Charitable Giving
The Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation makes grants that support our attorneys and staff in their charitable activities.
We take a holistic approach to giving back to our communities by integrating our pro bono legal services, charitable giving programs, community service activities, and sustainability initiatives. Our programs follow our guideposts of Compassion, Action, and Impact: we care about our communities and our planet, so we take action to preserve and improve them. Our goal is to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
Houston Harvey Efforts
Start with compassion.
Compassion
In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of the Texas Gulf Coast, attorneys and staff in Seyfarth’s Houston office united to support their city through community service and pro bono projects designed to ease the suffering of vulnerable communities with fewer resources to draw upon for recovery. Several attorneys and staff became involved with these efforts as soon as the waters drained from these neighborhoods.
Take action.
Action
First, Seyfarthians joined a brigade of volunteers who assisted residents in “mucking out” homes, which involved cutting and pulling drywall, removing floors, furniture, appliances, and all household items from a home, and helping residents sort through their belongings for what might be salvageable. The group worked on more than 50 homes in the Eastside neighborhood.
As the mucking phase ended, several Houston residents faced new legal challenges, such as questions about FEMA assistance, landlord/tenant issues, and home owners insurance. Seyfarth attorneys worked to develop The East Side Hub Neighborhood Helpdesk and served as a valuable resource for residents in need of legal assistance.
Amid the community service and pro bono activity, Seyfarth implemented fundraising and donation drives through which the Houston office could provide supplies necessary to help residents trying to put their lives back together.
Above: The Houston Harvey team in action, restoring homes after the hurricane.
Make an impact.
Impact
In the end, members of the Houston office developed a model for neighbors and strangers alike to help rebuild a community, whether by orienting residents to their legal rights and available public and private resources, or putting legal protections in place to build volunteer efforts.
$62,341
Dollars
Seyfarth and our employees contributed $62,341 to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey.
150
Hours
Seyfarth attorneys contributed nearly 150 hours of pro bono service to residents and community organizations, and countless hours of community service.
Above: Seyfarth’s Girl Up teams around the world celebrate!
pro bono & inclusion spotlight
Girl Up Global 5K
The Seyfarth Women’s Network and the Pro Bono & Philanthropy Department have developed a relationship with Girl Up, a United Nations organization led by girls around the world who raise awareness about and advocate for health, safety, education, and leadership of girls in developing countries.
To help raise funds and awareness for Girl Up, Seyfarth has organized a massive, firmwide, worldwide team to participate in the organization’s annual event, the Global 5K. This event involves participants from all over the world walking or running 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) on the same Sunday in May.
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Members of Seyfarth’s worldwide team often formed local group events in each Seyfarth city to walk or run together. Others completed the 5K on their own time at the gym, in their neighborhoods, even on their vacations in exotic locations! Each year members of each office look forward to coming together on a single day to celebrate Girl Up and Seyfarth’s global community. Seyfarth-sponsored teams have included more than 900 registrations since 2017—that adds up to more than 4,500 kilometers (or nearly 3,000 miles) of walking or running in support of Girl Up. Seyfarth’s worldwide team has also raised over $55,500 since 2017, and the firm’s dedication to the organization’s mission continues to grow.
Our Priorities and Grant Information
The twin priorities of our charitable giving program are the legal aid organizations with whom we work and large-scale group events for our offices’ “flagship” charities. As a law firm, we understand that we have a special obligation to support the legal services organizations who take the laboring oar in doing community outreach, screening pro bono clients, referring new matters, and providing our attorneys with training and support, all with very limited resources. In addition, we recognize the value of each office adopting a charity that is especially meaningful to that office and participating in major fundraising and awareness-raising activities for those organizations, which we designate as our “flagship” charities.
Grants by Category
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Law-Related
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Social Services
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Medical Treatment & Research
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Children
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Other
2017
2018
2019
2020
Grants by Type
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Legal Aid
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Flagship
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Other
2017
2018
2019
2020
Board Members
The Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation is run by a Board of Directors. These partners devote significant time to reviewing grant requests and setting policies and guidelines. We appreciate their service.
Current Members
Featured
Past Charitable Board Members
During the time period covered by this report, these attorneys retired as board members.
Featured
Creation of Employee Assistance Fund
In May 2020, we created the first-ever Seyfarth Shaw Employee Assistance Fund. The purpose of the fund is to support our colleagues who may be facing financial hardship during a crisis. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the many inquiries from Seyfarthians wanting to know how they could help were what inspired our Executive Committee to create the fund, this will be an ongoing program for future hardships as well, such as those caused by natural disasters.
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The Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation launched the fund with $50,000 in seed money. We then ran a fundraising campaign for individuals to contribute to the fund. The response was overwhelming, and in just a few months, the individual donations totaled $95,950, with donations ranging from $25 to $10,000. It was the largest individual fundraising campaign in Seyfarth history.
As of this report, more than two dozen applications for assistance have been approved, and more than $80,000 has gone to people needing help with things like medical expenses, rent, utility bills, and other out-of-pocket costs. We thank everyone who donated to the fund and expect this fund to be a lasting legacy for many years to come.
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