About the JAMS Foundation

About the JAMS Foundation

The Mission of the JAMS Foundation

JAMS, the nation’s premier provider of commercial dispute resolution services, established the non-profit JAMS Foundation to provide financial assistance for conflict resolution initiatives with national and international impact and to share its dispute resolution experience and expertise for the benefit of the public interest.

Funded entirely by contributions from JAMS, JAMS neutrals and employee associates, the Foundation’s mission is to encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), support education at all levels about collaborative processes for resolving differences, promote innovation in conflict resolution, and advance the settlement of conflict worldwide.

To date, the JAMS Foundation has contributed over $8 million to support conflict prevention and dispute resolution initiatives across the U.S. and around the world.

Current Initiatives

Community Mediation

The JAMS Foundation recognizes the vital work of community-based mediation programs and their positive impact on the communities they serve. Local centers across the U.S. offer a wide range of conflict resolution training programs and mediation services, providing safe and supportive settings for addressing the variety of disputes arising in their communities. Their efforts empower neighborhood groups and individuals to effectively manage and resolve their own conflicts, thereby helping to preserve court, police and other public resources.

In partnership with the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), the JAMS Foundation is proud to sponsor the Community Mediation Mini-Grant Program. Each year, the Program provides multiple simultaneous grants for up to two years to mediation centers working to develop programming in designated subject areas. Grant recipients participate in working groups that provide valuable feedback and support in creating effective programs that are responsive to the populations they serve. Resources developed through these grants are shared with mediation centers across the U.S. to ensure that the insights gained through the program benefit the field as a whole.

For additional information about the JAMS Foundation NAFCM Mini-Grant Program, click here.

Student and Youth Initiatives

Experience and research have shown that providing young people with vital communication and conflict resolution skills early in life continues to serve them well throughout their lives. Since 2002, the JAMS Foundation has been proud to support a wide array of mediation and conflict resolution programs for K-12 students and youth populations in a variety of in-school and after-school settings.

The Foundation has partnered with the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) to identify the most needed and promising areas for program development and to support the delivery of innovative and effective programs to youth of all ages. In collaboration with ACR’s Education Section and others in ACR’s broad network of dispute resolution educators and practitioners, the Foundation sponsors an annual call for proposals in subject areas that seek to address significant and unmet needs of both general and underserved youth populations.

New subject areas for grant funding will be determined on an annual basis in order to encourage innovation and to bring needed attention and resources to the diverse needs of students and youth nationwide.

The Foundation is proud to partner with ACR to help provide young people of all ages with the skills and experience to effectively manage and resolve conflict - in school, after school and throughout their lives.

For additional information about the JAMS Foundation-ACR Partnership, click here . 

Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program

The Weinstein JAMS Fellowship Program provides opportunities for ADR professionals from around the world to study dispute resolution practices in the U.S. that will help them in their efforts to expand the use of ADR in their home countries and beyond.

Since 2008, the Foundation has sponsored more than 100 Fellows from over 70 countries worldwide – judges, lawyers, government officers, NGO leaders, scholars, mediators and peacemakers - each pursuing a program of their own design that will enable them to increase the availability of ADR education, training and services at home.

The JAMS Foundation is honored to help foster this growing community of Weinstein JAMS Fellows – current and emerging leaders in their home countries and respective fields – and to support their commitment to developing constructive approaches to managing and resolving conflict around the world.

For additional information about the Weinstein JAMS Fellowship Program, click here.

Major Dispute Resolution Initiatives

The Foundation will, on occasion, initiate and fund major projects in selected areas of dispute resolution education, training, or services. 

For additional information about current and previously funded initiatives, click here.