Current Grants

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Current Grants
As of January, 2012

The JAMS Foundation Board of Directors reviews and approves new grant proposals on a quarterly basis. Grants are typically approved for a one-year period or less, though in some instances the Board will consider funding multi-year projects. The following projects are currently receiving financial support from the JAMS Foundation.


ABA Section of Dispute Resolution (Washington, D.C.) – Public Service Announcement
$25,000 to produce a public service announcement educating the general public about mediation and encouraging its use for interpersonal and business disputes, to be made available through public, cable, satellite and commercial television outlets. www.abanet.org/dispute
American Board of Trial Advocates (Dallas, TX) – Civility Project
$50,000 to support the national expansion of a program addressing incivility in the legal profession by providing law students and young lawyers with vivid examples of uncivil behavior and highlighting the need for more constructive approaches to resolving disputes. www.abota.org
Asian Pacific-American Dispute Resolution Center (Los Angeles, CA) – Peer Mediation Program Start-Up Kit
$36,000 to fund the creation and distribution of a peer-mediation program start-up kit for schools and non-profit organizations, providing all the resources necessary to initiate, administer and evaluate a peer mediation program. The start-up kit will include instructions for implementing a program, student training manual for peer-mediators, trainer’s manual, instructional PowerPoint presentation, video of exemplary live training, and online access to continuing education courses regarding peer mediation. www.apadrc.org
California Lawyers for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) – Pro Bono Mediation Program for IP Disputes
$10,000 to help fund a pilot program to create a specialized -intellectual property panel to mediate arts-related IP disputes referred from federal courts, U.S. Copyright and U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices, and to provide pro bono mediation services for low-income participants and non-profit arts organizations. www.calawyersforthearts.org
California State University, Fullerton (Fullerton, CA) – Taking Conflict Out of the Community Project
$10,000 to support the implementation of a program employing conflict resolution education, assertiveness training, and peer mentoring to reduce gang violence in a predominantly low-income Hispanic community. Trained university graduate students will be employed to train high school students, who in turn introduce these same skills to elementary and middle school students though after school programs. www.fullerton.edu
Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (Greenbelt, MD) – Roots of Diversity in Dispute Resolution
$10,000 to research the history of diversity in the dispute resolution field. In collaboration with John Jay College, City University of New York, the project will study the evolution of diversity in ADR, survey current diversity initiatives, and propose next steps for expanding diversity in the field. www.natlctr4adr.org; www.jjay.cuny.edu
Center for Citizen Peacebuilding (Irvine, CA) – Training Materials for Gang-Intervention Workers
$48,000 to develop a training manual and DVD of simulated mediations for counselors and other dispute resolution providers working in communities with high levels of gang violence. The materials will offer constructive approaches to addressing violent conflict between gangs, at-risk youth, and other individuals in troubled areas. www.citizenpeacebuilding.org
Center for Civic Mediation (Los Angeles, CA) – Developing Partnerships for Expanding Use of Words Work Curriculum
Building on a prior JAMS Foundation grant funding the creation of Words Work, a unique curriculum for middle- and high-school youth combining leadership, communication and conflict resolution skills, this $10,000 grant will support the development of a model to engage law firms in supporting the use of Words Work at schools in their locality and promoting its increased use nationwide. www.centerforcivicmediation.org
Center for Human Development (Pleasant Hill, CA) – Guardianship Mediation Training Program
$10,000 to fund the development of an in-depth training program to prepare experienced volunteer mediators to mediate guardianship disputes. Targeting contested probate guardianship disputes typically involving unrepresented low-income parties, the program’s specialized training and curriculum will be made available to Superior Courts throughout California. www.chd-prevention.org
Central Oregon Mediation (Bend, OR) – Resilient Habitat for Humanity Family Project
$10,000 to help fund a regional pilot program providing low-income Habitat for Humanity families and Habitat staff with conflict resolution and communication skills training, as well as providing no-cost mediation services to Habitat families and communities in appropriate cases. www.centraloregonmediation.org
Community Boards (San Francisco, CA) - Taking Mediation to the People: Conflict Resolution Clinics
$10,000 to fund an innovative effort to reach underserved communities by establishing ongoing, on-site Conflict Resolution Clinics at several population-dense and high-need locations, providing outreach, intake, and case development to those in need of mediation services, with a focus on low income, Spanish- and Chinese-speaking disputants. www.communityboards.org
Community Dispute Settlement Center (Cambridge, MA) – Domestic Workers Mediation Program
$10,000 to support the expansion of a unique program providing mediation training and services to domestic workers and their employers. In collaboration with the Massachusetts Coalition for Domestic Workers, CDSC will develop and conduct a series of train-the-trainer programs to build capacity and sustainability, and provide domestic workers and employers with a safe and constructive forum for addressing disputes. www.communitydispute.org
Conflict Resolution Center (Minneapolis, MN) – Conflict Consulting Project
$50,000 to fund the development of a Conflict Consultant’s Handbook and training workshop, offering conflict management assistance to parties involved in community disputes when mediation with other parties is not an option, helping them to communicate more effectively and to develop constructive strategies and action plans for moving forward. www.crcminnesota.org
Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz Country (Santa Cruz, CA) – Family Law Affordable Mediation Project
$10,000 to support the regional expansion of a program providing mediation services to low- and middle- income families going through divorce. Employing a law clinic model with a supervising attorney overseeing a trained group of volunteer mediators, the program offers low-cost mediation to underserved populations regarding issues not addressed by court-based programs, including asset/debt division, child and spousal support. www.crcsantacruz.org
CRU Institute (Bellevue, WA) – Anti-Bullying DVD and Teaching Guide
$50,000 to fund the creation and distribution of a documentary-style DVD and leader’s guide targeting issues of bullying, harassment and intolerance and presenting a variety of constructive approaches to resolving the conflicts arising from them. www.cruinstitute.org
Direction Services (Eugene, OR) – Video Resources from National Symposium on Dispute Resolution in Special Education
$10,000 to fund the production and distribution of video resources resulting from a fifth annual national symposium on dispute resolution in special education, including recordings of keynote address and concurrent sessions, and interviews with dispute resolution system coordinators and program participants describing user experiences and defining exemplary practices. www.directionservice.org
Dispute Resolution Education Resources (Lansing, MI) – Cost Analysis of Mediation v. Litigation in Michigan
$10,000 to help underwrite a professional analysis to determine whether early and systematic use of mediation through Michigan’s Community Dispute Resolution Program reduces the cost of conflict resolution for the state’s executive branch agencies. The study will be used to promote funding for dispute resolution programs for which cost savings can be demonstrated. www.mediationmichigan.org
Elna B. Spaulding Conflict Resolution Center (Durham, NC) – Prisoner Re-Entry Mediation Program
Building on the success of a related JAMS Foundation-funded program in Maryland, this $10,000 grant funds a pilot re-entry program for incarcerated persons preparing for release from North Carolina prisons, providing mediation services to inmates, family and community members in order to facilitate inmates’ successful reintegration into their communities. www.spaulding-crc.com
Hamline University School of Law (St. Paul, MN) – “Second Generation” Global Negotiation Education Project (3 years)
$95,000 to support a series of international conferences on negotiation, providing members of the international business, legal, and academic communities with state-of-the-art training in the theory and practice of cross-cultural and trans-national negotiation. This grant funds the publication of three years of post-conference writings, including contributions from leading scholars and practitioners around the world. Year 1 of the conference held in Rome, Year 2 in Istanbul, Year 3 in Beijing. www.hamline.edu/law/adr
Home Share Now (Barre, VT) - Staff Mediator for Home Share Program
$10,000 to help support a unique program providing conflict resolution assistance to participants in a home sharing program for low-income seniors and disabled persons through employment of a full-time mediator offering conflict coaching and dispute resolution assistance on an ongoing basis. www.homesharenow.org
Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, CA) – Bystander Awareness Program
$10,000 to support a campus-wide initiative to develop a sustainable Bystander Awareness program, providing university students and staff with information and resources for intervening constructively and effectively in order to prevent or reduce harm. www.lmu.edu
Mass Transit Street Theater and Video (New York, NY) - Peer Mediation/Conflict Resolution Training in Bronx Public Schools
$10,000 to expand a model program providing peer mediation and conflict resolution education to students at a large public high school in the Bronx. The program combines peer mediation training, arts education and workshops for parents and students in an effort to create a ‘peace first’ culture in urban public schools. www.mtstv.org
Mediators Beyond Borders (Pittsburgh, PA) - Capacity-Building in Ecuador
$40,000 to help support a collaborative effort involving government agencies, chambers of commerce, non-profit organizations, universities, and expert practitioners to develop ADR capacity in Ecuador, including professional and organizational development, community education, youth outreach, and a virtual 'best practices' resource for ADR practitioners and administrators. www.mediatorsbeyondborders.org
Morris K. Udall Foundation/U.S. Institute for Environmental Dispute Resolution (Tucson, AZ) – Native Skills Exchange Workshop (Year 4)
$25,000 to support a continuing series of training workshops for ADR practitioners and parties involved in environmental, land use, and natural resource disputes involving Native American communities. The workshops are part of a wider effort to create a centralized, multi-cultural referral network for ADR practitioners and parties engaged in these disputes. www.udall.gov
National Association for Community Mediation (Mesa, AZ) – Online Clearinghouse
$50,000 to develop and administer an online clearinghouse of community mediation resources and customizable templates, including thousands of downloadable and translatable documents collected and vetted from community-based programs and centers worldwide. www.nafcm.org
Peacemaker Program (Utica, NY) – Playing Peacemaker Interactive Instructional Software
$10,000 to fund the development of an interactive software program teaching conflict resolution and problem solving skills to students in several different age groups. The program will be comprised of four separate components that can be used independently or in combination, including a lecture-style presentation with virtual instructor, a video-role play library of conflict scenarios, an interactive ‘build your own adventure’ game, and a catalogue of experiential learning activities exploring dispute resolution and team-building skills. The project will include a comprehensive teacher’s guide and student workbook for each age group, and is intended to be easily integrated into existing school curricula. www.thepeacemakerprogram.org
Queens Legal Services (Jamaica, NY) - Family & Divorce Mediation Pilot Project
$10,000 to help fund a pilot program providing mediation services to low-income families and divorcing couples. Augmenting the organization’s existing legal services, the mediation program will include consultation with pro bono family law attorneys, as well as mediations conducted by experienced attorney-mediators. www.queenslegalservices.org
Rational Games (Cambridge, MA) - Upgrade and Marketing of Cool School Game Project (Year 2)
$30,000 to continue support for the refinement, upgrade and national marketing of Cool School, a fully-developed interactive video game teaching conflict resolution skills to children ages 5-8. www.rationalgames.org
Search for Common Ground (Washington, DC) – Institutionalizing Social and Family Mediation in Morocco
Building on SCG’s current efforts to develop community-based and commercial mediation in Morocco, and with the express support of the country’s Ministry of Justice, this $50,000 grant will fund a project to help institutionalize social and family mediation in Morocco. With the participation of relevant stakeholders and decision makers, the project will lay the foundation for effective legislation officially recognizing social and family mediation as an alternative to litigation, and creating a public directory of organizations, mediators, and centers providing ADR education, training and services. www.sfcg.org
Suffolk University Law School (Boston, MA) – Mediation Advocacy Training Video
$10,000 to fund the creation of a training video demonstrating advocacy techniques for effectively representing clients in mediation, employing realistic case scenarios to present a full array of techniques used by skilled advocates to advance the interests of clients in legal and commercial disputes. www.law.suffolk.edu
Temple University/Educators for Social Responsibility/Creative Response to Conflict – Conflict Resolution Training For Teachers
$600,000 (4 years) An ambitious initiative to substantially increase the number of public school teachers provided conflict resolution education and training. In partnership with graduate level departments of education, school districts, and non-profit providers nationwide, the initiative provides conflict resolution training to pre-service and in-service teachers and administrators, as well as providing support services to build capacity, sustainability and a culture of conflict prevention and resolution in schools throughout the U.S. www.temple.edu/education; www.esrnational.org; www.crc-ny.org; www.westernjustice.org   
View CRETE Consortium workshop video.
UC Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco, CA) - Court-ADR Training Institute (Year 2)
$30,000 to fund a second training institute on court-ADR systems design for non-U.S. lawyers, judges, and court professionals. The 7-day intensive program combines practical and theoretical instruction, simulation exercises, one-on-one consultations, opportunities to meet with local judges, administrators and practitioners, and to observe select court-ADR programs. www.uchastings.edu/centers/negotiation-adr 
UCLA School of Law (Los Angeles, CA) - Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Colloquium
$15,000 to co-sponsor an annual Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Colloquium, bringing together nationally recognized experts in conflict resolution to share their work with students, faculty, alumni, and the legal community. www.law.ucla.edu
Walnut Street Theatre (Philadelphia, PA) – National Expansion of Anti-Bullying Theater Program
Building on the success of previous JAMS Foundation grants, $42,000 to fund the development of two new touring outreach shows addressing bullying in elementary and middle schools, marketing materials to promote the productions to schools and theaters nationwide, and the expansion of a semester-long, in-class theater residency program addressing issues of bullying and conflict resolution. www.walnutstreettheatre.org
Washington Heights-Inwood Coalition (New York, NY) – Spanish Language Peer Mediation Training Video and Manual
$27,000 to fund the creation of a Spanish-language peer mediation training video and manual addressing unique elements of Latino youths’ language, culture, needs and experience. The video and manual will be distributed at no cost to interested organizations nationwide. www.whicoalition.org