CLEO RECEIVES SOCIAL JUSTICE GRANT FROM NFL’s INSPIRE CHANGE
Largo, MD—May 14, 2020—The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO) is pleased to announce it has received a $50,000 grant from Inspire Change, the NFL’s social justice initiative. CLEO is one of only two new recipients this year. This award will allow CLEO to expand its virtual programming to more than 500 college, pre-law, and current law school students.
“On behalf of the students we serve, our board of directors, advisory council, alumni, staff, and other stakeholders, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the National Football League for this generous grant to assist in our programming and operations. For more than 52 years, we have sought to inspire, motivate, and prepare students from underrepresented communities to succeed in law school and beyond. This grant will help us continue our imperative work, which is more important today than it was when we were founded in 1968,” said Cassandra Sneed Ogden, Chief Executive Officer of CLEO.
Success For All, the other new grant recipient, supports programs to improve education for at-risk students. The league also renewed seven previous recipients:
- Anti-Recidivism Coalition
- Big Brother Big Sisters of America
- Gideon’s Promise
- NAF
- Operation HOPE
- Vera Institute of Justice and
- VOTE NOLA
“The work of our Inspire Change grant partners has a tremendous impact on communities across the country,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Each of these organizations has worked to reduce barriers to opportunity and has provided resources that meet the needs of the communities they serve. We are proud to assist with their respective efforts to a more equal and just tomorrow.”
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About the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc.
CLEO, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to inspire, motivate, and prepare students from underrepresented communities to succeed in law school and beyond. Founded in 1968, when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, CLEO has since had more than 25,000 high school, college pre-law, and law students participate in its programs with more than 46 percent becoming members of the legal profession. CLEO alumni have excelled in every area of the legal profession to include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners, politicians, and more. More information about CLEO and its programs can be found at https://cleoinc.org/.
Contact: Bernetta J. Hayes, Director
Prelaw Program Operations
bhayes@cleoinc.org – 240.582.8600, x203