May 2001

In honor of Law Day, May 1, 2001, GuideStar salutes nonprofits working in the legal arena

More than 8,000 U.S. nonprofit organizations offer programs related to the law. Their activities serve a broad range of people and meet diverse needs.

• Recreation leagues and arts, educational, and mentorship programs provide alternatives to juvenile deliquency.
• Family services staff teach anger-management techniques, parenting skills, and healthy ways of communicating so that people under stress won't batter their spouses or children.
• Survivors' groups work with the families of police officers killed in the line of duty.
• Victims' assistance organizations help people cope with their experiences and the legal proceedings that follow.
• Legal aid offices and human services organizations provide legal assistance to the poor, the homeless, minorities, immigrants, refugees, the disabled, senior citizens, and other special populations.
• Mediators help people resolve disputes without going to court.
• Advocacy groups work to secure legal protection for their causes.
• Religious and secular groups give emotional support to the families of the incarcerated.
• Volunteers help inmates earn their GEDs, get job training, and learn other skills that will help them make new lives for themselves after they are released from prison.

In these and countless other ways, the nation's nonprofits work to prevent crime and provide justice for all.

This report was based on information in the GuideStar database.

Suzanne E. Coffman, May 2001
© 2001, Philanthropic Research, Inc.