(Note: The pdf for the issue in which this article appears is available for download: Bifocal, Vol. 36, Issue 2.)
The Commission’s operating budget is made up of core funding from ABA general revenues that provide about half of the funds needed to run the Commission. The remainder comes from grants, contracts, and donations. Looking back over six years, the annual Commission revenues have ranged from $930,000 to a high of $1.3 million, depending on the number and size of outside funding sources in any given year. Total revenues for a given calendar year are hard to quantify because each grant has a different fiscal year. Taking September 2014 as a snapshot, revenues for the year stood at approximately $1,055,000, including ABA funds.
The prospects for future grants are never certain, so planning for the future is always challenging. The solicitation of private donations continues to be a priority for the Commission. As a program of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Commission is able to receive tax deductible donations.