Foundation will fund 39 projects

The Foundation of the State Bar of California has awarded $292,103 in grants to nonprofit organizations; courts; local, specialty and minority bar associations; and the State Bar of California. The grants will fund 39 projects that help educate Californians about their rights and responsibilities under the law, increase access to the justice system and promote the rule of law.

“By investing nearly $300,000 in an array of worthy and innovative law-related projects, the foundation acts as a catalyst for building a better justice system for all Californians,” said Leslie Hatamiya, the foundation’s executive director.

Projects funded by the foundation’s grants include Legal Services of Northern California’s Legal Services Language Outreach project, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles’ Legal Assistance for Torture Survivors, and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel’s Immigrant HIV Assistance Project. Grants will benefit programs taking place across the state, including the Siskiyou County Superior Court’s Community Legal Assistance Project, pro-bono legal clinics hosted by the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California a teen court program in Sonoma County.

This year’s grants range in size from $1,000 to $25,000, and grant recipients include 17 legal service organizations, three universities and affiliated entities, five community education organizations, five courts and three bar associations. 

The State Bar will receive six grants totaling $73,000. They include support for a new Law Student Division and a task force examining ways to increase diversity in the legal profession and improve the ability of individuals from underrepresented communities to become lawyers.  

Since the foundation began its grants program in 1991, it has distributed more than $3 million in grants for law-related service, education, and outreach projects.