Twenty signature years.

Byline: BridgeTower Media Newswires

As the Oakland County Bar Foundation (The Foundation) prepares for its 20th annual Signature Event on Thursday, April 25, at Oakland Hills Country Club, it is worth taking some time to reflect back on the remarkable legacy that this event has built over the years and the continuing impact that its fundraising and charitable efforts have had on the larger Oakland County community.

The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring access to justice and a deeper understanding of the law in the community funding and supporting programs that further that mission.

Over the last 20 years, The Foundation's extensive track record of service and support includes more than $2.5 million in grants to worthy causes and charitable organizations that provide legal education and improve the accessibility and affordability of legal services ($1.7 million in the last five years alone). The Foundation's efforts and advocacy include monetary contributions, volunteer initiatives and pro bono legal counsel particularly for disadvantaged people and communities. Proceeds from the 2018 event enabled the foundation to provide $156,000 in grant funding in just the past six months.

As impressive as those numbers are, it's remarkable to think about just how far the event and The Foundation itself have evolved since its inception two decades ago.

History

The Foundation began as the Oakland County Law Library Foundation a fitting name for a group that, between 1976 and 1988, raised a small sum of money exclusively for the Adams-Pratt Oakland County Law Library. In 1988, a new name (the Oakland Bar-Adams Pratt Foundation) and a new mission broadened the charitable mandate of the organization to exert a more widespread positive impact across Oakland County. While foundation grants increased somewhat over the next decade or so, averaging around $27,000 in 1996, the numbers were still relatively modest compared to the latest iteration of the organization.

The seeds of that last and most significant transformation were planted in 1999, when the foundation formally partnered with the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA) to form The Foundation. The first annual fundraising event a Past President's Ball was held at the Somerset Inn in 2000, and in 2003 the now Signature Event was moved to the Oakland Hills Country Club. The collaborative efforts of the two organizations have given The Foundation a new mandate, an expanded mission and the resources to...