HLS awards 23 Public Service Venture Fund grants

Twenty-three public service visionaries and social entrepreneurs from Harvard Law School have been selected as recipients of grants from the Public Service Venture Fund, a unique program that awards up to $1 million each year to help graduating Harvard Law students and recent graduates obtain their ideal jobs in public service.

This year’s recipients were chosen based on their vision for how to approach a public service problem or help a particular community. The Public Service Venture Fund, a first-of-its kind program at a law school, was launched in 2012 to invite law students and recent alumni to identify unmet legal needs and develop new initiatives to meet them.

Supporting “seed grants” for start-up public interest ventures and salary support for fellows undertaking projects at existing organizations, the Venture Fund spearheads social entrepreneurship. The selection process is advised by experienced entrepreneurs, and is rigorous and competitive.

“The public service visionaries receiving these seed grants are remarkable in their ability to identify where justice is lacking and to craft a way to deliver it,” said Martha Minow, Dean of Harvard Law School. “They are true social entrepreneurs, and I am immensely proud of their vision, passion and effectiveness. I am also deeply grateful to those whose financial support of these students and alumni enable their pursuit of such imaginative dreams of justice.”