US: American Bar Endowment Opportunity Grant Program

Deadline: 23-Sep-22

The American Bar Endowment (ABE) Opportunity Grant Program is now open for applications to provide funding for new and innovative law-related projects and programs of importance to the public and the legal profession.

The American Bar Endowment's Opportunity Grant Program supports new, boots-on-the-ground, innovative programs and projects that serve the immediate and critical legal needs of the public and are of importance to the legal profession and its concerns for access to justice.

Focus Areas

• The ABE Opportunity Grant Program funding focus areas include:
  • Increasing access to justice, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations using innovations to legal services delivery, capacity-building, or pro bono service.
  • Improvement of the justice system, including ensuring equal justice and elimination of bias; and
  • Increasing public understanding of legal rights and responsibilities so people can recognize legal prob lems and know how to address them.

Funding Information

• Grant awards of $25,000 or less are typical. Organizations can request larger amounts; however, the ABE may contact the applicant during the review process to ask if the project or program can be completed with less funding or by finding additional funding.
• An ABE Opportunity Grant is generally a one-time award with a grant period of one year or less.

Eligible Activities

• The ABE Opportunity Grant Program supports new AND innovative projects/programs that directly affect individual and community law-related needs. Grant funds are project-specific and not for general operating or existing expenses. National organizations can apply but need to carefully draw the connection between their proposed work and its impact on local communities.
• The Opportunity Grant Program favors programs and projects that:
  • Serve those who are traditionally underserved or marginalized;
  • Address immediate and urgent law-related needs in innovative ways;
  • Are not replicated by other organizations in the proposed service area;
  • Take advantage of existing and emerging technologies; gold
  • Might not otherwise be able to obtain timely funding from other sources.
  • The ABE will consider projects that, for example:
  • Build organizational capacity to serve clients better;
  • Develop tools, technology, or approaches that the broader legal community could use;
  • Launch a new w-related program; gold
  • Document /prove a best practice.  

Eligibility Criteria

• Internal Revenue Service designated 501(c) (3) organizations that are classified as a public charity under section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code can apply. Organizations with a written fiscal agency agreement with such an entity can also apply. The fiscal agent must meet this eligibility criterion.  
  • Potential grants include (but are not limited to):
    • Bar associations and bar foundations;
    • Law schools, law school legal clinics;
    • Academic institutions;
    • Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funded organizations;
    • Legal service delivery organizations;
    • Human service organizations with legal service or law-related programming; and
    • Other non-profits or civic organizations with law-related programming.
    • Eligible organizations must be incorporated in the United States or a US Territory. The ABE does not fund international work. This grant program does not support government regulatory agencies or individuals. 
• The ABE will not consider projects that seek funding to support the direct provision of legal services without a new or innovative component.

For more information, visit ABE.

For more information, visit https://abendowment.org/opportunity-grants/