2026 Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award for Excellence

SECTION I

Award Description

The Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award for Excellence recognizes high-quality, significant impact work by FFLA grantee organizations that has occurred within the past two years.

Award Purpose

This biennial award honors the life, legacy and friendship of two champions whose commitment to those less fortunate, while remaining true to the highest principles of our judicial system, helped create the touchstone by which FFLA measures excellence.

Steven Goldstein was a tireless advocate for the poor throughout his career as a legal services attorney and professor of law at Florida State University College of Law. He engaged in extensive pro bono work, particularly as an anti-death penalty advocate, and served as a member of the Foundation’s board of directors and Chair of its Legal Assistance for the Poor committee. Steve passed away in 1994 at the age of 49, just prior to becoming secretary/treasurer of the Foundation.

Judge William Van Nortwick was dedicated to helping people who could not afford to pay for representation by an attorney. He served as an appellate judge for 21 years, and subsequently served as Akerman’s partner-in-charge of the law firm’s national pro bono practice. Judge Van Nortwick’s extensive volunteer service earned him, among other honors, The American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award, The Florida Bar Pro Bono Award for the 4th Judicial Circuit, the Robert J. Beckham Equal Justice Award from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, the Pro Bono Award of The Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section and The Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit. In 2005, he was the first recipient of the Florida Supreme Court Distinguished Judicial Service Award, and in 2015 he was awarded the Foundation’s highest award, the Medal of Honor. Judge Van Nortwick passed away in 2019 at the age of 73.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be current FFLA grantees who have engaged in high-quality impact representation of the poor. An eligible impact project is one which:

affects, or has the potential to affect, a substantial number of clients;
addresses one or more significant poverty law issues;
demonstrates significant effort by staff and the program(s) involved; and
reflects legal work which is of the highest professional level. Applications will be strengthened by reflecting inter-program collaboration in pursuit of the project. Applicant projects must reflect substantial project activity and time commitment within the two-year period prior to the application deadline.

Nature of Award

An award of $25,000 to the organization whose staff work is being recognized, to be utilized for support of the provision of legal assistance to the poor. In addition to the award, the organization will receive a $3,000 training scholarship for the benefit of the individual staff person(s) primarily responsible for the project, as such individuals are identified in the application. The training scholarship can be used for training fees, travel, lodging, meals, and other incidental expenses in connection with the training. Awards of $10,000 and $5,000 along with training stipends of $1,000 each will be made to the organizations recognized as first and second runners-up, respectively.

When to be Awarded

To be awarded in June 2026 at FFLA’s Annual Awards Ceremony.

Application Timeline

Applications for the 2026 Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award for Excellence must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 16, 2026. Applications received after the deadline will not be eligible for consideration.

For more details, see the 2026 Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award Program Description HERE.

Questions

If you have any questions, please email Ember Long at elong@fundingfla.org or Jonathan Guitard at jguitard@fundingfla.org.

BEFORE YOU START:

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WHAT DOES THE RED * MEAN?

If you see a red asterisk (*) by a question, that means an answer is required.

ARE THERE WORD LIMITS TO THE QUESTIONS?

Many of the narrative questions have word limits to the responses. In the bottom right of the answer box, you will see a word count to let you know when you've reached the limit. Do not submit any additional materials beyond those requested. Where actual data is not available, applicants should use best estimates based on available data and their professional judgment.

SECTION II

1. Name(s) of Legal Aid/Legal Service Program(s) applying for this award*

You may select multiple legal aid/legal service programs.

1(a). If your organization is not listed above, please state the name of your organization here.

2. Name of person filling out application*

First NameLast Name

3. Title*

4. Email*

example@example.com

5. Name of contact person*

First NameLast Name

6. Title*

7. Email*

example@example.com

SECTION III

8. Project name*

9. Brief description of project.*

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Project Summary

Upload a written summary of the project that answers the information below. The text of the summary must not exceed three 8.5 x 11” pages formatted with half-inch (.5”) margins, single-spaced, 11 point Tahoma font.

a. Major goals and objectives of the project;

b. The time frame of the project from initiation to finish or current status (if not concluded, indicate projected future events in the project);

c. Advocacy and strategies used in the project;

d. Obstacles overcome during the project and how they were surmounted;

e. The achieved/potential client/community impact; and

f. Any particularly creative or innovative advocacy or activities contributing to the project's success.

10. Upload project summary here. *

11. Provide a statement, not exceeding 100 words, as to why you feel this particular project merits consideration for this award.*

0/100

12. If the project involves a litigated matter, indicate the case name, case number, and the court in which the case is filed. If available, provide a copy of any interim or final judgment, court consent judgment and/or settlement agreement below. *Please indicate the name of your Legal Aid/Legal Services program on the first page of each pleading.

12(a). Upload a copy of any interim or final judgement, court consent judgment and/or settlement agreement referenced.

13. Indicate the names, positions, and office addresses of the staff primarily responsible for the project.*

14. Indicate the total number of hours spent on this project for each of the primarily responsible staff and indicate whether the time is substantiated by contemporaneous time records or estimated.*

15. Provide a breakdown of any significant expenses (other than staff time) incurred by the program in connection with the project.*

16. Provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of up to three persons not on staff who are familiar with or have been assisted by the project. As to such persons, indicate their relationship to the project.*

17. If available, provide no more than two (2) writing samples from the project that are illustrative of the quality of work in conducting this project. Please indicate the name of your Legal Aid/Legal Services program on the first page of each writing sample.

18. Provide copies of any newspaper or other media coverage of the project or its results. Please indicate the name of your Legal Aid/Legal Services program on the first page of each media attachment.

I certify that the information that I have provided in this application is complete, true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Using your mouse, sign your name in the box below to certify your application.

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