The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation® (AAA-ICDR Foundation) has awarded $2,291,021 in funding to support programs addressing prevention and resolution of conflicts. The Foundation’s 2023 grant cycle focused on initiatives utilizing ADR seeking to:

• Bridge Community Conflict with a focus on civil discourse seeking to mend societal divisions.
• Prevent and Reduce Violence with a focus on vulnerable and underserved communities and police/social service partnerships.
• Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with a focus on access to justice.

“We continue to be inspired by the work of our grant partners who commit each day to help advance civil discourse, prevent and reduce violence and increase access to justice through their important work. We are proud to be able to provide the highest level of support to date by the Foundation through this annual grant cycle.”
 

India Johnson, Chair, AAA-ICDR Foundation

Recipients of the 2023 Annual Grant Cycle:

• Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute: $750,000 to support the creation of a Person-Centered Triage Approach (PCTA) National Collaborative, which will transform mental health crisis response in 911/988 centers by developing, implementing, and scaling a person-centered and procedurally just approach in four sites nationally. https://mmhpi.org/
   
• New York State Unified Court System: $250,000 to utilize Community Dispute Resolution Centers Restorative Justice and facilitation expertise to assist the NYS Division of Human Rights in the development of ten Regional Hate and Bias Prevention Councils by providing listening sessions, local action planning, and community dialogue. https://www.nycourts.gov/
   
• Roca Inc.: $250,000 to reduce violence and increase understanding between police, community, and young adults by providing Rewire4 training department-wide at the Baltimore Police Department. https://rocainc.org/
   
• The Ohio State University Foundation: $249,521 to the Divided Community Project in partnership with the National Civic League as well as Fordham and Stanford Law Schools to organize, design and implement multi-day academy programs training local leadership teams to plan and implement strategies to address polarizing community dynamics. https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty-and-research/divided-community-project
   
• ABA Fund for Justice and Education: $200,000 to bring communities together to begin restoring productive public discourse on critical topics, leveraging state and local bars’ legal expertise and leadership to develop a framework for community conversations to strengthen democracy. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/departments_offices/fund_justice_education/
   
• Resolution Systems Institute: $172,000 to reduce barriers to ODR for self-represented parties, especially those with low literacy. RSI will develop guidance for courts to prepare parties for ODR. https://www.aboutrsi.org/
   
• National Association For Community Mediation: $136,500 to support development of a new toolbox in partnership with Living Room Conversations and community organizations that helps school boards and communities bridge conflict focused on mending social divisions and civil discourse. https://www.nafcm.org/
   
• Nashville Conflict Resolution Center: $120,000 to create a centralized platform used by all seven Tennessee nonprofit mediation centers to make remote mediation services accessible for systemically disenfranchised low-income litigants in all Tennessee General Sessions and Juvenile Courts. https://nashvilleconflict.org/
   
• Research Foundation of CUNY obo John Jay College of Criminal Justice: $88,000 to produce user-friendly resources to help court staff easily address and implement best practices in terms of accessibility, trauma-informed service delivery, and procedural fairness. http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/disputeresolution
   
• Arizona Town Hall: $75,000 to invite Arizonans of diverse views and experience to participate in a forum to examine the issue of extreme polarization, interact with one another, respectfully discuss the issues, and work together to find solutions.  https://aztownhall.org/

“I am thrilled with this set of AAA-ICDR Foundation grantees. The Foundation supports innovative programs that make alternative dispute resolution available to everyone, in the United States and around the world. By growing ADR options in communities around the globe, we can improve access to justice.” 
 

Bridget M. McCormack, President and CEO, AAA-ICDR

The AAA-ICDR Foundation has awarded more than eight million dollars in grants since its inception in 2015.

About the AAA-ICDR Foundation:

The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation (AAA-ICDR Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that is able to solicit donations and provide grants to fund a range of worthy causes that promote the Foundation’s wide-reaching mission, which is to support the prevention and resolution of conflicts by expanding access to alternative dispute resolution.

Its priorities include fostering measures that prevent and reduce violence, bridge community conflict, and support diversity, equity, and inclusion with a focus on access to justice.

The Foundation is not involved in any way in the oversight, administration or decision making of the AAA-ICDR® cases or in the maintenance of the AAA-ICDR's various rosters of arbitrators and mediators.

For more information on the AAA-ICDR Foundation, please visit: www.aaaicdrfoundation.org.