With roughly 2,600 members, the DuPage County Bar Association (DCBA) is the biggest county bar association in Illinois. To support legal education, further the legal profession, and perform various acts of charity, the DCBA established the DuPage Bar Foundation as its charitable arm in 1997.
Among its other initiatives, the DuPage Bar Foundation (DBF) provides philanthropic grants to local nonprofit groups and academic scholarships to local law students. The DBF accepts nonprofit grant submissions and awards financial grants on an annual basis. In 2023, it bestowed grants upon worthy organizations that include CASA of DuPage, the Public Interest Law Initiative, and Northeast DuPage Family and Youth Services.
Each year, the DBF also awards its Ambassador Scholarship and William J. Bauer Scholarship to aspiring law students such as 2023 Ambassador scholars Neal Henninger and Angelica Hernandez. DBF scholarship candidates must demonstrate an academic record with one full semester of law school and either live in DuPage County or have a proven connection to the region.
