LFW: Partnership Grants

LFW: Partnership Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Legal Foundation of Washington
Last Updated: September 01, 2025

Summary

The Legal Foundation of Washington offers Partnership Grants to support civil legal aid organizations serving low-income individuals across the state. These grants provide essential operating funds, promoting stability and encouraging long-term planning within the civil justice sector. By partnering with organizations focused on direct legal aid and systemic advocacy, LFW aims to enhance equity in access to justice. The application process includes a Letter of Intent, with funding decisions influenced by previous awards and the overall impact on legal aid coverage.

Overview

NOTE: New applicants will first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), due August 15, 2023, and will be notified by September 12, 2023, if the proposal has been selected to move on to a full application, due October 4, 2023. Current Partnership Grantees will submit a renewal application, due August 15, 2023. Who We Are The Legal Foundation of Washington is a nonprofit organization created in 1984 at the direction of the Washington Supreme Court to distribute IOLTA funds to legal aid organizations across the state. LFW has more than 35 years of experience raising, managing, and distributing funds to achieve equal civil justice for low-income people. We envision a society where poverty and race are not impediments, and seek to ensure access to civil legal aid for all people in Washington and to improve equity in the civil justice system. Our work contributes to breaking cycles of poverty and ensuring equal opportunity. We serve tens of thousands of low-income people each year by investing in civil legal aid organizations across Washington. We bring expertise about our state civil legal aid system to ensure thoughtful grantmaking. We receive support from public and private partners who are committed to equal justice and system reform. We responsibly steward and strategically distribute these funds throughout the state. Since 1984, LFW has distributed more than $200 million to Washington’s legal aid community. Partnership Grants LFW is committed to civil justice for all. Our Partnership Grants provide recurring general operating funds to civil justice programs across Washington. We partner with organizations providing direct civil legal aid, including volunteer attorney programs, and specialized nonprofits focused on impact litigation, policy reform, and systemic advocacy. These long-term grants ensure the stability of civil legal aid in Washington and build an aligned movement toward equity and lasting change. LFW takes into account current programming and organizational needs as well as long-term strategy to further the goals of the State Plan and Alliance for Equal Justice. The funding for these grants is tied to LFW’s limited resources, including state-funding, and considers previous awards, other funding sources, Alliance goals, statewide legal aid coverage, and the impact of decisions on all programs. Partnership Grants are awarded on a two-year cycle to provide increased stability, support long-term planning, and give programs the flexibility to take on creative solutions to critical civil justice issues.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Civil legal aid organizations serving low-income people in Washington are eligible to apply.We partner with organizations providing direct civil legal aid, impact litigation, policy reform, and systemic advocacy. We seek to partner with organizations that are client-centered, community-based, and anti-racist in their approach.