[District of Columbia, September 29, 2015] — The DC Bar Foundation (DCBF) is pleased to announce $950,000 in available funding for foreclosure prevention and community redevelopment legal assistance provided by DC-based legal aid organizations that serve low-income DC residents.
The funds were made available through a settlement on mortgage-related litigation between the U.S. Department of Justice and Citigroup (Citi). The settlement provides $2.5 billion for consumer relief, including millions to select Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) programs. Through IOLTA, the interest from lawyer trust accounts is pooled to provide civil legal aid to the poor. It exists in every state, as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. DCBF is the designated administrator of the District’s program.
DCBF Board member and Chair of the Grants and Technical Assistance Committee Vonya McCann stated, “The DC Bar Foundation was one of twelve IOLTA programs invited to apply for a donation from Citi. The Foundation is honored to be selected to provide close to $1 million to DC’s legal aid organizations in their efforts to assist in foreclosure prevention and community redevelopment.”
Applicants must submit an executive summary and a three-page narrative by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2016.Applications can be downloaded here: http://dcbarfoundation.org/funding-justicegrantslrapawards/dcbf/applications. Awards will be announced in late June 2016, with the grant term starting July 1, 2016.
DCBF will hold an information session regarding these grants at 9:00 am on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 in downtown DC at a location to be determined. Please RSVP to Christina Lynch, Programs Assistant, at lynch@dcbarfoundation.org.
The DC Bar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1977, is the largest funder of civil legal services in the District. The Bar Foundation’s mission is to fund, support, and improve legal representation of the poor, vulnerable, and otherwise disadvantaged in the District of Columbia, and it is committed to the vision that residents of the District have equal access to justice, regardless of income. The Foundation provides grants and training and technical assistance to local non-profit legal services organizations and awards loans to D.C. poverty lawyers to help with their educational debt.
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