INDIANAPOLIS – The Barnes & Thornburg Racial and Social Justice Foundation held its second annual fundraising campaign, this year entitled Spirit of Giving and raised $300,000. This weeklong internal fundraising drive, held from May 23-27, encourages attorneys and team members across all the firm’s offices to donate to the foundation, whose mission is promoting, advocating, and effecting racial and social justice in local communities and nationally.
The foundation, which is funded by Barnes & Thornburg attorneys and employees, has awarded $500,000 in grants to 10 different nonprofits since its inception in 2020. Among other advocacy areas, these grants have supported efforts related to homelessness, hunger, incarceration, and diversity in the legal profession – in 10 firm markets cities ranging from Chicago to New York and Los Angeles.
“I couldn’t be prouder to work for a firm that doesn’t just talk about racial and social justice, but advocates for it in direct and tangible ways,” said Connie Lahn, the Racial and Social Justice Foundation president and managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office. “The money the foundation raises allows us to have a direct impact on grant recipients who live and work in our local communities. We couldn’t have this level of reach without the tireless support of our donors.”
The Spirit of Giving campaign highlighted a different nonprofit organization to which it has awarded a grant every day throughout the week, including the Parole Preparation Project in New York, North Carolina Center for Actual Innocence in Raleigh, and the Center for Nonviolence in Fort Wayne.
The 2022 grantees will be announced at the end of this year. For more information, visit the Barnes & Thornburg Racial and Social Justice Foundation website.
With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, Boston, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.
