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American Board of Trial Advocates - Chapters at a glance

· Public charity

American Board of Trial Advocates - Chapters

To foster improvement in the ethical and technical standards of practice in the field of advocacy for individuals in the civil justice system.

$531k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$161k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Crime & Legal$838kEducation$230kPublic Benefit$78kPhilanthropy$10kHealth$10kMembership Benefit$9kFood & Nutrition$5k
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $209,700, the rows itemized in this filing. The $530,761 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $321,061 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $16k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $33k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $161k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$4.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates$161,200
Civics Learning Project$12,500
University of Wisconsin Foundation$10,000
Civic Learning Council$10,000
East Texas Chapter of ABOTA$8,500
Marquette University Law School$7,500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation: $10k → 12%LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: $42k → 14%SAN JOAQUIN COLLEGE OF LAW: $8k → 19%FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES: $198k → 14%ST MARY'S UNIVERSITY: $5k → 16%Arkansas Mock Trial Foundation: $15k → 17%FLORIDA STATE LAW SCHOOL: $5k → 19%Keep Kansas Courts Impartial: $10k → 15%HARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $5k → 15%University of Wisconsin Foundation: $10k → 10%Milwaukee Justice Center: $25k → 17%OREGON CLASSROOM LAW PROJECT: $10k → 12%Civic Learning Council: $10k → 9%SOUTH DAKOTA STATE BAR-TRAIL ACADEMY: $5k → 14%PARTNERS FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE INC: $5k → 16%Foundation of the Federal Bar Association: $13k → 7%South Dakota Deposition Academy: $12k → 10%LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: $41k → 14%Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $161k → 14%UW Foundation: $10k → 10%MILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $20k → 17%OREGON CLASSROOM LAW PROJECT: $10k → 12%Civic Learning Council: $10k → 9%LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: $40k → 14%Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $97k → 14%Marquette University Law School: $10k → 17%OREGON CLASSROOM LAW PROJECT: $10k → 12%CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $70k → 14%MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: $5k → 17%Civics Learning Project: $13k → 12%Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $59k → 14%MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: $5k → 17%Civics Learning Project: $10k → 12%AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES-PARENT: $44k → 14%American Board of Trial Advocates: $39k → 14%FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES: $39k → 14%AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES-PARENT: $29k → 14%Tex-ABOTA: $10k → 14%East Texas Chapter of ABOTA: $9k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MT
IL
WI
OR
WY
SD
NJ
CA
MO
VA
KS
AR
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$958k · 6 repeat orgs$220k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +36% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
22

Total granted

$958k
$202k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+26%

Still filing today

83%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $19k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationCrime & LegalCivil RightsCommunity ImprovementHealthFood & NutritionOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • FO
    Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates
    6× · 2019–2024 · $624k · revenue +32%
  • LM
    LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2017–2019 · $123k · revenue +68%
  • AB
    American Board of Trial Advocates
    3× · 2019–2022 · $111k · revenue +26%

Funded once

  • MJ
    Milwaukee Justice Center
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • MB
    MILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $20k · revenue +495%
  • AM
    ARKANSAS MOCK TRIAL FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Texas Bar Foundation

The Foundation solicits charitable contributions and provides funding to enhance the rule of law and the system of justice in Texas, especially for programs that relate to the administration of justice; ethics in the legal profession;…

Crime & Legal
2
Arkansas Bar Association

The purposes of the arkansas bar association include the following: advance the administration of justice; foster and maintain on the part of attorneys high ideals of integrity, learning, competence and public service, and high standards…

—
3
American Bar Foundation

The american bar foundation (abf) seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. to further this mission the abf…

Crime & Legal
4
Minnesota State Bar Foundation

The minnesota state bar foundation mobilizes legal community philanthropy to achieve access to justice for all minnesotans.

Crime & Legal
5
Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Mitchell hamline school of law is an independent law school that advances its mission through a combination of legal education, public service, and community engagement. it is dedicated to preparing students to practice law, while also…

Education
6
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Enhance the ability of actec members to provide the most efficient and highest quality services to their clients; develop qualified trust and estate counselors; improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and standards of…

Community Improvement
7
Missouri Lawyer Trust Account Foundation

To provide civil legal services to the poor, to improve the administration of justice; and to promote other programs for the benefit of the public as are approved by the supreme court of missouri.

Philanthropy
8
Oklahoma Bar Foundation

The oklahoma bar foundation provides annual funding through grants to promote the advancement of justice, to provide critical civil legal services to those in need, and to increase public awareness and understanding of the american legal…

Crime & Legal
9
The University of Texas Law School Foundation

The mission of the Law School Foundation is the development, management, and enhancement of the financial and administrative resources which support the University of Texas School of Law.

Education
10
Louisiana State Bar Association

The mission of the louisiana state bar association is to assist its members in the practice of law, assure access to and aid in the administration of justice, assist the supreme court in the regulation of the practice of law, uphold the…

—
11
Minnesota State Bar Association

Minnesota state bar association promotes the highest standards of excellence and inclusion within the legal profession, provides valued resources to its members, and strives to improve the law and the equal administration of justice for…

—
12
Albany Law School

Higher education: Albany Law School is an institution of higher education that provides instructional and educational activities singularly focused on the study of law. Completion of the programs by students culminates in the awarding of…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Milwaukee Bar Association Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Arkansas Mock Trial Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

22 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 22 of the 30 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $624,303 · Civil RightsFoundation of the American Board of Trial AdvocatesAmerican Board of Trial Advocates: $111,496 · OtherAmerican Board of Trial A…Milwaukee Justice Center: $25,000 · OtherMilwaukee Justice CenterCivic Learning Council: $20,000 · OtherCivic Learning CouncilThe Foundation of the Federal Bar Association: $12,500 · OtherSouth Dakota Deposition Academy: $12,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO: $11,000 · OtherKEEP KANSAS COURTS IMPARTIAL INC: $10,000 · OtherUW Foundation: $10,000 · Other+9 more: $55,270 · Other+9 moreLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $122,500 · EducationLOYOLA MARYMOUNT …Marquette University: $27,500 · EducationMarquette Univers…ARKANSAS MOCK TRIAL FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 · EducationARKANSAS MOCK TRI…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WIS…+1 more: $5,000 · EducationCivics Learning Project: $52,500 · Crime & LegalMILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 · Crime & LegalPARTNERS FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE INC: $5,000 · Crime & LegalMONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Crime & LegalTEX-ABOTA LEGISLATIVE AND EDUCATION FUND INC: $10,000 · Community ImprovementAlbie Aware Inc: $9,700 · HealthHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Civil Rights$624,303Other$267,266Education$180,000Crime & Legal$82,500Community Improvement$10,000Health$9,700Food & Nutrition$5,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFoundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates: $624,303 over 6y, 12% of budgetLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: $122,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Board of Trial Advocates: $111,496 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetCivics Learning Project: $52,500 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetMarquette University: $27,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetThe Foundation of the Federal Bar Association: $12,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKEEP KANSAS COURTS IMPARTIAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEX-ABOTA LEGISLATIVE AND EDUCATION FUND INC: $10,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetAlbie Aware Inc: $9,700 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetSan Joaquin College of Law: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTEXAS TECH LAW SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $6,770 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSt Mary's University: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPARTNERS FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Florida State University Foundation Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Access to Justice Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTeach Democracy: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetMONTANA JUSTICE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSTATE BAR OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCO4.4× affinity9 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Board of Trial Advocates - Chapters funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Board of Trial Advocates - Chapters. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 26%
  • Partners for Women and Justice Inc: 26% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 30 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on American Board of Trial Advocates - Chapters’ filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home