Center For Nonviolence in Fort Wayne Receives $50,000 Grant From Barnes & Thornburg Racial And Social Justice Foundation

FORT WAYNE – The Barnes & Thornburg Racial and Social Justice Foundation, which was launched in 2020, has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Center for Nonviolence, which provides education, support, and advocacy to end domestic and other forms of violence while modeling equality and power sharing. The grant is one of six being awarded this year by the foundation, which is funded by Barnes & Thornburg’s lawyers and staff, who together raised $300,000 this year. 

“We are proud to be able to help the Center for Nonviolence in its important work to curb the violence that impacts the people of  our community and to provide much needed prevention, support and advocacy services to historically and systemically marginalized populations,” said Dawn Rosemond, firm diversity partner for Barnes & Thornburg who practices in the Fort Wayne office. “Working together to make our communities stronger is very important to our firm and this organization exemplifies what it means to provide resources, education and programming to address equality and other issues directly related to violence reduction.”

The Center for Nonviolence has been helping men, women, and children in Allen, Wells, Noble, and surrounding counties heal and act in their own best interest for 40 years.  

“Our vision is to create homes, communities, and a world free of violence and oppression, and this grant will make a huge impact as we expand our programming aimed at ending violence of all kinds,” said Elka Jackson, member of the executive directorship team and grant writer for the center. “We provide a safe, welcoming, and affirming space where immigrant/refugee populations, LGBTQ+ communities, people of color, and other underserved and marginalized populations receive linguistically and culturally specific, competent, and affirming services.”

The Center for Nonviolence was the brainchild in 1981 of five men who agreed that the women who were leading the march against domestic violence and rape should not stand alone. 

“The Center for Nonviolence has a rich history in northeast Indiana of supporting women, men and children who have been caught in the cycle of violence. Our firm and its foundation are gratified to be able to play a role in continuing the center’s good work,” said Randy Brown, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Fort Wayne office.

Barnes & Thornburg’s Racial and Social Justice Foundation  

The Racial and Social Justice Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 2020 and provided $200,000 to nonprofits in four of the firm’s local communities across the country. The foundation’s mission is to promote, advocate, and effect racial and social justice in our local communities and nationally.

“We are pleased to continue our efforts with the Racial and Social Justice Foundation to support the Center for Nonviolence and five additional community organizations,” said Robert T. Grand, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg and foundation board member. “We remain steadfast in our dedication to advocate for organizations support and promote equality, advancement, and justice.” 

To choose grantees, the foundation employed a rigorous scoring system to vet charitable organizations against specific criteria that align with its mission and goals. 

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.