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What’s NewAlabama Law Foundation Announces 2006 Grants (04/30/2006)
The Alabama Law Foundation is committed to increasing access to quality legal assistance for low-income Alabama citizens. As Alabama’s major grant maker to programs that provide legal aid to the poor, the Alabama Law Foundation annually awards IOLTA grants for three purposes: to provide legal services to disadvantaged citizens, to assist with administrative costs for programs working for justice, and to support law related education.
IOLTA (Interest On Lawyer’s Trust Accounts) is the financial foundation for the Alabama Law Foundation. The IOLTA program allows attorneys to convert their commingled client trust accounts to interest-bearing accounts. This interest then is disbursed to the Alabama Law Foundation, and a grants committee distributes the funds to law-related charities across Alabama. The IOLTA grants for 2006 total $249,000.
Two programs that provide legal services for the poor collectively received the largest grant total-- $90,000. Legal Services Alabama provides legal aid to economically disadvantaged citizens through ten offices with staff attorneys. Legal Services Alabama received an $80,000 IOLTA grant for general operating purposes. The Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program refers cases directly to lawyers in 64 counties and coordinates over 1,000 volunteers. The $10,000 IOLTA grant funds administration of the pro-bono program. Both Legal Services Alabama and the Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program were on the front line dealing with legal needs of Hurricane Katrina’s victims.
Projects in the category of “Administration of Justice” improve the judicial system or some judicial process. IOLTA grants for this category totaled $81,000. The Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama assists attorneys appointed to capital cases in the post-conviction stage and supplies some representation to indigent defendants. The Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama received a $35,000 IOLTA grant for operating expenses. The Alabama Prison Project helps attorneys research background information of defendants about to be sentenced in capital cases in order to provide critical information to the jury and the judge. The $20,000 IOLTA grant provides the salary for the one full-time mitigation employee on staff at The Alabama Prison Project. The Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice identifies and seeks to find solutions to the root causes of injustice and inequality in Alabama. The $15,000 IOLTA grant is designated for operating expenses. The Alabama CASA Network trains volunteers to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children in court. The $1000 IOLTA grant funds their annual conference. The CASA of Florence/Lauderdale County received a $5000 IOLTA grant to fund a volunteer coordinator.
Two programs that provide law related education to the publiccollectively received a total of $9000 in IOLTA grants. The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education received $6500 for their “Street Law Program” that educates high school students about the law, their responsibilities and problem-solving skills. The Alabama CASA Network received a $2500 IOLTA grant to print 2500 educational booklets about the family/juvenile court systems for families CASA helps.
Alabama’s IOLTA program was established in 1987 and awarded its first grants in 1989. Since that time the Alabama Law Foundation has awarded 12.5 million in grants. Through the IOLTA program, the Alabama Law Foundation builds a stronger, more democratic society by making access to justice for all citizens in Alabama a reality.
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