The Oklahoma Bar Foundation (OBF) Board of Trustees approved $731,242 in Grants for 29 nonprofit programs that will provide legal services and education to over 46,500 Oklahomans. The OBF Grants & Awards Committee, who is tasked with reviewing grant applications and interviewing grant applicants, presented funding recommendations to the OBF Board of Trustees for programs that provide services in the following categories: legal services and advocacy for abused and neglected children, civil legal aid for low-income Oklahomans, immigrant legal services, domestic violence prevention services, teen legal education, juvenile offender programs, diversion programs and other law-related programs.

The following nonprofits will receive program funding from the OBF for fiscal year 2021:

2020 has been particularly tough for the nonprofit sector as many organizations experienced financial hardship, operational challenges, and a decrease in volunteers while at the same time seeing a major increase in clients needing legal assistance.

“This year, we heard from many of our grantees about how hard it has been to handle a dramatic increase in the need for services in an environment that suppresses fundraising events and personal outreach,” says OBF Grants & Awards Chair Valerie Couch. “They have been heroic in their efforts to persevere, and we need to help them all we can.  I hope all lawyers in Oklahoma will increase their support of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation so that we can provide timely help and funding for the people working in the trenches during this pandemic.”

Each year, the OBF funds Grantee programs providing legal services and aid to low-income populations. Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) is the primary source of funding for OBF Grantees, but unfortunately it is not enough to meet the overwhelming need. This year, the OBF received grant requests for over $1.1 Million from 30 Oklahoma nonprofits.  This means that despite awarding over $730,000 in OBF Grantees, close to $400,000 in requests that WILL NOT be met due to lack of funding, and many Oklahomans who desperately need help will not receive it.

The OBF’s mission and priority is to provide as much funding to our Grantees as possible, so they can focus on providing  high quality services for their clients.  To help close some of the funding gap, we have  created some special campaigns and events.

SO — a big THANK YOU to the OBF donors and the OBA Sections who donated to the “OBF Grantee Covid Legal Relief Campaign” and the “Giving Tuesday Now” Campaign.  Together these campaigns raised an additional $30,000 for OBF Grantees. We also want to give a shout out to our Prime Partner Banks who pay higher interest rates on their IOLTA accounts, which translates into more funds for OBF Grantees.

There is still time to support the OBF and advance justice –  visit www.okbarfoundation.org/donate to make a donation!