The Boston Bar Foundation (BBF) today announced $1,052,500 in grants to 25 legal services providers. With a significant decline in Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) funds, only 75 percent of each grant will come fromIOLTA funds. The remaining 22 percent will come from the proceeds of the BBF's 2010 Adams Ball and 3 percent from the proceeds of the BBF's Casey Fund.
"These are challenging economic times," said BBF president Shaw McDermott. "Resources from IOLTA have been limited by the combined factors of the decline in business transactions and extraordinarily low interest rates. The BBF has stretched to add its own additional resources to the funding mix. Fortunately the BBF Grants Committee is blessed with highly skilled and experienced volunteers who make their recommendations based on a screening and evaluation process honed over decades."
"Each year, we make very tough decisions based on our knowledge of the legal services landscape and thorough research of relevant issues," said BBF Grants Committee chair Toni Wolfman. "We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that this money is being distributed in a manner that will most effectively provide critically important legal services to low-income families, children and individuals in the Boston area."