December 20, 2023 - Stanardsville, VA
The American College of Bankruptcy and the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation are celebrating 20 Years of Impactful giving by announcing that they have awarded 44 pro bono grants, totaling $518,024, to legal services organizations located in 25 states, plus the District of Columbia. As part of their missions, the College and the Foundation, through the Foundation's Pro Bono Committee, award grants to organizations providing assistance to individuals and groups in need of bankruptcy-related legal representation, training and/or education.
The 2023 grantees include organizations in large metropolitan areas such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Diego, as well as in smaller cities such as Greenville, South Carolina and West Seneca, New York. The awards include grants to six new grantees that have not previously received a grant from the Foundation. The grantees will use the funds to assist with volunteer trainings, pro se clinics, self-help desks, and technology or equipment, often to assist in remote and in-person communications with clients and volunteers. Many of the grantees have partnered with local bar associations or volunteer bankruptcy professionals to leverage their resources and maximize their reach. Since 2003, the College and Foundation have awarded over $5 million in grants to these worthy programs.
MICHAEL L. COOK EXTRAORDINARY GRANT
The Foundation awarded its Michael L. Cook Extraordinary Grant to Community Legal Access in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Founded in 2019 by dedicated individuals, Community Legal Access was created to bring the “Modest Means Attorney Panel” to Arkansas. This approach is designed to allow each client to gain access to the justice system which they might not be able to do otherwise. CLA was formed to serve individuals that are unable to get free legal services through programs that have income restrictions imposed by the Legal Services Corporation or because of conflicts or because those programs have practice area limitations
The Michael L. Cook Extraordinary Grant was created in Mr. Cook's honor in 2016. It is awarded to a legal services organization that offers an innovative and exemplary approach to a previously under-served area of need. A Fellow since 1997, Michael Cook served as Chair and President of the College and Chair of its Board of Regents from 2010-2016, and as Chair of the Pro Bono Committee from 2008-2010.
The College and the Foundation awarded grants to the following organizations this year:
Access Justice Brooklyn
Brooklyn, NY
American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education
Chicago, IL
California Western Community Law Project
San Diego, CA
Center for Arkansas Legal Services
Little Rock, AR
City Bar Justice Center
New York, NY
Community Legal Access
Little Rock, AR
Conejo Free Clinic
Thousand Oaks, CA
Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project
Philadelphia, PA
Dade Legal Aid Put Something Back
Miami, FL
DC Bar Pro Bono Center
Washington, DC
East River Legal Services
Sioux Falls, SD
Emergency Legal Responders
New Orleans, LA
Financial Protection Law Center
Wilmington, NC
Legal Access Alameda
San Francisco, CA
Legal Aid Association of California
Oakland, CA
Legal Aid Chicago
Chicago, IL
Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
Legal Aid Society of San Diego
San Diego, CA
Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Louisville, KY
Legal Services NYC
New York, NY
Legal Services Vermont
Burlington, VT
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service
Baltimore, MD
Shore Legal Access
Easton, MD
Montana Legal Services
Helena, MT
Nashville Conflict Resolution Center
Nashville, TN
National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center
San Jose, CA
Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County
Los Angeles, CA
Neighborhood Legal Services Program of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Nevada Legal Services
Las Vegas, NV
Parachute Credit Counseling
West Seneca, NY
Pikes Peaks Justice and Pro Bono Center, Inc (The Justice Center)
Colorado Springs, CO
Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland
Baltimore, MD
Pro Se Bankruptcy Assistance Project DBA Access to Bankruptcy Court
Southfield, MI
Public Counsel
Los Angeles, CA
Public Law Center
Santa Ana, CA
Public Service Law Corp DBA Riverside Legal Aid
Riverside, CA
South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program
Mobile, AL
South Carolina Legal Services
Greenville, SC
Statewide Legal Services
Wethersfield, CT
The Pro Bono Project
New Orleans, LA
Veterans Legal Services
Boston, MA
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
Newark, NJ
?Volunteer Lawyers Network
Minneapolis, MN
Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association
Boston, MA