Children’s Legal Services
Recognizing that children have special legal needs, and that those needs were going largely unmet, The Florida Bar Foundation (now FFLA) began funding grants for legal assistance to children in the early 1990s. The mission of Children’s Legal Services is to provide legal assistance to needy children in critical areas that affect their safety, well being and future development.
Civil Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program
The Civil Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program offers 10 law students a 10-week paid position at Florida legal aid groups, promoting hands-on experience in serving low-income clients and encouraging a lasting commitment to public interest law.
Florida Legal Aid Disaster Relief
The disaster relief initiative supports civil legal aid and other organizations providing legal services with emergency funding to help impacted communities, from those affected by natural disasters like hurricanes to frontline workers affected by COVID-19. Funds may be used to support applicant organizations or to aid those in need of civil legal aid after an emergency or natural disaster.
Improvements in the Administration of Justice Grants
The purpose of the Improvements in the Administration of Justice (AOJ) Grant Program is to fund programs that support the process of operating the courts in an effective and expeditious manner.
IOTA Distributions (and Trial Run)
FFLA is authorized by the Florida Supreme Court to administer the Interest on Trust Accounts Program. Under IOTA, client trust deposits deemed by the attorney or law firm to be too small an amount, or expected to be held for too short a time to make investment for an individual client economically practical, are pooled into an interest- or dividend-bearing financial institution account.
Limited Matching Funds Grant Program
FFLA’s Limited Matching Funds Grant Program (LMF) provides applicants periodic opportunities to obtain limited funding to support and/or to leverage grant opportunities from other funding sources, which may contribute to: Greater impact through leveraged funding; Diversification of applicant funding to improve sustainability; Increased opportunities for innovation; and Increased opportunities to improve efficiencies.
Loan Repayment Assistance Program
The purpose of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) is to strengthen and expand legal assistance for the poor by supporting the recruitment and retention of the most qualified civil legal aid staff attorneys who are employed by legal assistance organizations that receive grant funding from FFLA.
Past Grant Program Descriptions
FFLA has supported dozens of impactful initiatives—ranging from affordable housing advocacy and foreclosure prevention to law student fellowships, salary support for legal aid attorneys, and innovative pro bono programs—all designed to expand access to justice and strengthen civil legal aid across Florida.
Pro Bono Support & Enhancement Grants
The purpose of this grant is to support and enhance pro bono programs and efforts in an effort to increase pro bono public service by private attorneys authorized to practice law in Florida providing free legal services to grantees’ low-income clients.
Technology Grants
Technology grants are designed to assist qualified grantee organizations with imminent technology needs directly related to their efforts to increase or improve the provision or facilitation of direct legal services to their clients. Grant Details Grant Amount Grant Cycle Grant Eligibility Grant Funding Grant amounts vary based on available funding.
Training Grant Program
FFLA’s Training Grant Program provides applicants periodic opportunities to obtain funding in support of training qualified legal service providers to better enable them to facilitate or provide services to meet the legal needs of people in Florida.
