Welcome to the Alabama Law Foundation. IOLTA Program Scholarships, The Cabaniss, Johnston Scholarship Fund, and Kid's Chance Scholarships.

IOLTA Application

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Introduction

The IOLTA (Interest On Lawyer’s Trust Accounts) program is the financial foundation for the Alabama Law Foundation. Alabama Law Foundation awards grants for law-related charitable projects.

Guidelines

Grant Considerations

The Alabama Law Foundation board of trustees has not allocated a set percentage of funds collected to any one funding category. However, projects that provide civil legal aid to the poor receive priority over other purposes. The board recognizes that IOLTA funds cannot meet the entire needs of any one program, and IOLTA funds generally will be used to supplement programs which are also funded by other sources. All grants funded by the Alabama Law Foundation are wholly discretionary and do not imply that a program will receive funds for the next grant cycle.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to receive funds from the IOLTA program, an applicant must (1) submit a written proposal within the board’s time schedule; (2) respond adequately to questions in the grant proposal format; (3) respond adequately to further requests for information; (4) agree to carry out the program for which funds were requested, and report to the board on progress and results in accordance with the grant agreement; and (5) come within one of the categories approved by the Supreme Court of Alabama.

The foundation will only award grants for the provision of legal aid to the poor to programs that provide services to individual clients or families at or below 125% of federal poverty level.

Committees and Task Forces of the Alabama State Bar must have the approval of the Board of Bar Commissioners prior to submission of a grant application. Grant applications will not carry over from one grant cycle to the next. A new application must be submitted each time an organization applies for IOLTA funds.

Do not submit any document not specifically requested. If necessary, the foundation will request additional information by a separate document. If you think a question is clearly not applicable to your organization, indicate so by writing N/A in the space provided.

Law library grants
- No law library will receive over $5,000 in any one year.
- Grants to law libraries will be made only for capital expenditures ex. books, equipment, etc.
- Law libraries will only be eligible to receive grants every other year.
Domestic abuse shelters cannot receive grants for more than three consecutive years. This policy does not guarantee funding for a full three years once an application has been approved for funding the first time.

Additional documents required:

Governing Body Information (Current Board Roster) All Applicants
Signed Grant Assurances All Applicants
Case Acceptance Policies/Priorities Civil Legal Aid Providers
Current Client Financial Eligibility Guidelines Civil Legal Aid Providers
IRS 501 (c) (3) Determination Letter New Applicants Only
Most Recent Financial Audit New Applicants Only

Submit the following attachments by hard copy:

Signed Grant Assurances
IRS 501 (c) (3) Determination Letter
Most Recent Financial Audit

Applications must be received the by the Alabama Law Foundation, Inc., no later than 5:00 P.M. on October 15 of each year. Grant decisions will be announced prior to January 1.

Questions may be directed to Tracy Daniel at (334) 269-1515, extension 137 or tdaniel@alfinc.org.

Foundation mailing address:
Alabama Law Foundation
P. O. Box 671
Montgomery, Alabama 36117

Download the Grant Guidelines (pdf 20kb)

Download Documents

- Legal Service Provider Data Form (Excel file 56kb)

- Financial Information Form (Excel file 52kb)

(Remember to save your document in order to upload it.)

Create a User/Login

To apply online, you must create a user login.