FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 8, 2003
Contact: Brian S. Logan 202-467-3750 ext. *856

D.C. Bar Foundation Awards $1,000,000

The D.C. Bar Foundation announced today that it has awarded $1,000,000 in grants this year in support of legal services for the poor in the District of Columbia. This is the largest amount the foundation has allocated since its creation 25 years ago, and represents an increase of more than 38 percent over last year’s grants.

“Clearly, we were able to reach this landmark only through increased donations from District of Columbia law firms that recognize the important work their fellow lawyers at legal services organizations provide to the community on shoestring budgets,“ said D.C. Bar Foundation President Andrew Marks. “We hope that even more firms will contribute in the coming year.”

This year, the foundation funds twenty-seven projects that provide direct legal services to the homeless, the elderly, battered women, foster children, immigrants, the working poor, the sick, the disabled, and many more. And, to facilitate the efficient delivery of services, the foundation has awarded two technology grants that will provide cross-cutting support to the entire legal services community.

“While we’re thrilled to be able to increase our grants to record levels at a time when so many other funders are cutting back, as much as 90 percent of the legal needs of our low-income residents remain unaddressed,” said Executive Director Emily Spitzer.

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The D.C. Bar Foundation was founded in 1977 by the D.C. Bar to provide lawyers and law firms with a vehicle for funding legal services for underprivileged residents of the District of Columbia. A 501(c)(3), the foundation’s board of directors is composed of past presidents of the D.C. Bar. In 1985, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals established the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program, creating a secondary source of funding for the foundation.

Each year, the foundation accepts applications from legal services providers, performs on-site reviews of all applicants, studies the financial needs of the projects, and analyzes the relative legal needs of the community to allocate its resources.

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