Sam Mendenhall, a partner at Winston & Strawn, is a lawyer who puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to access to justice.  A charter member of the CBF’s Abraham Lincoln Circle of Justice and an annual donor to the CBF Investing in Justice Campaign, Sam and other members of the Lincoln Circle support a number of important CBF initiatives that assist grantee organizations in addressing common issues and larger systemic challenges to their work.  Sam’s generosity makes it possible for the CBF to provide these groups with, among other resources, programming on human resources and management training, governance best practices, and board development.

“The legal profession has given me a unique opportunity to make our community a better place, and one way I can do that is by contributing money to support pro bono and legal aid services. As lawyers, this cause needs to be an integral part of our overall charitable giving.”

- Sam Mendenhall

Sam’s career tells a story of leadership, hard work and philanthropy. Prior to becoming an attorney, he served in the United States Army, where he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for his leadership abilities as well as the Good Conduct Medal for exemplary conduct and discipline demonstrated throughout his career. Now a partner at Winston, Sam continues to seize the opportunity as a leader within his firm to promote pro bono and access to justice. He serves on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and is a director of the Winton & Strawn Foundation. He is also the founder of the Winston & Strawn/Dodge Academy Mentoring and Tutoring Program, serves as president of the board of visitors of the University of Illinois College of Law, and is involved in many other civic organizations.

Those who know Sam will tell you that when the CBF was expanding its systemic initiatives to help its grantee organizations, it was no surprise that Sam was among the first to step up and commit financial resources to help make that possible as a charter member of the Lincoln Circle. Sam believes that “the legal profession has given me a unique opportunity to make our community a better place, and one way I can do that is by contributing money to support pro bono and legal aid services. As lawyers, this cause needs to be an integral part of our overall charitable giving.”

Sam and others like him enable the CBF to extend the reach of its grants program.  The CBF annually awards over $2 million to a network of more than 35 pro bono and legal aid organizations in the Chicago area.  As a complement to that, the CBF regularly convenes leadership of these organizations for a variety of trainings and other programming.  With increasingly tight budgets, most of the CBF’s grantee organizations do not have the resources to sufficiently invest in training to keep leadership current on developments in nonprofit governance and other areas relevant to running an effective nonprofit organization.  By convening program leadership for trainings of this kind, the CBF also provides an opportunity for staff to get to know one another better, learn from each other and build relationships that lead to deeper coordination and collaboration.

Over the past two years, the CBF has brought together program leaders on a wide range of topics.  Some examples include:

Human Resources and Management Training – In response to findings of a 2006 study on recruitment and retention of legal aid attorneys in Illinois, the CBF developed and hosted a comprehensive series of management and human resources trainings for the leadership of its grantee organizations.  The study found that many lawyers identified a need for more professional development and training opportunities.  The 8-month training series covered topics such as development of hiring tools, job descriptions, performance appraisal instruments and employee surveys; and ways to identify training needs and mentoring opportunities.

Governance Best Practices – The CBF hosted trainings on the Donors Forum Principles and Best Practices for grantee staff and board leadership.  These ten principles are designed to guide nonprofits to strive for excellence in realizing their missions, manage their resources effectively and govern well.  The CBF also held a program to familiarize grantees with the overhaul of the form 990, the tax return for nonprofit organizations.

Board Development – This recent program for staff leadership focused on board development, including tips for deeper board engagement and tools for inspiring and educating an organization’s board.