The Massachusetts Bar Foundation (MBF) recently awarded $2.6 million to 93 programs conducted by 59 nonprofit organizations across the state through its annual Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account (IOLTA) grants program.
Despite a significant decline in revenues from Massachusetts IOLTA funds, MBF Trustees elected to draw from reserves and from its
Fellows Fund to ensure this year’s funding remained essentially level with last year.
“Given the demand and urgency for civil legal services in the wake of the pandemic, the MBF Trustees felt it was critical to keep funding as close to previous levels as possible,” explained MBF President Angela McConney Scheepers. "The MBF is grateful to the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee for its careful cultivation and stewardship of IOLTA funds, as well as to the
MBF Fellows, whose generous financial contributions have helped fill in the gap for this year’s grantmaking.”
The MBF is one of three charitable entities that distributes funds from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's IOLTA program. MBF IOLTA grants provide critical funding for legal aid programs across the commonwealth. Grants providing direct legal services include support for homelessness prevention, domestic violence programs, education and healthcare advocacy, immigration assistance, and more. Grants to improve the administration of justice include court-connected mediation, conciliation and lawyer of the day programs.
Over 80 attorneys and judges, who are Fellows of the Foundation, volunteered their time and talent to help review applications, conduct site visits, and help ensure proper stewardship of IOLTA funds. This was the first grant cycle the MBF completed using its new online portal, Foundant.
For a complete listing of the 2022/2023 IOLTA grant recipients,
click here.