Georgia Bar Foundation Awards $7,896,237 in Iolta Grants
| Publication year | 2023 |
| Pages | 0038 |
GBJ
BY LEN HORTON
The Georgia Bar Foundation awarded $7,896,237 in grants to 26 different law-related nonprofit organizations at its annual grants decisions meeting on July 20, 2023. This was the largest IOLTA grants meeting in the Foundation's history. This dollar amount surpassed the previous largest IOLTA grants awarded in 2008.
Hon. Derek J. White, president of the Georgia Bar Foundation, said, "I am so proud to have presided over the largest meeting in our history. The large amount of funds available enabled us to provide unusually large grant awards to our applicants, all focused on helping Georgians in need. We awarded about $1.1 million more from IOLTA revenues than had ever been awarded before since IOLTA was created in 1983."
IOLTA Grants
The primary purpose of the Georgia Bar Foundation is funding civil legal aid to the poor. This year Atlanta Legal Aid and Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP) were provided significantly more support than in recent years. Atlanta Legal Aid received $1.8 million, while GLSP received $4.2 million. This amounted to 76% of all grant dollars awarded at the meeting.
Both Atlanta Legal Aid and GLSP are being led by new executive directors. Rita Sheffey is the new executive director of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS), replacing its legendary previous leader, Steve Gottlieb. Susan Coppedge replaced Rick Rufolo as the new executive director of GLSP. Both leaders were invited to the meeting to introduce themselves to the Georgia Bar Foundation's board of trustees. These two organizations are the only legal aid organizations in Georgia to be funded by the Legal Services Corporation. ALAS serves the metro-Atlanta area while GLSP provides legal assistance in the rest of the state.
The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) has become a major recipient of IOLTA grants over the last few years. Now led by Michael Lucas, who replaced Marty Ellin as executive director, AVLF will be using its $150,000 grant to support the operation of its Safe Families Office where AVLF attorneys, paralegals, social workers, support staff and volunteers respond to more than 3,500 visitors seeking protective orders, family law assistance and holistic support in response to domestic abuse.
The Georgia Appellate Practice and Educational Resource Center, which represents people in post-conviction proceedings who have been sentenced to death, was awarded $140,000. The Resource Center, as it is called, tries to make up for the fact that this vital legal need is typically underfunded. The voices of these people served by the Resource Center often are not heard even though the seriousness of their need is unmatched in Georgia's justice system.
The Middle Georgia Access to Justice Council, headquartered in Macon, received $50,000 to support a family law attorney and a paralegal position...
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