Deadline: 19-Jul-24
The Access to Justice Foundation is inviting applications to support legal advice organisations across the UK to increase access to justice through pro bono provision.
This year, the pro bono grants round has a particular focus on supporting access to justice for disabled people.
Census 2021 data has revealed that the proportion of disabled people is 17.8% across England and Wales. As the demand for legal advice increases, those living with disabilities remain more disadvantaged when seeking support in their legal matters. Evidence from previous grant programmes has highlighted that an average of 48% of all client issues recorded by the funded organisations comes from clients with disabilities. They know that disabled people face substantial barriers to accessing legal advice and these include navigating complex systems such as welfare benefits, mobility issues, living in a rural location and digital exclusion.
Aims
- The funding programme aims to:
- Support national pro bono charities,
- Support local legal advice charities to establish, increase and/or sustain their pro bono activity (across areas of social welfare law including areas of family, welfare benefits, debt, housing, employment, immigration, community care, mental health and disability), and
- Support increased access to justice for disabled people (your pro bono service can be available to all, but they will prioritise applications which can demonstrate that their pro bono activity will support people with disabilities).
Funding Information
- Organisations can apply for funding of up to £50,000 over 2 years (i.e. a maximum of £25,000 per year).
What will they fund?
- This funding can be used for the following:
- The co-ordination of pro bono activity,
- The costs associated with running a pro bono clinic,
- Developing partnerships with legal firms to establish pro bono services.
- They will not fund universities applying for support with their services.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for funding, an organisation must meet the following criteria:
- Be registered with the Charity Commission or the OSCR or The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
- Be a national pro bono charity
- Be a legal advice charity offering pro bono provision or looking to establish this service
- They won’t accept partnership applications for this funding programme.
For more information, visit The Access to Justice Foundation.