IOLTA – Committed to Civil Legal Aid is sponsored by Maine Justice Foundation. Supports civil legal aid initiatives in Maine through grants funded by individual donations and community partners.

Grants/Programs - Maine Justice Foundation Overview of our Grants, Funds and Programs The Maine Justice Foundation manages funds and endowments from which grants are made to support fairness and justice initiatives in the State of Maine.

With your commitment to justice and your charitable investment through the Maine Justice Foundation, we can increase funding to civil legal service and community organizations who are working to ensure fairness and justice for all Maine people. The Maine Justice Foundation is funded entirely through the generosity of individual private donations and Maine-based community partners.

We do not receive federal or state government grant funding, making your support essential to our mission and ongoing work. To make a gift to an existing fund, click here. IOLTA – Committed to civil legal aid for over 30 years In the mid-1980s, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court created Maine's IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) program and entrusted the Foundation with its operation.

IOLTA is a unique and innovative way to increase access to justice for individuals and families living in poverty and to improve our justice system. Without taxing the public, and at no cost to lawyers or their clients, interest from lawyers’ trust accounts is pooled to provide civil legal aid to the poor and support improvements to the justice system.

Elders, immigrants, abused women and children, and many others get help with pressing legal needs.

Over $26 Million for Civil Legal Aid Over the last 38 years, the Maine Justice Foundation has managed tens of millions of dollars in IOLTA funds which provide annual operating funds to six core providers of civil legal aid for low-income and vulnerable Mainers: The Clinics at Maine Law, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Legal Services for Maine Elders, Maine Equal Justice, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Fairness & Justice Fund & Alliance The Fairness & Justice Fund supports Maine nonprofits dedicated to advancing fairness and justice across our communities. Through responsive grants from the fund, we empower organizations leading these impactful efforts, in crucial areas such as the legal system, healthcare, education, workplace, food insecurity, natural resources, and housing.

The fund is supported by membership in the Fairness & Justice Alliance, individual gifts, and corporate partnerships. Frank M. Coffin Family Law Public Interest Fellowship Fairness and Justice Alliance “No one has ever become poor by giving.

” Anne Frank, diary of Anne Frank: the play Established in 2020, the Racial Justice Fund is an endowed fund of the Foundation that seeks to educate and advocate for systemic change that will foster racial justice and equity in Maine.

Despite decades of inspiring individual action, a vibrant civil rights movement, and the fall of barriers and cultural norms that kept Black Americans from enjoying all the benefits of citizenship, there remains work undone in our continuing effort to fulfill the American promise for every citizen . The fund supports initiatives across Maine that address systemic racism and inequality inside and outside the legal system.

The fund was created by twenty-two leading Maine companies and private foundations in the summer of 2020 and has continued to grow through the generous gifts of individuals, businesses and foundations while simultaneously issuing annual grants to community organizations. The LGBTQ+ Fund was founded in 2016 by Bill Robitzek, then President of the Maine Justice Foundation.

Bill was a successful trial lawyer for over 35 years before starting his current practice as a mediator, arbitrator and trial consultant. Bill started this important fund to provide funding for nonprofit organizations that address the civil legal aid needs of low-income and LGBTQ+ Mainers in need. The movement for full equality for LGBTQ+ people has seen incredible progress in a short time.

But there are still many threats to the laws that protect LGBTQ+ people. The fund’s continued growth is supported through gifts from individuals, businesses and foundations and executed its first public request for proposals in 2023. This important fund was established in 2011 by an anonymous donor who dedicated it to providing support for people in need of civil legal assistance in Washington and Hancock counties.

The donor wanted to keep families safe and healthy, help the elderly with their needs, and make sure children have the opportunities they deserve. Established by Arnie Macdonald and Liza Moore for the Summer Intern Program of The Clinics at Maine Law (formerly the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic). Arnie and Liza created this fund in memory of James M.

Roux (Maine Law '84), Liza's late ex-husband and Arnie’s friend. After graduating, Jim served in the US Army as Judge Advocate General with the 82nd Airborne Division. He returned to private practice and became a preeminent trial lawyer.

In the last years of his practice, Jim shifted his focus to plaintiffs’ work, championing underdogs who could not otherwise be heard. He also developed an interest in the plight of the Nepalese Sherpa people after his treks to Mount Everest Base Camp and was headed to Southeast Asia when killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Jim was a dedicated lawyer and proud Mainer.

Arnie and Liza also are inspired to honor the passion, commitment and engagement of Jim's son, Jamie. Arnie says, “We make this gift in Jim's memory but also out of our love and pride in his son.

In their honor we want to help Maine's aspiring lawyers not only to have excellent technical skills but to keep a watchful eye on the underdogs, underprivileged and underserved, where the civil rights so important to our society may first start to erode. ” This fund supports the Foundation’s mission by supporting its operations.

Notable in Justice Dana’s career is his longstanding commitment to securing legal services for people in need. “I think basically every lawyer learns that their function is to make sure their clients get justice,” he said. “In our country, we have two lawyers, typically – one on either side of the case – and the problem is that there aren’t enough lawyers to represent the poor.

This makes for an unfair battle and an unfair system of justice. ” The Michael J. Levey and Michael S.

Brown Fund Sidney W. Wernick Lecture Fund The Foundation manages this fund on behalf of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. It was created to honor the Honorable Sidney W.

Wernick, who served as Associate Justice from 1970 to 1981 and in active retirement status until 1984. He passed away in 1995. The Bar Fellows Endowment supports the mission and operations of the Maine Justice Foundation.

The fund is supported by the generous gifts of Bar Fellows, Honorary Life Fellows and Patron Fellows. The Bar Fellows is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars who have been elected by their peers to become members. They have demonstrated outstanding achievements and dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession.

The Frank M. Coffin Family Law Fellowship The Coffin Family Law Fellowship provides legal representation in family law matters to clients who have qualified for pro bono assistance through the Volunteer Lawyers Project. Named after Frank M.

Coffin, Senior Judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Project supports attorneys based in the Portland, Maine offices of Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Coffin Fellowship attorneys work for and are based at Pine Tree Legal Assistance’s Portland office for two years and cases are generally limited to Cumberland County.

Stipends are competitive with public interest law salaries and a loan repayment assistance program is available for qualifying candidates. Access to Justice Tax Credit In an effort to encourage lawyers to provide services to underserved areas of our State, the Legislature enacted the Access to Justice Tax Credit Program in 2022. 36 M.

R. S. Section 5219-ZZ provides that the Maine Supreme Court, or its designee, shall certify up to five qualified attorneys annually for participation in the Access to Justice Tax Credit program to receive a $6,000 tax credit.

To be eligible for the $6,000 tax credit each year of the program, the recipient attorney must commit to practicing law in an underserved area for at least five years, remain rostered by the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services to accept court appointments to represent clients in an underserved area and agrees to perform pro bono legal services in an underserved area.

The Court has designated the Maine Justice Foundation to administer the program and established a Standing Committee to assist and advise the Foundation in the process. The Maine Justice Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for the 2026 Access to Justice Tax Credit Program will open on June 8, 2026. The Foundation will accept applications from eligible attorneys from June 8-22, 2026.

Please visit https://www. grantinterface. com/sl/KBfB9F to apply starting on June 8.

The Maine Justice Foundation has established three prestigious annual awards to recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, innovation, and impact in advancing access to justice. Downing Award: Created by the family of Thomas P. Downing, Jr. after his death in November 1985, the Downing Award recognizes legal aid staff dedicated to access to justice for vulnerable and low-income Mainers.

Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award: The Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing access to justice.

The Maine Justice Foundation presents the Howard H. Dana, Jr. award annually to a lawyer to recognize significant contributions toward enhancing access to civil legal assistance and outstanding service in the advancement of the Foundation’s goals.

New Lawyer Award: Established by the Foundation in 2010, the New Lawyer Award is presented annually to an outstanding lawyer who has been in practice for less than ten years, exemplifies the ideals of increasing access to justice, makes outstanding and recognized pro bono service or other contributions to the legal profession and public good, and demonstrates a strong commitment to the mission of the Foundation.

The Foundation provides funding to, serves on the Executive Committee of, and functions as the fiscal agent for the Justice Action Group .

This is a judge-led coalition of leaders of Maine’s legal community, including state and federal judges, legislative leaders, nonprofit civil legal aid providers, University of Maine’s School of Law, Maine Justice Foundation, the Maine State Bar Association, the Maine Trial Lawyers Association, practicing attorneys and others who are passionate about helping all Maine people have access to civil justice.

Maine Civil Legal Services Fund Commission The Foundation provides in-kind staff support to the Maine Civil Legal Services Fund Commission for the biennial application process, the annual reporting process by grantees, and the annual submittal of these reports to the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. Download the 2025 Annual Report of the Maine Civil Legal Services Fund.

Download the 2024 Annual Report of the Maine Civil Legal Services Fund.