A charitable organization founded in 2020, the Upward! Foundation was established and funded in principal by the UnitedLex Corporation—the leading legal and technology services company. Our efforts are driven by the spirit of innovation and collaboration that permeates throughout UnitedLex—our ability to make a positive difference is rooted deeply in our mindset.
Philanthropic Focus
The Foundation provides funding and resources to support programs that address immediate humanitarian needs, strengthen workplace equality, nurture education and innovation, and ensure the sustainability of our environment and world.
Humanitarian support: providing support crucial to the financial well-being and upward economic mobility of individuals and communities impacted by health, natural, and other catastrophes.
Workforce equality: rooted in the belief that success is made possible through diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, talents, and experiences.
Digital legal education: providing access to educational resources that empower adults and young people to build strong financial futures, enable entrepreneurs to grow or launch businesses, and help community-based organizations transform.
Environmental sustainability: promoting stewardship, preservation, and protection of conservation efforts in support a world in which people and nature flourish.
Initiatives
The Upward! Foundation was created to provide resources—financial and human—to those individuals or organizations that align with the Foundation’s humanitarian and educational priorities.
The first initiative of the Foundation was in response to the 2019/2020 coronavirus pandemic and the desire to aid UnitedLex employees and their families most impacted by the virus. While the pandemic was the founding initiative, it is the first of many to be supported by the Foundation in the coming years.
The Foundation makes an annual donation to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, The Jimmy Fund (funding pediatric cancer research), and the Sydney Mirick Memorial Neuroblastoma Fund. Nick Mirick, who is part of the Enterprise team at UnitedLex, and has written a moving tribute to his daughter, Sydney, to raise awareness of and generate support for pediatric cancer research.
The Foundation is also committed to supporting organizations that aim to dismantle racial bias and inequality across society. And has made material, multi-year financial grants to:
The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, which approaches public policy from a community justice lens.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education.