Law firms, corporations, bar associations, foundations and individuals provide funding for each Equal Justice Works Fellowship that matches the generous OSI grant. These funding partners are referred to as "sponsors."

Sponsors are encouraged to establish relationships with the Fellows they sponsor from the beginning of the process (e.g. participating in the candidate interviews) and throughout the Fellowship term. Some of our sponsors find it easier to establish and maintain relationships with their Fellows if the Fellowship project is based in a city where the sponsor has an office or provides services around an issue/substantive area of interest.

If a sponsor has indicated to Equal Justice Works that it has an interest or preference in funding a Fellowship in a particular geographic area or around a particular issue/substantive area, we publicize this information on our website.

Below are some of the locations and issues where we anticipate funding interest based on initial conversations with 2009 sponsors. Please note that this list is not exhaustive (i.g. the absence of a location or issue from the list does not indicate that it will not be considered for funding) and is intended only to give prospective candidates an idea as to where we will likely have sponsor interest. The list is alphabetical and not in order of priority. As we recruit additional sponsors, we will post their geographic and/or issue/substantive area preferences here, so be sure to check our website periodically for updates.

Geographic preferences*

While several sponsors are open to funding projects anywhere in the country, some have expressed a particular interest in identifying projects in the locations listed below. Any specific issue area preferences within those locations are noted in bullets. Note that the bulleted items are not all-inclusive - some sponsors are open to strong projects targeting any compelling issue in the listed regions.

• California - including, but not limited to:
  
  • Los Angeles area
  • Orange County
  • Sacramento
  • San Diego
    
  • San Francisco Bay area and the Central Valley
  • Contra Costa County
• Colorado
  
  • Denver
• Florida
  
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • Tampa
    
• Georgia
  
  • Atlanta
• Illinois
  
  • Chicago
• Massachusetts
  
  • Boston
• Minnesota
  
  • Minneapolis
• New York
  
  • Albany
  • New York City
• Ohio
• Texas – including, but not limited to:
  
  • Austin
  • Dallas
  • Houston
  • Rio Grande Valley
  • San Antonio
  • Civil legal services to low-income Texans, excluding: class action litigation; litigation against a governmental entity (except by groups or individuals to gain benefits authorized by statute or regulation), political party or candidate; lobbying for or against a candidate or issue; and matters that might reasonably be expected to result in a fee from public funds or from an opposing party unless appropriate attempts have been made to obtain representation from an attorney in private practice
• Washington – including, but not limited to:
  
  • Immigration
• Washington, DC - including, but not limited to:
  
  • Direct representation to individuals
  • Immigrant children, particularly unaccompanied minors, abused/neglected immigrant children, or trafficking issues
    

Substantive issue preferences*

Some sponsors have expressed a particular interest in identifying projects focused on the substantive areas listed below. Note that this list is not exhaustive - several sponsors are open to funding strong projects targeting any compelling issue.

• Affordable housing/Microfinance
• Aid to disadvantaged children and youth
• Civil liberties with emphasis on post-9/11
• Civil rights
• Community economic development/Microfinance and related transactional legal projects
• Consumer rights
• Disability issues
• Discrimination
• Domestic violence
• Environmental justice
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender rights
• Government accountability
• Access to health care, and the following issues as they relate to health care access: unsafe housing conditions, disability rights, child and elder care
• Human rights litigation
• Immigrant children, particularly unaccompanied minors, abused/neglected immigrant children, or trafficking issues
• Immigrants' rights
• Medical-legal partnerships
• Reproductive rights/health
• Special education
• Separation of church and state
• Sexual rights
• Trafficking/slavery
• Voting rights/electoral participation
• Women's empowerment; economic development for women and families; young women's education
• Workers' rights

*These lists are updated periodically, so please check back often. Thank you.