Donors

AAA-ICDR Foundation

The American Arbitration Association — International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation works to support the prevention and resolution of conflicts by expanding access to ADR. The Foundation has been an invaluable supporter of RSI projects over the years. In 2023 and 2024, it has funded RSI’s OPEN (ODR Party Engagement) Project, which is studying how to make court communications more accessible to unrepresented litigants with low literacy. Along with funding from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, AAA-ICDR Foundation funding in 2020 helped RSI establish an eviction mediation program serving Illinois’ 16th Judicial Circuit, in Kane County. It also supported our research on eviction mediation best practices and our evaluation of the Kane County program, both of which helped us to provide informed guidance to courts nationwide on addressing the eviction crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kane County Eviction Mediation Program provides a safe space with a neutral third party to help landlords and tenants communicate to voluntarily and mutually resolve issues outside of the court. It has helped prevent over 1,500 evictions.

M.R. Bauer Foundation

Quite simply, RSI would not exist were it not for the M.R. Bauer Foundation. Its President, Kent Lawrence, was one of RSI’s founders, and in many ways, RSI was his brainchild. During RSI’s early years, the vast majority of funding came from the Bauer Foundation. While the Foundation is not well known, it is deeply dedicated to the organizations it supports, including Kent Lawrence’s personal involvement. Much of his individual philosophy shaped RSI; for example, he believes in the power of reliable data to improve the way court ADR services are provided. The Foundation is a steadfast believer in the benefits to the courts of mediation and other ADR.

 

Rackham Foundation

The Rackham Foundation is generously funding RSI's Trust Project. Begun in 2023, the project involves an innovative mix of party surveys and coding of live mediations to examine the intersection between mediator behaviors and party trust. This truly groundbreaking research will provide mediators and trainers with concrete information — based on objective data — about which behaviors are more likely to engender party trust in the mediator. RSI is also grateful to the Rackham Foundation's Ava Abramowitz, who has championed this research

Illinois Equal Justice Foundation

IEJF funds civil legal aid programs in Illinois to champion the rights of those burdened by barriers to justice. IEJF has funded RSI's Kane County Eviction Mediation Program in Illinois’ 16th Judicial Court District since its inception in 2021. It also provided RSI with funding to conduct outreach to courts in northern Illinois to gauge their interest in eviction mediation programs, which ultimately led to the Kane County program, as well as programs in Winnebago and Kankakee counties. IEJF also supported RSI's Child Protection Mediation Program in Kane County. Thanks to IEJF, RSI was able to facilitate communication between parents, families, lawyers and social workers in cases where children were wards of the state as a result of allegations of abuse and/or neglect. This program allowed all the parties involved to sit down together to develop a plan for a permanent home for each child based on the best interests of the child.