Indiana Legal Services receives $5 million in new operating grants and a $7.5 million Lilly Endowment sustainability grant
PRESS RELEASE
Contact Information:
Indiana Legal Services
Angie Lyon
Phone: (317) 829-3085
Email: angie.lyon@ilsi.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indiana Legal Services receives $5 million in new operating grants
and a $7.5 million Lilly Endowment sustainability grant
In the last four months, Indiana Legal Services (ILS), Indiana’s only statewide nonprofit law firm providing free civil legal assistance to low-income Hoosiers, has received more than $5 million in grants to fund its work and a $7.5 million sustainability grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
“These grants show that many different funders believe in ILS’s mission and want to see our work continue and expand,” said Jon Laramore, ILS executive director. “The special funding we received during COVID allowed us to expand our services, and with that funding no longer available these new grants let us continue our mission.”
The federal Veterans Administration has granted $150,000 to ILS to prevent homelessness among veterans. These funds will support work by ILS’s Military Assistance Project to represent veterans in evictions over the 14 months starting August 1, 2024.
The Indiana Bar Foundation has granted ILS $475,000 in funds from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) for general operating expenses for the year starting July 1, 2024. ILS is eligible for IOLTA for the first time this year because of a change in the court rule governing lawyers’ trust accounts. Also for the year starting July 1, 2024, the Indiana Bar Foundation distributed to ILS $870,968 in state funds through the Civil Legal Aid Fund, which is distributed annually based on a statutory formula.
The Indiana Supreme Court Office of Court Services has provided a $381,000 grant to fund legal representation of individuals in recovery from substance use disorder in the Lafayette and Fort Wayne areas for a 4-year period starting August 1, 2024. The Office of Court Services is an administrative arm of the Indiana Supreme Court. This project will allow ILS staff to connect with recovery programs, including problem-solving courts such as drug courts, that will refer individuals in recovery who encounter civil legal problems that interfere with their recovery. Examples of these problems are eviction, domestic violence, expungement of a criminal conviction, or difficulty obtaining a driver’s license.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute has granted ILS a total of $3,115,774 over two years, starting October 1,2024, to fund services to victims of crime through five ILS projects:
- ILS’s Immigrants’ and Language Rights Project addresses legal needs of immigrant crime victims.
- Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults (LAVA) operates statewide to address physical and financial abuse of elders and adults with disabilities.
- LGBTQ+ Project operates statewide to address the legal needs of crime victims in the LBGTQ+ community including discrimination and consistent identity documents.
- ILS’s Workers Rights and Protection Project (WRAPP) provides legal representation to human trafficking survivors.
- Domestic Violence Victims Advocacy Project expands ILS’s ability to serve the legal needs of survivors of domestic violence using legal and social work staff.
The Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs has made a $45,000 grant to ILS, to address prevention of homelessness among veterans. These funds will be used by ILS’s Military Assistance Project.
The Indianapolis Bar Foundation has granted ILS $35,000 to support work on “tangled title” cases in Central Indiana. These situations arise when the title owner of a family home dies without making provision for ownership of the home upon death. Family members may continue to occupy the home, paying taxes and mortgage, but because there is no living title holder many problems can ensue. This grant will allow ILS to increase its skill level in these cases and mount a public information campaign to educate homeowners about ways to avoid this problem when they die.
National Legal Aid and Defender Association has granted ILS up to $138,000 over three years to represent consumers on issues of telephone privacy and other consumer problems. These funds are part of a cy pres distribution from Krakauer v. Dish Network, LLC, 925 F.3d 643 (4th Cir. 2019).
The Marion County Commission on Children and Youth granted ILS approximately $20,000 to support aspects of our “Lawyer in the School” program, in which an attorney conducts special outreach events in Indianapolis public schools to address the legal needs of low-income families.
As previously announced, ILS received a $7.5 million sustainability grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., in June. This grant is enabling ILS to create a perpetual endowment and fund several projects that will improve ILS operations, IT infrastructure, and fundraising capacity. None of these funds are for operating expenses.
About Indiana Legal Services, Inc:
Indiana Legal Services, Inc. (ILS) is a not-for-profit law firm and the largest provider of free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income people in Indiana. ILS helps clients in all 92 counties who are faced with legal problems that harm their ability to obtain basic needs such as food, shelter, income, medical care, or personal safety. ILS also handles cases in other areas including family law where there is domestic violence, housing, consumer law, access to health care, and access to government benefits. ILS does not handle any criminal matters. Our mission is “to use the law to fight poverty and racism, empower clients, and improve access to justice.” Learn more at www.indianalegalservices.org. For legal help, go to https://www.indianalegalservices.org/applyonline/