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December 2, 2024
The American College of Bankruptcy and the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation is pleased to announce that they have awarded 49 pro bono grants, totaling $599,050 to legal services organizations located in 18 states, plus the District of Columbia. In the interest of attracting the best and the brightest to our field, the Foundation has also invested in programs designed to improve access for students from all walks of life. This year we awarded $56,000 in DEI grants to five organizations to help students attend conferences and obtain work experience through internships throughout the nation, and to help organizations create materials to build cultural competency skills to better serve bankruptcy clients.
"We are thrilled to be able to fund almost $600,000 in pro bono grants and $56,000 in DEI grants, and it is all due to the generosity of our College Fellows and Circuit fundraisers who believe in the work of our Foundation and work diligently to raise the funds to support these programs,” shared Jan Hayden, Chair of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation.
The 2024 pro bono grantees include organizations in large metropolitan areas such as Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, as well as in smaller cities such as Montgomery, Alabama and Burlington, Vermont. The awards include grants to five 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 $5.1 million in grants to these worthy programs. Click here for a list of Pro Bono grants by circuit. Click here for the list of DEI grants by Circuit.
MICHAEL L. COOK EXTRAORDINARY GRANT
The Foundation awarded its Michael L. Cook Extraordinary Grant to the Northern District of Florida Bar Association, Inc., in Tallahassee, Florida. They are establishing a new program to create a virtual pro se clinic in a different geographic area. Because it is following a successful model in operation in other districts in the state, and has bankruptcy bar and bankruptcy court support, and with our grant will have adequate financial support, its success seems assured. This model (in all three districts) may be replicable elsewhere in the country.
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 pro bono grants to the following organizations this year:
Access Justice Brooklyn
Brooklyn, NY
California Western Community Law Project
San Diego, CA
CARE Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
CENTS Program
Seattle, WA
City Bar Justice Center
New York, NY
Community Legal Aid, Inc.
Worcester, MA
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
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 of Central and Southeast Ohio
Columbus, OH
Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Norristown, PA
Legal Aid of Western Missouri
Kansas City, MO
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
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 Corporation of Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Legal Services NYC
New York, NY
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
Flint, MI
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
Miami, FL
Legal Services Vermont
Burlington, VT
Metro Volunteer Lawyers
Denver, CO
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
Parachute Credit Counseling
West Seneca, NY
Pikes Peaks Justice and Pro Bono Center, Inc (The Justice Center)
Colorado Springs, CO
Pro Bono Center of the Allegheny Bar Foundation
Pittsburgh, PA
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
Riverside Legal Aid
Riverside, CA
Shore Legal Access
Easton, MD
South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program
Mobile, AL
South Coastal Counties Volunteer Legal Services
Falls River, MA
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
St. Paul, MN
The Northern District of Florida Bankruptcy Bar Foundation
Tallahassee, FL
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
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