NCBF: Endowment Grant Program - More than $3,000

The North Carolina Bar Foundation's Endowment Grant Program offers funding exceeding $3,000 to organizations in North Carolina that promote access to justice, civic education, and diversity. This initiative supports legal services for underserved communities, pro bono programs, and civic engagement projects. By fostering professionalism and addressing disparities in legal services, the program aims to enhance community welfare and strengthen the legal profession's role in society.

Who We Fund
The North Carolina Bar Foundation Endowment makes grants available to North Carolina organizations that are engaged in programming or projects that advance the Foundation’s values of access to justice, service through the profession, civic education, professionalism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Grant applications are reviewed annually by the NCBF Endowment Committee, which makes recommendations for grant awards for approval by the NCBF Board of Directors.
Criteria
Direct Legal Services: The NCBF Endowment provides support for the provision of direct legal services by legal services attorneys to indigent communities in an effort to ensure access to justice for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
Volunteer Attorney Pro Bono Programs: The NCBF Endowment provides support for pro bono programs and activities that engage volunteer attorneys to provide free legal assistance to persons of limited means, in order to increase access to justice and demonstrate the value of our profession to society.
Public/Community Service: The NCBF Endowment provides support for community service projects that create opportunities for lawyers, paralegals, law students and other members of the profession to strengthen and improve communities throughout the state, in measurable ways.
Civics/Justice Education: The NCBF Endowment provides support for civic education programs that place an emphasis on the law, the justice system, and the legal profession in order to educate the public and to build confidence in the rule of law and our justice system.
Professionalism for Attorneys: The NCBF Endowment provides support for programs and activities that promote attorney competence or professionalism in order to cultivate a culture of service, invest in training of lawyer leaders, and use innovative approaches to bring North Carolina lawyers together to work alongside one another for the common good.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The NCBF Endowment provides support for programs and activities that address inequities in access to legal services and participation in the legal profession experienced by historically excluded or disadvantaged individuals and communities in North Carolina.