QUICK LINKS

• Recent Event Photo Gallery
• Existing CBF Funds
• Board of Trustees

Columbus Bar Foundation Gala 2008

The 2008 Columbus Bar Foundation and Association Gala was attended by 286 people, the largest Gala ever and raised over $45,000. Fortunately there was enough political material for the Capitol Steps to fill the Hyatt with the laughter of our guests. Thank you to all who made the Gala a success. Be sure to check out the Photo Gallery (click on 2008 Foundation Gala) to see the highlights.

Give the gift of reading

Donate new or gently used paperback books, books on tape/CD, and or music tapes/CDs to the newly remodeled Jacobs Media Center at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Facility. 

The Media Center has undergone many renovations over the past year with the assistance of many donors, including retired attorney Fran Jacobs and the Columbus Bar Foundation.  We hope to make this a continuous project with a constant supply of books for the youth to read.  For many, this is the first time they have read an entire book…and you have the opportunity to give them that gift.

A wish list is available at Amazon.com. Just search for “FCJDF.”

(You may also access a printable version of the Wish List by clicking here).

Donations can be sent directly to the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Facility or dropped off any time.

If you prefer to make a monetary donation, please contact Marion Smithberger at the Columbus Bar Foundation (614/340.2070 or marion@cbalaw.org). 

Questions? Contact Jessica Cleavenger at 614/462.4209 or Jessica_Cleavenger@fccourts.org.

Remember, all gifts are tax deductible.

Rock 'n Bowl 2008

QFM’s Chris Thomas, Judge Belskis, Foundation President Charlie Warner, Ilana and Mike Heintz, Josh Kimsey and Loretta Raiford (not pictured is team member Dan Miller). The Columbus Bar Foundation received the colorful Bowling Pin from Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center Child and Family Advocacy for being the 2008 Presenting Sponsor. Please mark your calendar for the Rock 'n Bowl 20th Anniversary, which will take place on Saturday, January 24, 2009.

2008 Marsha Rockey Schermer Fund Concert

Doug Wrightsel, Glada McCoy, Tony Beadle (Executive Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra), and Guest Conductor Matt Cattingub at the 2008 Schermer Fund Concert.

Our Mission

The Foundation is dedicated to promoting understanding of the law, the role of the legal profession, and access to justice for all. Through grants, the Foundation provides seed money and support for a variety of programs.

Over the past 20 years the Bar Foundation has carefully evaluated which community projects align with the Foundation’s mission and capacity to make a difference; currently making grants of approximately $200,000 annually from a corpus of $2.2 million. The following are representative of projects that the CBF has funded:

• $110,000 in scholarships to female and minority law students through the Schermer Scholarship Fund.
• Over $510,000 to the Legal Aid Society of Columbus to help children and victims of domestic violence with the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence.
• Over $600,000 to operate Lawyers for Justice, the Bar’s pro bono program, helping hundreds of people annually since 1989
• The annual Chester Professionalism Institute
• Capital University Law School Program for Advanced Dispute Resolution Education
• The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Clinic Pro Bono Partnership Child Representation Program
• Over $400,000 to the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Children’s Hospital.