next year’s grant recipients ends on December 31. As you contemplate your end-of-year donations, please consider making a contribution to the Foundation through our Raise the Bar campaign.

By donating, you are helping ensure the continuation of the Foundation’s mission and the work of its deserving grant recipients, for the benefit of our community. We welcome the consideration of new donors to the Foundation. If you’ve donated in the past, please let us count on you again to match or increase your prior commitments.

How to Donate

You can make your immediate impact by donating instantly by clicking on our December fundraising website. For more information about the Foundation itself, please visit our website. If you prefer to write a check, please make it payable to the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar and send it to the MCBA’s offices at 255 East Ave., Suite 305, Rochester, New York 14604.

Thank you for your consideration and happy holidays!

Rob Yawman
Foundation Development Committee