M. Denny Hassakis Fund

M. Denny Hassakis Fund is sponsored by Illinois Bar Foundation. Established by Mark and Janet Hassakis, the M.

Special Projects & Initiatives - Illinois Bar Foundation Special Projects & Initiatives In addition to Access to Justice Grants , the Warren Lupel Lawyers Care Fund and Illinois JusticeCorps , the Illinois Bar Foundation has several dedicated funds and special projects that allow the organization to be nimble and responsive to communities’ needs.

The Illinois Immigration Funders Collaborative The Illinois Bar Foundation is a proud member of the Illinois Immigration Funders Collaborative, joining the Chicago Community Trust and other grantmaking bodies to entrust grant funds will be used to best meet the growing needs of the immigrant and refugee communities in Illinois.

The Illinois Immigration Funders Collaborative (IFC) is a collaborative fund that provides grant dollars to organizations serving immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. IFC focuses its funding on three areas: urgent immediate needs, legal assistance for individuals, and advocacy and organizing to advance immigrant rights and justice. Established by Mark and Janet Hassakis, the M.

Denny Hassakis Fund focuses on improving Illinois’ juvenile justice system, helping vulnerable youth and offering second chances to incarcerated adults through education and other opportunities. The Illinois Bar Foundation is proud to announce a $25,000 grant from the M.

Denny Hassakis Fund to Northwestern University to support the Northwestern Prisoner Education Program (NPEP), which is committed to providing one of the nation’s best educations to incarcerated students in prisons, jails, and youth centers across the state of Illinois. The work of NPEP is directly aligned with the purpose of the M. Denny Hassakis Fund.

The fund seeks to improve the lives and opportunities of justice-involved youth and adults through advocacy and programs that promote a fair and equitable justice system and support the rehabilitation of those impacted by the justice system so they may receive access and re-emerge as successful members of society. In memory of her late husband, Hon. Carole K.

Bellows created a scholarship fund to assist law school students at the University of Illinois College of Law. Since 2014, the Jason E. Bellows Fund has awarded a partial scholarship to a first year U of I law student in need.

Rural Practice Initiative The ISBA’s Rural Practice Fellowship Program aims to establish new attorneys in legal practice in rural parts of the state lacking adequate access to attorneys. These “rural legal deserts” are growing and present a significant hurdle to access to justice in Illinois.

In 2020, thirty-five Illinois counties had 10 or fewer attorneys in private practice, and 13 counties had 5 or fewer attorneys in private practice. As the few remaining rural attorneys retire or leave, residents of rural Illinois report increasing difficulty in securing legal services.

Since 2020, the Rural Practice Fellowship Program has helped address this problem by placing 18 associate fellows and 10 summer clerk fellows with firms in rural parts of the state. Each fellow receives a stipend to assist with relocation expenses and to augment rural salaries.

The program also includes educational support for the supervising attorneys and the new lawyers, and provides resources and training to encourage the participants to increase access to justice through the provision of pro bono services. Children’s Assistance Fund The Children’s Assistance Fund, overseen by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division, awards grants to organizations across the state related to children and law.

Initially created to assist with the opening of children’s waiting rooms in courthouses across the state, the IBF/YLD Children’s Assistance Fund has since broadened its mission. Today, the IBF/YLD Children’s Assistance Fund annually supports the ISBA YLD Intern at the Public Interest Law Initiative.

The intern provides legal services to or on behalf of children, working 400 hours during a summer internship at a PILI-participant legal aid agency.

Each year the interns yield immediate tangible results for their agencies and the clients they serve through direct legal aid, while also helping to create long-term sustainability of legal services through the relationships and skills they build and through the commitment to service fostered through their PILI Internship.

Women and the Law Charitable Fund The Women and the Law Charitable Fund, overseen by the ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law (WATL), was established in 2025 to award grants raised through WATL charitable events to organizations across the state providing services addressing women’s and children’s needs.

This year’s Women’s History Month Annual Tea, taking place on March 13, 2026, will raise the first round of funds for these new grants. Consider Donating to a Special Project or Initiative