The District of Columbia Bar Foundation

The DC Bar Foundation is the leading private funder of civil legal aid in the District of Columbia. It is committed to the vision that residents of the District have equal access to justice, regardless of income.

Support of the DC Bar Foundation helps provide critical legal services to the elderly, the homeless, battered women, foster children, and others who desperately need legal representation, but cannot afford it.

The DC Bar Foundation was established in 1977 to provide a vehicle for lawyers and law firms to contribute to legal services organizations in the District of Columbia. In 1985, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals established the District’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) program, which the Foundation administers. In 2006, the District of Columbia City Council appropriated funds for civil legal services grants and a poverty lawyer loan repayment assistance program, designating the Bar Foundation as administrator.

From public funds, IOLTA revenue, and private donations, the Bar Foundation awards grants to DC's legal services organizations that provide free civil legal services to low-income and underserved people in the District.  Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $36 million in grants.

The Bar Foundation’s Poverty Lawyer Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) uses both public funding and private contributions to insure that law school debt does not prevent legal services providers from attracting and retaining top-notch talent. The average law school debt for 2011 LRAP participants is more than $98,000 with average annual debt payments of $8,000; the average public interest attorney salary is $49,000. LRAP provides interest-free, forgivable loans, based on law school educational debt, of up to $1,000 per month.

The DC Bar Foundation is in the best position to evaluate legal services programs and provide technical assistance and training to the organizations that continue to struggle in a tough economy. Our grantmaking process is rigorous, yet efficient, in order to ensure that contributions make the greatest impact.

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