The Morrison & Foerster Foundation 2020 Report

For 35 years, The Morrison & Foerster Foundation has supported underserved communities and equal access to justice of all kinds. Funded primarily by Morrison & Foerster’s lawyers and staff members, the Foundation promotes our collective social engagement while respecting and celebrating the differences that make our communities thrive. One of the oldest law firm-affiliated charitable foundations in the United States, the Foundation has contributed $66 million since 1986 to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations that address social welfare and systemic discrimination through programs focused on legal aid, civil rights, and equity in education, health care, and housing. In a year of unprecedented challenges, the Foundation responded in 2020 with $3.2 million in charitable contributions. Our giving included special matching opportunities to inspire firmwide support of charities working to advance equity and racial justice, protect voting rights and free and fair elections, and respond to the widespread health, education, and economic effects of the pandemic, particularly as it impacted low-income communities and communities of color. We also supported efforts to diversify the legal profession through scholarships and college- bound programs, and to create the next generation of public interest lawyers through equal justice fellowships. We supported programs serving disadvantaged youth. We set aside funds for an upcoming series of innovative special project grants, and we continued our longstanding undergraduate scholarship program for children of Morrison & Foerster staff members. On behalf of our board of directors, I am honored to share this report on The Morrison & Foerster Foundation’s 2020 giving. As always, I especially thank Morrison & Foerster’s partners for their original charitable vision, their longstanding commitment to justice in all of its forms, and their continuing support. C H A I R ’ S M E S S A G E Jamie A. Levitt Chair, The Morrison & Foerster Foundation