BAR FOUNDATION FELLOWS HELP DISTRIBUTE $6.1 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR LEGAL AID ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS

$828,979 allocated to Middlesex County

The Massachusetts Bar Foundation recently awarded $6.1 million in grants through its annual Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Grants Program. This year’s grants will fund 156 programs run by nonprofit organizations all across Massachusetts. The Foundation is proud to announce that of the total amount, $828,979 was allocated to the following organizations in Middlesex County:

Advocates, Inc.
Greater Lowell Bar Association

Centro Presente, Inc. International Institute of Lowell

Community Dispute Settlement Center
Just A Start

Community Legal Services and Counseling Center Merrimack Valley Legal Services

Community Service Network, Inc.
Middlesex County Bar Association

Employment Options, Inc.
Somerville Community Corporation

Framingham Court Mediation Services, Inc.
South Middlesex Legal Services, Inc.

Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project
Tri-City Community Action Program

Local attorneys who serve as MBF Fellows played a leading role in identifying recipients to receive IOLTA grants. The Fellows volunteered their time and intellect to participate in grant advisory committees. The volunteers reviewed applications, conducted site visits, and made recommendations to Trustees regarding grant amounts.

Funds for these grants are provided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program. The Massachusetts Bar Foundation is one of three charitable entities in Massachusetts that distributes IOLTA funds.

IOLTA grants support projects that either offer civil legal services to low-income individuals and families, or improve the administration of justice in the Commonwealth. Grants providing direct legal services include support to domestic violence programs, special education advocacy, immigration programs, consumer debt counseling, and homelessness prevention projects. Grants to improve the administration of justice include such efforts as court-linked mediation and lawyer-of-the-day programs. Award amounts range from $5,760 to $175,000, and will run for one year, from September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009.

For more information about becoming an MBF Fellow, please contact Susannah Thomas at 617-338-0647. Additional information about the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and its IOLTA Grants Program, as well as a complete listing of the 2008/2009 IOLTA grant recipients is available on the MBF website: www.MassBarFoundation.org.

###