The Clarion
A Newsletter from
Call for Justice, LLC

Vol. 4, No. 2  
August 2015
Thoughts & Words 
Ellie Krug (Executive Director)

    

 

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Colleagues:

 

2015 is little more than half over and it has already been one heck of a year!   

 

We started it off with winning an American Bar Association award for our work, which was quickly followed by intense grant writing and interviewing. Then, beginning in May, we received word of three grant awards that have been critical to helping C4J turn that imaginary corner from a start-up to a sustainable nonprofit. Finally, in June, we put on our second annual fundraiser and doubled the number of sponsors from last year.

 

In a word, wow!

 

For sure, this has been a collective effort. There's no way that C4J could have achieved these successes without the help of our hardworking board members and the many interns and volunteers who have stepped forward to assist with our day-to-day operations and special events like the fundraiser. And let's not forget our many, many collaborators--our Legal Liaisons, organizations that have presented at our events, and many in the general legal and social services communities--who have helped us to engage with both the Twin Cities and in greater Minnesota. Remember, we're only a two person nonprofit--there is no way we could be effective without the help of many people.

 

Thus, a huge Thank-You!! to everyone who has helped us get to this very nice place.

 

I am very bullish about C4J's future! I hope that you are too!

 

 

ellie

In This Issue
Friends
Become a Friend
Support C4J before 2015 ends by becoming one of C4J's Friends of Justice . Consider a $15 monthly pledge. You'll receive your very own numbered Friend of Justice certificate and our deep appreciation!  
C4J's Legal Clinics List
We do our best to maintain an up-to-date listing of Twin Cities legal clinics listed by legal topic. Feel free to direct clients seeking legal resources to the existing list . If you host a clinic and would like to have it listed, please contact Emily Lindholm .

Otto Bremer Foundation's $40k Grant (Plus Even More Great News!)  

 

In early May, Call for Justice, LLC was thrilled to announce that it had been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation. This is the first substantial grant to Call for Justice since its initial fundraising in 2009-10 before C4J opened for business. 

  

Since its inception in 1944, the Otto Bremer Foundation has "assisted people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities." The foundation is committed to furthering the success of seven geographic regions across the Midwest that contain Bremer Banks. This generous donation will go toward FY 2015-16 operations and program costs, including our outreach/legal resource training in greater Minnesota.

 

Additionally, C4J has been granted $20,000 from Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC) over the next two years (making it $40,000 total!). Funding rationales included the ingenuity of C4J's recent programming initiatives (including our Greater MN Legal Liaison Program) and our ability to show demonstrated impact in the increased delivery of legal services. 

 

And last but certainly not least, we are pleased to also welcome a grant of $20,000 from the Hennepin County Bar Foundation, one of C4J's founders.

 

A huge thanks to these donors. We are very grateful!
"On the Horizon"

August 26: 
The Greater MN Legal Liaison Program will be conducted in Red Wing from 9AM to Noon. More details can be found later in this newsletter.

September 2: 
The Greater MN Legal Liaison Program will be conducted in Bemidji from 1PM to 4PM. More details can be found later in this newsletter.    

September 24 & 25:  
Our 26th set of United Way 211 legal referral trainings will take place at Ceridian Corporation in Bloomington; topic TBD.

October 29: 
The planning of our twelfth meeting of the metro Legal Liaison Program is in the works! It will take place at Greater Twin Cities United Way from 9:30AM to Noon. RSVP's required.

November 12:
We are currently planning the third annual "I Didn't Know That! Relatively Unknown Civil Legal Resources" seminar at the Minnesota Continuing Legal Education offices. Stay tuned!

C4J's Legal Liaison Program is Thriving!

Ellie Krug explains the Legal Resources "Summary Guide" during C4J's Rochester Legal Liaison Program

Our eleventh Legal Liaison Program (LLP) meeting took place on June 25, 2015 with well-received presentations by Christina Buscko and Katherine Bisanz (Sexual Violence Center) and Lindy Yokanovich (Cancer Legal Line) in addition to an hour of professional speed networking.  

 

Additionally, due to generous grants from the Otto Bremer Foundation and the Minnesota State Bar Foundation, C4J has provided four trainings (with plans for four more!) in Greater MN.  

 

So far, C4J has convened LLP meetings in Owatonna, Rochester, Alexandria and Albert Lea to heighten awareness of local resources and also to highlight Twin Cities initiatives that offer legal help regardless of location.   

 

After each meeting, C4J sends out surveys asking attendees about their experiences. Here are some responses:  

 

"I was surprised and delighted to have this introduction to C4J--I had no idea this existed. This is a superb resource to know about. I plan to present the information to our volunteers at our next meeting. Thank you so much for coming. I appreciated that you were willing to come to us."  - Alexandria Attendee 

 

"This was an excellent and relevant, albeit whirlwind tour of the legal options available to low/no-income people. So many training events one attends are irrelevant or not 'en pointe' and it was so refreshing that this was! Thank you very much. All I want is a level playing field--that, for me, is justice." - Owatonna Attendee

 

"As an advocate for seniors, many of whom are low income, I never knew how many options I had when needing to refer them out to someone with legal expertise. The information provided should help with getting more seniors the assistance they need when it comes to legal questions or concerns." - Albert Lea Attendee

 

The next two Legal Liaison Program meetings will be held on August 26 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon (Red Wing) and on September 2 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Bemidji). The next Twin Cities LLP meeting will take place on October 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Those interested in attending are asked to send their RSVP's to Emily at emily.lindholm@callforjustice.org.  

Fundraiser Summary for "A Night with Davina and the Vagabonds"
  
First and foremost, we want to say thanks again to everyone who came out to our Second Annual Fundraiser on June 4, 2015 at the Illusion Theater in downtown Minneapolis. What a night!

Between the sold-out raffle, the delicious food from House of Hunger, and the extremely entertaining performance by Davina and The Vagabonds, we've set the bar fairly high for 2016!


We'd also like to again thank our speakers, Tom Tinkham of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, and Lolita Ulloa of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for such compelling speeches about the work and mission of Call for Justice. Additionally, thanks to our many volunteers who helped make the event a success.

Now that it's all said and done, we are pleased to announce that C4J managed to net nearly $30,000--a 20% increase from the amount raised at our 2014 fundraiser!

We would also like to thank all of our 14 sponsors (wow!) without whom this event would not have been possible: Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Michaud, Cooley, Erickson & Associates, Inc., Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Foley & Mansfield, Robins Kaplan LLP, Best & Flanagan LLP, Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association, Carpenter, Evert and Associates, Ltd., Gray Plant Mooty Foundation, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Halleland Habicht PA, Jerry A. Burg Law Office, Lindquist & Vennum LLP and Wallen-Friedman & Floyd, PA.

Wrapping Up: A Statistical Summary of C4J's Accomplishments

In terms of numbers, C4J has had a very productive few years! Below, you'll find an assortment of stats and numbers that we've pulled from the last 3.5 years. We hope they make you as excited as they make us!

  • Since 2012, C4J has hosted eleven metro Legal Liaison Program meetings, twenty-five 211 trainings, two fundraisers and two "I Didn't Know That!" CLE's.
  • Since December 2014, C4J has conducted four Greater MN Legal Liaison Program trainings to audiences representing more than forty-four organizations.
  • The number of Friends of Justice (individual donors) increased by 80% in the past fiscal year.
  • In one year, video views increased by 47%, going from a total of 23,131 new views in FY 13-14 to a total of an additional 33,902 new views in FY 14-15.
  • Since starting our YouTube channel in September 2012, our net total of video views has surpassed 60,000!
  • C4J's Facebook community grew by more than 120% in one year, going from 155 "Likes" in FY 13-14 to 345 "Likes" at the end of FY14-15.  

The Legal Connector

To much positive reception, we've been putting out monthly issues of The Legal Connector since October 2014. We have great legal/social services resource information in TLC, so be on the lookout for it in the middle of every month!

If you have any legal announcements that you would like us to consider including in the next TLC, please send an email to Emily Lindholm at emily.lindholm@callforjustice.org.

A Preview of Coming Attractions

In case you've not figured it out, C4J has a great deal going on. Coming up will be a report on how a collaboration between Minnesota Legal Advice Online and Greater Twin Cities United Way 211 (a collaboration which C4J facilitated) has produced some startling correlations.

 

Also, we're in the midst of preparing our very first Annual Report--look for that sometime between September and January.

 

We'll also be busy training 211, working with our Legal Liaison Program, and conducting what will be our third annual "I Didn't Know That!" seminar on relatively unknown legal resources. On top of all of this, we'll be helping to recruit additional pro bono attorneys and working to get the Collaborative Community Law Initiative (sponsored by Hamline and William Mitchell law schools) launched by January 1, 2016.

 

Whew. We're tired from just thinking about all of this. Yet, of course, we will carry on!  

Last, But Certainly Not Least, a Huge Thank-You to Departing Board Members!

C4J board members Mike Unger and Charlie Clippert have rotated off the board. Both Mike and Charlie were members of C4J's inaugural board and have worked on the organization's behalf long before we even opened for business. We would like to express our deep appreciation for their service to C4J and for being ambassadors to the legal community on our behalf!

 

Mike and Charlie, we wish you the very best as you go forward!

Thank you for supporting the work and mission of Call for Justice, LLC!
Ellen (Ellie) Krug
Executive Director
ellen.krug@callforjustice.org

Emily Lindholm
Program Manager
emily.lindholm@callforjustice.org
Call for Justice, LLC
608 2nd Ave South, Suite 465
P.O. Box 2380
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-333-4000
www.callforjustice.org


Board of Directors
Lisa Lamm Bachman , Paul Floyd Jim Long, Peter Michaud, Kelly Olmstead, Libby Sanders and Tom Tinkham .

Foundation Support:
The Dorsey & Whitney Foundation, F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Gray Plant Mooty Foundation, Hennepin County Bar Foundation, Leonard, Street and Deinard Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Ramsey County Bar Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation.

 

Law Firm Support:

Aafedt, Forde, Gray, Monson & Hager, P.A., Arthur Chapman Kettering Smetak & Pikala, P.A., Barry & Helwig, LLC, Bassford Remele, A Professional Association, Best & Flanagan LLP, Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association, Chestnut Cambronne PA, Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh, PLLP, Cooper & Reid, LLC, Cousineau McGuire, Chartered, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Eric Richard Law Office, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Fish & Richardson P.C., Foley & Mansfield, PLLP, Fredrikson & Byron, PA, Gray Plant Mooty, Halleland Habicht PA, Halunen & Associates, Henson & Efron, P.A., Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Jerry A. Burg Law Office, Kennedy & Graven, Chartered, Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd., Larson King, LLP, Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson, P.A., Lindquist & Vennum LLP, Maslon LLP, Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen, P.A., McShane Bankruptcy LLC, Meagher & Geer, P.L.L.P., Merchant & Gould, Moss & Barnett, A Professional Association, Nilan Johnson Lewis PA, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP, Robins Kaplan LLP, Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A., Stinson Leonard Street LLP, Unger Law Office, Wallen-Friedman & Floyd, PA, Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP

 

Business & Community Support:
Best Western Normandy Inn, Boston Scientific, Brending Electrolysis, Carpenter, Evert and Associates, Ltd., Court Videographer Services, Inc., Greater Twin Cities United Way, Michaud, Cooley, Erickson & Associates, Inc., Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company.

 

Friends of Justice (Individual Donors):
Lisa Lamm Bachman, Ginny A. Bell, Les Bendtsen, Mark Bloomquist, Elizabeth A. Brenner
Victoria Brenner, Dan Burton, Vicki and Richard Carlson, Regina M. Chu, Emily Cooper, David Couillard, Catherine J. Courtney, John Daly, Gina DeConcini, Martha Delaney, Paul Dieseth, Liz and Brian Dillon, Phyllis Doman, Jerrad Fenske, Charles Ferrell (In honor of Richard Kyle), Al and Ellen Fisher, Donna and Paul Floyd, Donald and Arvonne Fraser, Tom Fraser, Sara Galligan, Beth Garland, Elise Ginsburg, Sara Granberg-Rademacker, Fouthma Haji-Taki, Rebecca Hallette, Joy Hamilton, Frank and Jayne Harris, Bradley Hart, Robert J. Hauer, Jr., Catharine Haukedahl, Alisha Hoekstra, Dick and Peg Kavaney, Amy Walsh Kern, Anita Kozan (In memory of Ruth Evelyn Iverson Kozan), Ellen Krug, Mark Krug, Richard Kyle, Jr. and Elizabeth Wittenberg, Brian and Erin Lindholm, Jim Long, John Medeiros, Pete Michaud and Tom Wilson, Caitlin Miles, Alan Miller, Kathy Moran, Ari Murphy, Jean Nead, Crystal Ng, Kathy Nielsen, Kelly Olmstead, Melissa Otto, Laurie and Gary Pearcy, Gary Pederson, Kelly Phillips, David Piper, David Potter, Jill Prohofsky, Paul Quast, Linda Raines, Mary Rea, Christine Rehm, Thea Reilkoff, Liz Reppe, Brent Routman, Joseph Satter, Laura Strong and Pam Michaud, John L. Sullivan, Vanessa Tennyson, Dennis Tharp, Jamila Tharp, Tom Tinkham and Jacquelyn "Jacq" Hauser, Mike Unger, Mary Vasaly, Ella Washington, Paul Wehrwein, Jodi Williams, Jay Wolkenbrod.   

Released on August 6, 2015