Our Campaign for DC Children

Our Bold Vision

Working directly with more than 5,000 children and families each year gives us a unique vantage point to identify the changing needs of the District’s children. We’ve responded with programs that seal cracks in the strong foundation children need to thrive. We will continue this important work, implement new legal strategies and launch new initiatives to prevent cracks before they begin.

Together, this transformative work will impact children and their families for generations to come.

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We need $10 million to:

• Step in when government cuts impact programs that prevent harm to children and families.
• Sustain the impact by keeping new programs going for the next 5 years and beyond.
• Magnify the impact by growing Families Together and Special Legal Projects and launching peer-to-peer support.

With your campaign support, Children’s Law Center will:

We are looking to you – our donors, institutional funders and corporate partners – to help raise $10 million from 2025-2027.

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• Keeping Families Housed | 1,000+ families have avoided eviction through our Rapid Rehousing litigation—staying housed, stable and together.
• Ensuring Healthy Housing | Resolving unhealthy housing conditions has saved an average of $10K in Medicaid costs per case—proving legal intervention prevents harm and reduces public spending.
• Galvanizing Systemic Reforms | 60+ laws passed or changed to improve the lives of children—changing systems for generations to come.  
• Preserving Water Access | When landlords dodged water bills, we acted—protecting families in hundreds of apartments across the District from losing water access.
• Preventing Foster Care | We now take referrals directly from DC’s child welfare agency, intervening earlier to keep families intact and children out of the system.  
• Expanding Our Capacity | We’ve added a dynamic program director and a former DOJ litigator, deepening pro bono partnerships to take on high-impact cases.  
• Protecting Mothers & Babies | In partnership with Mamatoto Village, we’ve reached 100+ families in Wards 7 and 8—addressing barriers that threaten maternal and infant health.  

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Three Decades of Impact & Innovation

For nearly three decades, Children’s Law Center has been building a strong foundation for DC children. Families trust us as effective problem-solvers. City and community leaders turn to us as the experts who get results. Working in partnership with children and families, we make the law a powerful tool — confronting today’s problems, improving tomorrow’s systems and strengthening our community so change endures.  

We see the barriers to a child’s success.

Yet despite real progress, we still see poverty, trauma and racism eroding the foundation of family, health and education that every child needs to build a future:

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Invest in the Future of DC Children

Your investment in our campaign will fuel our transformation and secure our long-term sustainability. Early gifts will provide you with special opportunities to commemorate our 30th anniversary in 2026!

Additional recognition opportunities are available for campaign gifts of $100,000 or more.

Let’s discuss how you can leave a philanthropic legacy for DC children.

Judith Sandalow, Chief Executive Officer: 202-728-5432 or jsandalow@childrenslawcenter.org

Briana Walsh, Chief Development Officer: 202-467-4900 x582 or bwalsh@childrenslawcenter.org  

Pam Shilling, Director of Individual Philanthropy: 202-467-4900 x590 or pshilling@childrenslawcenter.org   

Erica McCollum, Director of Corporate and Legal Philanthropy: 202-467-4900 x524 or emccollum@childrenslawcenter.org

Sarah Dahnke, Grants Manager: 202-895-5817 x636 or SDahnke@childrenslawcenter.org

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Donors

We are grateful to the following donors whose generosity is turning our bold vision into reality.

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Learn More