The FY26 Access to Justice Grants Process is now available. The full application is open to all eligible organizations. Please review the grant eligibility and program objectives below carefully before considering applying for funding.

The Access to Justice Grants application process is administered through our online grant lifecycle manager. All interested organizations must register and submit their application through the portal here.

Once logged on, you will find the “Apply” button at the top of the dashboard. If you are new to the platform, but your organization has an account, please contact Stacey Weiler at sweiler@illinoisbarfoundation.org to be added as a user.

Access to Justice Grants are awarded on a yearly basis. Board decisions are made in the Spring for a yearly grant cycle of July 1-June 30.

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Grant Eligibility

The Illinois Bar Foundation awards grants only to 501(c)(3) organizations that serve the State of Illinois and conduct work within IBF’s grant program objectives. It is strongly encouraged that organizations who are not current grantees of the Illinois Bar Foundation, or who have any questions about whether or not their project is a good fit for the IBF, contact Stacey Weiler at sweiler@illinoisbarfoundation.org. We are happy to discuss your project with you and the likelihood of funding before you invest time and resources into the grant application. Not all applications will be funded, and funding at the request level is not guaranteed.

Program Objectives

Grants awarded by the Illinois Bar Foundation will support one of three organizational objectives:

Enhance the availability of civil legal aid to those of limited means. Projects funded under this category assist Illinois residents with limited means to resolve their civil legal problems in the most effective way possible. Programs addressing areas of greatest need or with the greatest impact will receive priority.
Encourage pro-bono legal work. Projects funded under this category facilitate pro bono opportunities; provide educational opportunities for pro bono attorneys; or recognize and help sustain the efforts of current pro bono attorneys.
Educate Illinois residents regarding their rights and responsibilities under the law. Projects funded under this category create informational materials for unrepresented Illinois residents with civil legal problems.

The Illinois Bar Foundation funds organizations or projects with a statewide, regional or local impact. All organizations must show evidence of the need and impact of their program. The Illinois Bar Foundation will entertain projects with a new or innovative approach that require seed money to launch as well as programs that result from collaboration among multiple organizations. New projects must demonstrate their viability by identifying support (financial or other) from the communities they are intended to serve. The Foundation will fund general operating expenses only when the organization’s mission fits squarely within the Illinois Bar Foundation’s grant program objectives. Otherwise, IBF grants will be restricted to specific programmatic support.

Excluded Activities

For those organizations, projects or programs that do fall within the grant program objectives identified above, the Illinois Bar Foundation will not fund:

Projects that do not directly serve residents of the State of Illinois
Projects providing legal aid for criminal matters
Endowment campaigns
Political activities that are inconsistent with the organization’s tax-exempt status
Fundraising benefits or mass appeal solicitations
Sectarian organizations (unless participation in the program is not limited by religious affinity)
Scholarships for individuals

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals submitted to the Illinois Bar Foundation will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

The relative importance of the program to the Foundation’s objectives.
The geographic area served by the program and local access to similar services.
The results and/or impact of the program on the issue it addresses.
The availability of funding from other sources.
Whether Foundation funding will leverage funds from other sources.
Whether the organization is doing an effective job of coordinating its services with other similar organizations.
The involvement of the legal community in the program.
Whether the organization is efficient and well managed.
The capability of the organization to successfully manage the program.
Whether the Foundation grant will have a material impact on the organization’s operating budget.
Whether the organization has mechanisms in place to regularly evaluate and improve the quality of the services it provides.

Application Deadlines

Full applications are due on Wednesday, December 17th, 2025.