Venable Foundation Annual Report - FY2020

Guided by the principle that our clients are best served when we build a diversity of perspectives into the solutions we offer, Venable continues to grow as a firm where all voices are represented. Our longstanding Diversity and Inclusion initiative was bolstered in 2020 by the launch of Moments and Movements, reflecting our genuine desire to promote a truly inclusive environment. This ongoing program includes forums where our professionals can have open conversations about discrimination and bias, a regular speaker series, resource centers, pop-up bookshops, and reading circles, all of which explore systemic racism, past and present. Paired with the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and in response to the social unrest following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, the Venable Foundation dedicated $200,000 in grants to organizations addressing racial justice. While many of our grantees address issues of equity in our society, these grants were specifically nominated by Venable attorneys as organizations that are rooted in addressing change in this area. Baltimore Associated Black Charities The Reginald F. Lewis Museum Los Angeles Anti-Recidivism Coalition Los Angeles Community Action Network New York City Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Neighborhood Defender Service San Francisco Justice and Diversity Center of the Bar Association La Raza Centro Legal Washington, DC Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia 2020 Impact Grants Addressing Racial Justice The Venable Foundation’s generous unrestricted support was critical for Legal Aid as it afforded us much-needed flexibility to deploy our attorneys where they were need most during the COVID-19 pandemic.” - Eric Angel Executive Director, Legal Aid Society Washington, DC Racial Justice photo here “During these unprecedented and difficult times, this non-profit organization took up my mother’s case in early January 2020 and did not give up until it yielded a satisfactory result in September 2020.” - Arlena Daughter of Legal Aid Society Client