BFKN Foundation
Commitment to Community
BFKN is strongly committed to community service through its BFKN Foundation which was created in 2005 to facilitate the firm’s goal to become more active in the community and dedicate time and resources to those most in need of our support. Through the BFKN Foundation, the firm is involved in community programs that provide our professionals and staff with opportunities to positively impact the lives of the less fortunate. One of those opportunities is our corporate partnership with Nourishing Hope. Nourishing Hope is one of Chicago’s largest and longest-operating food pantries, having been in operation for over 50 years. Nourishing Hope has been working to expand their mission to provide mental wellness and social services to their clients as well as advocacy for raising awareness of hunger and poverty. Formerly Lakeview Pantry, the organization recently changed its name to Nourishing Hope and opened a new centrally located headquarters as they continue to serve more people in a time of heightened food insecurity.
Our firm’s involvement with Nourishing Hope in just our first year of partnering with the organization included the most successful virtual food drive that has ever been hosted for their organization in terms of dollars raised, a family volunteering day at their new headquarters, a firmwide MLK Day of Service, sponsorship of the Nourishing Hope Gala, which our Chief Marketing Officer, Sivan Koenig Galinsky co-chaired, and many volunteer sessions at multiple Nourishing Hope locations. Our firm is committed to continuing to elevate and expand our commitment and impact within this organization.
Commitment to Supporting Our People
The BFKN Foundation also supports our people and other charitable organizations through our Grant Program which allows members of the BFKN community, who are meaningfully involved in charitable organizations, to obtain support for their organization from the Foundation. This support may be in the form of monetary assistance, in-kind donations, or service opportunities. Support may be given to either local or global organizations. During the program’s inaugural year, the Foundation made monetary donations, which in total amounted to $10,000, to ten different organizations. The Grant Program accepts new applications on a yearly basis, thus allowing the Foundation to provide important resources to those already doing meaningful work on an ongoing basis, while ensuring that the monetary and personal resources of the Foundation are re-invested into our BFKN community.
Mission Statement
The BFKN Foundation strives to inspire, motivate, and amplify the charitable impact of the attorneys and staff of BFKN with a special emphasis on addressing the underserved populations of Chicago and beyond. It seeks to accomplish this mission in two ways. First, the Foundation coordinates financial contributions on behalf of the BFKN community to, and organizes volunteer support for, charitable organizations serving needs the BFKN community has expressed a desire to support in common cause. Second, the Foundation also provides assistance to charitable organizations to which individual members of the BFKN community have demonstrated a deep connection to extend such individuals’ personal reach.