CBF Grants Overview
What Types of Grants Does the CBF Award?
What Kind of Organizations and Initiatives Does the CBF Fund?
How Does My Organization Apply for a CBF Grant?
How Does the CBF’s Grantmaking Process Work? How Does the CBF's Process Maximize Impact?
Aside from Funds, What Other Resources Does the CBF Extend to Grantees?
How Does the CBF Leverage Its Grants?
Who is the CBF Contact for Questions about the CBF's Grants?
CBF Grants Overview
Grants are a fundamental part of the CBF’s comprehensive access to justice program. The CBF now awards over $4 million in grants each year to more than 40 pro bono and legal aid organizations and related initiatives. These grants are a fundamental part of the CBF’s efforts to ensure that all Chicagoans have access to justice. Like the rest of what the CBF does, they are made possible by the generous support of thousands of lawyers and other legal professionals, more than 200 law firms and corporations, and many other dedicated partners from throughout the Chicago area. A significant portion of the CBF’s grants are made possible by the annual CBF Investing in Justice Campaign.
The CBF’s grants are designed to make our pro bono and legal aid system stronger and to fund an extensive range of organizations that provide a continuum of legal services to people in need. The legal needs of low-income people run the gamut, from very simple questions that can be answered online or by court help desks, to complex problems that require hours of individual, and often specialized, counseling and representation. This necessitates an integrated system providing a range of information and services. This system requires strong pro bono and legal aid organizations, dedicated pro bono and legal aid attorneys with resources to do their work effectively and efficiently, and a user-friendly and accessible legal system. Without a well-supported system, thousands of low-income individuals would be left to solve complex legal problems on their own, which may result in loss of their home, personal safety or economic stability.
What Types of Grants Does the CBF Award?
The CBF has four (4) main types of grants:
1) Organizational Support (general operating support by application)
2) Special Projects (project-based support by application)
3) Fellowships and Scholarships (by application)
4) Other Grants (initiated by the CBF).
Through general operating grants and investments in innovative projects and initiatives, the CBF’s grants help to meet immediate legal needs in our community and also strengthen our community’s pro bono and legal aid system for the longer term.
What Kind of Organizations and Initiatives Does the CBF Fund?
The CBF funds 501(c)(3) pro bono and legal aid organizations in Cook County (as well as fellowships and scholarships that are subject to separate guidelines) that work to improve access to justice for significant numbers of people in the Chicago metropolitan area, particularly the low-income and disadvantaged people who are in the most critical need of the protections of our civil legal system.
The CBF funds a continuum of legal services to help people in need, ranging from web-based information and resources to legal aid hotlines, advice desks and clinics, to extended legal representation and larger impact litigation and advocacy. The CBF also supports organizations that provide free mediation services and organizations that engage the bar and broader legal community in improving access to justice through pro bono and other efforts.
Examples of the type of work funded by the CBF include:
• Providing legal services, including advice, brief service or extended legal representation
• Educating the public about their legal rights and responsibilities, including pro se guidance or assistance
• Supporting mediation efforts
• Engaging in efforts to promote and increase the involvement of the bar and legal community in access to justice
• Working to improve the overall system of justice or the overall legal aid delivery structure
View a list of the CBF’s current grantees.
For more information, contact Ryanne Easley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 312/554-1247.
How Does My Organization Apply for a CBF Grant?
Organizations can apply for CBF Organizational Support Grants, which the CBF awards annually. The application deadline each year is January 15.
The CBF also awards Special Project Grants at the discretion of the CBF Board.
How Does the CBF’s Grantmaking Process Work? How Does the CBF's Process Maximize Impact?
The CBF has a long history of working with and funding legal aid and pro bono organizations in Chicago and has extensive knowledge of the pro bono and legal aid delivery system. As a result, the CBF has developed a comprehensive screening and evaluation process that carefully vets organizations and projects before they receive funding. The CBF’s grants process is overseen by a highly regarded board of lawyers and judges who are broadly representative of Chicago’s legal community, with the assistance of experienced CBF staff. CBF Board members, along with members of the CBF Young Professionals Board, join staff in making visits to the organizations applying for funding to better inform the Board in making grant decisions.
As is the case with most foundations, the CBF always receives requests exceeding the amount we have available to award. Therefore, the CBF has designed a rigorous process that: ensures accountability and strategically allocates funds to maximize impact; leverages additional support from government and other sources; and promotes best practices on common issues and collective challenges facing pro bono and legal aid organizations. When making grant decisions, the CBF takes into account the impact an organization has, including the number of people served by the organization and the area of law or community they are serving. Other important factors considered include whether the organization has a sound vision for what it is trying to accomplish and a solid sense of where the organization is headed; whether it has strong and responsive staff and board leadership; whether the organization effectively coordinates and collaborates with other relevant organizations; and whether it has sound financial management.
As part of the CBF’s comprehensive due diligence process, the CBF assesses the progress of each grant awarded and compliance with grant requirements. This helps the CBF staff ensure that the organizations receiving funds are continuing to make a strong impact in our community.
The CBF is committed to striving for excellence and transparency in all of our work, managing our resources effectively, and adhering to the highest ethical standards in our governance and management. We expect the same of the organizations that we fund and hold ourselves to the same standards as the organizations that we support.
Aside from Funds, What Other Resources Does the CBF Extend to its Grantees?
While consistent financial support is critical to ensuring that the CBF’s grantees are able to continue to do the important work they do, the CBF also recognizes that there are many other resources that we can provide to these organizations and their staff. These include:
1) Technical assistance and training on best practices on common issues and collective challenges facing legal aid organizations such as governance, management and program evaluation
2) Enhanced training opportunities
• Staff at CBF grantee organizations can participate in free training programs offered through the CBF’s Legal Aid Academy, an innovative pro bono program to improve training and professional development opportunities for legal aid attorneys and staff. The Academy provides legal aid attorneys with improved opportunities for needed training and professional development so that low-income individuals in the Chicago area will continue to be represented by high-quality and experienced legal aid attorneys.
• The CBF pays for the CBA membership and CLE Advantage for each staff attorney working at one of our grantee organizations. These memberships, which the CBA offers at a reduced rate, are offered in partnership with the CBA.
3) Assistance in engaging members of the private bar in pro bono efforts, including training on best practices, support and technical assistance
4) Advocacy support at the federal, state and local levels, which is focused on securing additional funding for legal aid, loan repayment assistance for lawyers who want to make legal aid a lifelong career, and making the courts more user-friendly for individuals without lawyers.
How Does the CBF Leverage Its Grants?
The CBF directly leverages our grants by partnering with other funders on special initiatives or projects. For example, the CBF has a partnership with The Chicago Community Trust through which the Trust awards an annual grant to the CBF for grantmaking to pro bono and legal aid organizations in our community. As a member of the greater philanthropic community, the CBF is in a position to educate a broad group of funders about the importance of legal aid as part of our community’s overall safety net. As a result, a growing number of local foundations are making grants to legal aid organizations to help them increase their capacity to address the legal needs of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Who is the CBF Contact for Questions about the CBF’s Grants?
If you have questions, please contact Ryanne Easley, the CBF’s Director of Grants, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or 312/554-1247.
