Alaska Bar Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Alaska Bar Foundation supports civic legal services and legal education in Alaska.
FUNDING AREAS: Civic legal services, legal education
IP TAKE: Similar to the Bar Foundations in other states, this one supports civic legal aid for the poor and has an accessible grant application system for nonprofits that provide this type of assistance.
This is a more transparent and accessible local funder that’s also approachable, so don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, provided your work aligns closely with theirs.
PROFILE: Established in 1972, the Alaska Bar Foundation (ABF) is an interest on lawyer trust accounts (IOLTA) program foundation based in Anchorage, Alaska. The board of governors of the Alaska Bar Association created this foundation as a nonprofit corporation, and it is led by seven trustees. ABF administers the IOLTA program according to Supreme Court of the State of Alaska rules. The foundation aims to "provide funds for civil legal services to the economically disadvantaged.”
The Alaska Bar Foundation uses income generated from the Bar Association’s IOLTA program to award grants to local nonprofits. Grant money is set aside specifically for the providers of nonprofit legal services. This program has remained steady despite governmental budget cuts to serve the legal needs of low-income Alaska residents. There is an additional grant opportunity here owing to a 2014 settlement on mortgage-related litigation between the U.S. Department of Justice and Bank of America Corporation. These grants are specifically for foreclosure prevention legal assistance and community redevelopment legal assistance. Overall, ABF only awards a few grants per year, often to the same organizations for multiple years.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between about $3,000 and $20,000. The foundation typically awards between $15,000 and $25,000 per year for IOLTA grants and a few hundred thousand dollars per year for Bank of America grants. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on the entire state of Alaska. Past local grantees include Alaska Legal Services, the Alaska Innocence Project and Alaska Institute for Justice.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. There are separate application procedures for the different grant opportunities. The IOLTA grant deadline is in April. Direct general questions to the staff at 907-272-7469 or to Karen Schmidlkofer, the Alaska Bar Association’s controller, at schmidk@alaskabar.org.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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