Organizations Filed Purposes:
THE MISSION OF THE FLORIDA BAR FOUNDATION, INC., A PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATION ESTABLISHED IN 1956 BY THE FLORIDA BAR BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA, PROVIDES GREATER ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN FLORIDA THROUGH STRATEGIC GRANTMAKING AND INVESTMENTS IN ASSESSMENT, TRAINING, TECHNOLOGY, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP GRANTEES BUILD CAPACITY AND OPERATE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY. OUR BOARD, AMONG OTHER THINGS, ALLOCATES SEVERAL GRANT FUNDS ANNUALLY, INCLUDING THREE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVED USES OF FUNDS FROM FLORIDA'S INTEREST ON TRUST ACCOUNTS (IOTA) PROGRAM: . FREE CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE POOR . IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE . LAW STUDENT ASSISTANCE FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THE FOUNDATION'S GRANTS: HTTPS://THEFLORIDABARFOUNDATION.ORG/WHAT-WE-DO/
FUNDING, PROMOTION AND SUPPORT FOR GREATER ACCESS TO JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Legal Assistance for the Poor: In 2019-20, approved grant awards included childrens legal services, community economic development, two-year Equal Justice Works Fellowships, the Civil Legal Aid Training Initiative, and student loan forgiveness to 200+ attorneys at legal aid organizations. The Engle Grant program provided funding to qualified legal aid organizations in the Middle District of Florida to assist litigants in obtaining representation in court. Other 2019-20 projects included: 1) Coordinating and partially subsidizing online legal research services to legal assistance grantees at a significantly reduced rate, with the Foundation facilitating centralized billing for a Statewide contract with international legal research firm, Westlaw; and 2) Continued partial subsidies to grantees for an online case management system (Legal Server) funded and implemented by the Foundation in 2008 to improve the administration of the day-to-day casework and related activities of program lawyers and paralegals. This case management system provides grantees the data and communication needed to manage cases, track outcomes, and report to funding sources. The Foundations statewide contract with Legal Server effectively reduces the cost to grantees and makes the service available to some who could not otherwise afford a computerized case management system.
Improvements in the Administration of Justice: In 2019-20, approved grant awards included continued funding for The Florida Innocence Project, which works to exonerate Floridians for crimes they did not commit, Floridas Children First, which works to improve the child welfare system, and Legal Aid Service of Broward Countys restorative justice (Hope Court) project for foster youth
pro bono partnerships: "pro bono" roughly translates to "for the good of the publicgenerally encompasses lawyers agreeing to represent at no charge, persons who cannot otherwise afford to hire an attorney. The Florida Bar Foundations Pro Bono department was the hub and connector between law firms, law schools, the judiciary, legal aid, and other stakeholders to increase awareness of, and create pro bono opportunities. During the period in question, the Foundation continued to support the Pro Bono Transformation and Innovation grant program. The purpose of the Pro Bono Transformation and Innovation Grants program is to develop and enhance grantees pro bono programs that serve low-income Floridians to improve the reach, quality, and effectiveness of the services clients receive. This is done either through a restructuring of the grantees current pro bono program to be more streamlined, efficient, and integrated within the organization or through projects which are replicable, innovative, and based on industry best practices. The Foundation funded three transformation grants and five innovation grants in 2019-20. During the year, the Foundation also provided support and funding to the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association to expand pro bono efforts and opportunities and create further partnerships. The Foundation expanded FloridaProBonoMatters.org, an online referral system that enables lawyers to search for and take pro bono cases across multiple legal aid organizations. The Foundation also facilitated the Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge for the second year, which matches law students from all 12 Florida law schools with lawyers to work on client cases hosted by Foundation grantees.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Dominic C Mackenzie | CEO / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 50 | $185,117 |
| Lou Ann Powell | CFO/TREASURER/SECRETARY | 50 | $161,328 |
| Michelle Suskauer | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Lara J Tibbals | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Ret Justice Peggy Quince | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Kevin P Mckoy | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Joseph D Hudgins | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Dori Foster-Morales | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Steven C Dupre' | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Min Cho | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Hon Hugh A Carithers Jr | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Ashley Sybesma | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Raymond P Reid Jr | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Ret Justice James Ec Perry | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| John F Harkness Jr | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Maria C Gonzalez | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Angela C Vigil | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| George W Tinsley Sr | DIRECTOR | 1.5 | $0 |
| Daniel H Thompson | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Gregory W Coleman | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Murray B Silverstein | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Hon Reginald K Whitehead | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Hon Edwin A Scales Iii | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Hon Suzanne Van Wyk | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Roberto R Pardo | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Stephen R Senn | FIRST VICE PRESIDENT | 3 | $0 |
| Hala Sandridge | PRESIDENT | 3 | $0 |
| Thomas R Oldt | PRESIDENT-ELECT | 3 | $0 |
| Juliette E Lippman | immediate past president | 3 | $0 |
| Carlos Halley | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Carl J Domino | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| John P Cardillo | Director | 1.5 | $0 |
| Connie Bookman | second vice president | 3 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202131379349302693_public.xml