Thursday, June 12, 2008

Information About the Project

Overview

The Legal Empowerment & Advocacy Project is a new project to be conducted in partnership by the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) and WomensLaw.org, which will provide victims of domestic violence throughout North Carolina with better legal information, trained representation, and support. The Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Project will build on a successful six year collaborative relationship between the two organizations and will respond to the high demand for services from WomensLaw.org and NCCADV.

Project Activities & Goals

The primary activity of The Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Project is to establish a Staff Attorney, who will be employed by WomensLaw.org and will work in the NCCADV office. Specific goals are: 1) to create and maintain accessible legal materials for victims; 2) to provide comprehensive technical assistance to domestic violence advocates and lawyers in the state; and 3) to conduct trainings for lawyers and advocates around the state to increase their capacity to assist victims of domestic violence; and 4) to initiate and coordinate a pro bono attorney project with the goal of obtaining attorneys to volunteer to take 1 to 2 cases per year to represent victims of domestic violence. These goals will be carried out primarily by the new Staff Attorney who will:

  • Manage the NC content on WomensLaw.org, keeping the current information up to date and adding new information based on priorities determined in collaboration with the Public Policy Director and Executive Director at NCCADV.
  • Answer emails sent into the WomensLaw.org Email Legal Hotline from victims, friends and family members, and advocates in NC.
  • Conduct legal trainings for local domestic violence organizations throughout NC, giving first priority to organizations in rural areas, member programs of NCCADV, and Legal Aid of North Carolina.
  • Assist the NCCADV Public Policy Director to answer technical assistance calls regarding legal questions that come in from local advocates and allied professionals throughout NC.
  • Support the research needs of the Public Policy team at NCCADV by compiling legal statutes and case law from NC and surrounding states.

Funding for the Project

INCOME

Altria Group $ 6,750

NC Governor’s Crime Commission $ 800

IOLTA Seed Funding $ 29,000

Matching Grant* $ 25,000

Smith Moore LLP $ 1,500

Cooley Family Foundation$ 5,000

Individual Donations $ 9,325

Sunshine Lady Foundation $ 11,500

Total Funding to be raised $ 15,977

Total Budget $ 104,852

FUNDING SUMMARY:

The total one year budget for the Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Project is $104,852. The project has received seed funding from the NC State Bar IOLTA program in the amount of $29,000 with the opportunity of an addition $25,000 in matching funds. The law firm of Smith Moore has generously contributed $1,500 towards the project, and $7,000 has been raised in other donations, primarily as part of a fundraiser held in Charlotte on June 3rd. The Cooley Family Foundation has given $5,000 towards the project.

GOAL: An additional $15,977 needs to be raised to complete the budget for this year.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Support and Stay Tuned

The NCCADV and WomensLaw.org had an event on June 3 in Charlotte hosted by Anthony Foxx, Beth Froehling, Sally Higgins, Rona Karacaova, Deanna Lindquist, Elizabeth Martin, Erika Olsen, Jennifer Watson Roberts, Liza Sippe, Wendy Spanbauer, Dustin Taylor and Kristi Walters.

Thank you to everyone who attended or hosted the event to make it a success!

Donations
To continue to give your support to the NC Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Project you can donate online through
Network for Good. Or you can donate by mail by sending a check to WomensLaw.org at 55 Washington St., Suite 614 Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please include "NC Project" in the memo line of your donation.

Background on Partnering Organizations

The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) is a statewide non-profit membership organization providing support services to local domestic violence agencies and allied professionals. NCCADV was founded in 1981 and provides training and technical assistance to 90 domestic violence programs throughout the state of North Carolina.

WomensLaw.org is a national non-profit which provides free and easy access to legal information for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault through: 1) a national comprehensive website of plain language, state-specific legal information; and 2) an Email Legal Hotline for personalized and ongoing help for victims and their advocates. Each month, more than 100,000 different individuals visit the WomensLaw.org website and the Email Legal Hotline responds to more than 500 emails.

Contact for More Information

You can contact Nina Gilbert at Nina@WomensLaw.org or by phone 718-534-7316 if you have questions or need more information.