The Federal Judicial Center Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that Congress established to receive gifts to support the work of the Center. The Foundation has sole authority to decide whether to accept gifts, and thereby to determine the suitability of would-be donors. The Foundation may not accept gifts earmarked for projects that have not previously been approved by the Center’s Board, and the Center has sole control over the design and conduct of activities supported by donations. The Foundation is governed by a seven person board appointed by the Chief Justice, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No Foundation Board member may be a active judge. Foundation Board members at the close of 2013 were as follows:
James M. Wagstaffe, San Francisco, Cal., Chair;
Richard D. Casey, Sioux Falls, S.D.;
Dana K. Chipman, Fort Myer, VA.;
Laurie L. Michel, Washington, D.C.;
Blake D. Morant, Winston-Salem, N.C.;
John B. White, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.; and
Benjamin L. Zelenko, Washington, D.C.
In creating the Foundation, Congress directed that in its annual report the Center describe the purposes for which Foundation gifts were used in the reporting year. The Center used the following Foundation gifts in 2013:
- Funds provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to cover travel expenses for federal judges to attend two programs on emerging issues in neuroscience.
- Funds provided by the MacArthur Foundation to cover travel expenses for federal judges to attend a seminar on law, neuroscience, and criminal justice at Vanderbilt University Law School.
- Funds provided by Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College to cover travel expenses for federal judges to attend a seminar on environmental and natural resources law.
- Funds provided by Akron Law School to cover travel expenses for federal judges to attend a seminar on patent litigation.
- Funds provided by JAMS and the Hewlett Foundation to conduct ADR research.
- Non earmarked grants to provide partial support for a judicial seminar on the humanities and science at Princeton University (the Harold Medina Seminar).