Grant
Guidelines
Guidelines for All Grants
We primarily fund in the San Francisco Bay Area. National and California Statewide organizations may apply for grants for the following types of programs: Fellows programs, programs to support increased Access to Justice funding and leadership development programs.
Sector Supporting Grants:
Recruitment and Retention Grants: In an effort to support the legal services sector and ensure a strong and consistent pipeline of new legal services staff, we support grants that focus on recruitment and retention of legal services attorneys. Examples of such grants include:
Public Services Loan Forgiveness Programs
Loan Assistance Repayment Programs
Fellowships
Staff Well-Being
Advocacy Grants: In an effort to help improve Access to Justice, we fund efforts to support to the legal service sector. However, do not fund lobbying efforts on new laws, legislation or for candidates.
I & R Grants: Our “I&R” Grants target projects and programs that are both innovative and replicable. We support these grants to allow legal services leaders to test new models that have the potential to help their individual organizations and when replicated, to help their peer organizations.
Organizational Development Grants: We support project and programs that seek to improve the delivery of services to clients, organizational effectiveness and the leadership development.
Rapid Organizational Development Grants: Organizational Development Grants for amounts under $5,000. Unlike the larger OD grants which a reviewd twice a year, these rapid response grants are reviewed within 30 days of submission.
General Operating Support Grants:
General Operating Support Grants are made only to organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants for general operations are generally made to organizations who provide unique services within their communities. This includes funding to legal service providers who are based in “legal deserts”.
All potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a public entity.
BFF will not support organizations that discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
Type of Organization:
Legal Services Organizations with Operating Budget Under $1M: LSOs with operating budgets less than $1M are welcome to request general operating support. In most cases they are not eligible to receive program/project support.
Legal Services Organizations with Operating Budgets Between $1M-$5M: LSOs with operating budgets between $1M and $5M are encouraged to request general operating support. They may request programmatic support, provided they explain the rationale for doing so. For example, an organization may opt to request a program/project grant for initiatives they wish to pilot, for capital projects or as part of a funding initiative.
Legal Services Organizations with Operating Budgets Over $5M: LSOs with operating budgets over $5M are welcome to request support for new/pilot programs or for existing programs with limited funding opportunities (e.g.: inter-sectional work, impact litigation, research). These organizations are not eligible to receive funding for general operating support.
Legal Service Programs Within Social Service Organizations or Law Schools With $5M+ Operating Budgets: As an exception to the above, legal service programs embedded within organizations with $5M+ budgets, are eligible to request general operating support for the legal services program. Note, we do not fund CBOs that do not have a legal department and/or attorneys on staff.
The inclusion of an organization's current financial documents (990, audited financials, etc) is a required component of our grant application. In an effort to ensure organizations are able to meet this requirement, we've constructed the following guidelines:
Legal Services Organizations with January-December Fiscal Year: LSOs operating under a Jan-Dec fiscal year are encouraged to request support in our Fall grant cycle.
Legal Services Organizations with July-June Fiscal Year: LSOs operating under a July-June fiscal year are encourage to request support in our Spring grant cycle.
If you operate under an alternate fiscal year, are requesting support for a program where the above guidelines directly conflict with the funding needs of the program (e.g. need to secure funds in spring to launch summer program), or have questions regarding this requirement, please contact us.
BFF does not fund individuals, direct scholarships or capital campaigns.
Indirect Costs for Program Grants: It is the policy of the Foundation to provide a maximum indirect cost recovery of 25 percent of project costs on all project grants. This indirect cost policy applies only to project grants to nonprofit organizations with organizational budgets in excess of $5M. Organizations with budgets less than $5M will be handeled on a case-by-case basis.
We primarily fund in California. National organizations may apply for grants for the following types of programs:
Programs that support increased Access to Justice
Leadership development programs
Hubs and “think tank” programs for civil legal aid
Most of our legal services grants are in the $10,000-30,000 range. A small number of grants exceed this amount.
BFF has two grant cycles per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Important deadlines are as follows:
Spring 2025:
LOI submission window: November 1, 2024 - December 2, 2024
Application window opens: December 12, 2024
All materials must be received by January 23, 2025
Decision notification: March 2025
Fall 2025:
LOI submission window: April 7, 2025 - May 5, 2025
Application window opens: May 19, 2025
All materials must be received by June 26, 2025
Decision notification: October 2025
Spring 2026:
LOI submission window: October 27, 2025 - November 24, 2025
Application window opens: December 8, 2025
All materials must be received by January 26, 2026
Decision notification: March 2026
Self-report Deadlines:
Self-reports for grants awarded in Fall 2024 are due April 21, 2025
Self-reports for grants awarded in Spring 2025 are due November 10, 2025
Self-reports for grants awarded in Fall 2025 are due April 20, 2026
All potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a public entity. BFF will not support organizations that discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
BFF does not fund individuals, direct scholarships or capital campaigns.
BFF provides funding for both General Operating Support and for Project/Program Support. For additional information about types of support, please click on the specific funding interest area guidelines.
Most of our grants are in the $10,000-30,000 range. A small number of grants exceed this amount.
BFF has two grant cycles per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Important deadlines are as follows:
Fall 2019:
LOI submission window: April 1, 2019 - July 14, 2019
Application window opens: July 15, 2019
All materials must be received by September 15, 2019
Decision notification: November 2019
Spring 2020:
LOI submission window: November 15, 2019 - February 14, 2020
Application window opens: February 15, 2020
All materials must be received by April 1, 2020
Decision Notification: June 2020
LOIs are welcome throughout various times a year, however grant applications are by invitation only. Please reference the LOI timeline provided below. Unsolicited requests will not be considered.
CYSTEM grant applications will be considered from organizations based anyhwere in the United States.
Access grants are limited to organizations whose work closely aligns our primary funding area, Legal Services. Applications from organizations that fall outside this focus area will not be considered.
Furthermore, all potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. BFF will not support organizations that discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
Broadly, BFF does not fund individuals, direct scholarships or capital campaigns.
Specifically for Access grants, BFF will not accept applications from organzations whose work does not fall into our primary funding area, legal services.
Access grant applications will be considered from organizations based anywhere in the United States.
Access grants range between $1,000-$3,500. Organizations may receive a maximum of two Access grants, totaling no more than $5,000, in a calendar year. Organizations may submit up to two access grant per calendar year.
Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The foundation will make all efforts to finalize funding decisions within 30 days of the application’s submission.
All potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a public entity. BFF will not support organizations that discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
BFF does not fund individuals, direct scholarships or capital campaigns.
BFF provides funding for both General Operating Support and for Project/Program Support. For additional information about types of support, please click on the specific funding interest area guidelines.
Most of our grants are in the $10,000-30,000 range. A small number of grants exceed this amount.
BFF has two grant cycles per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Applications deadlines are as follows:
Fall 2017:
Application window opens July 28
All materials must be received by September 20
Decision Notification: Mid-November
Spring 2018:
Application window opens: TBD
All materials must be received by TBD
Decision notification: Mid-June
LOIs are welcome throughout the year, however applications are by invitation only. Unsolicited requests will not be considered.
Additional Guidelines for Legal Services Grants
We primarily fund in the San Francisco Bay Area. National and California Statewide organizations may apply for grants for the following types of programs: Fellows programs, programs to support increased Access to Justice funding and leadership development programs.
Sector Supporting Grants:
Recruitment and Retention Grants: In an effort to support the legal services sector and ensure a strong and consistent pipeline of new legal services staff, we support grants that focus on recruitment and retention of legal services attorneys. Examples of such grants include:
Public Services Loan Forgiveness Programs
Loan Assistance Repayment Programs
Fellowships
Staff Well-Being
Advocacy Grants: In an effort to help improve Access to Justice, we fund efforts to support to the legal service sector. However, do not fund lobbying efforts on new laws, legislation or for candidates.
I & R Grants: Our “I&R” Grants target projects and programs that are both innovative and replicable. We support these grants to allow legal services leaders to test new models that have the potential to help their individual organizations and when replicated, to help their peer organizations.
Organizational Development Grants: We support project and programs that seek to improve the delivery of services to clients, organizational effectiveness and the leadership development.
Rapid Organizational Development Grants: Organizational Development Grants for amounts under $5,000. Unlike the larger OD grants which a reviewd twice a year, these rapid response grants are reviewed within 30 days of submission.
General Operating Support Grants:
General Operating Support Grants are made only to organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants for general operations are generally made to organizations who provide unique services within their communities. This includes funding to legal service providers who are based in “legal deserts”.
We primarily fund in the San Francisco Bay Area. National and California Statewide organizations may apply for grants for the following types of programs: Fellows programs, programs to support increased Access to Justice funding and leadership development programs.
Sector Supporting Grants:
Recruitment and Retention Grants: In an effort to support the legal services sector and ensure a strong and consistent pipeline of new legal services staff, we support grants that focus on recruitment and retention of legal services attorneys. Examples of such grants include:
Public Services Loan Forgiveness Programs
Loan Assistance Repayment Programs
Fellowships
Staff Well-Being
Advocacy Grants: In an effort to help improve Access to Justice, we fund efforts to support to the legal service sector. However, do not fund lobbying efforts on new laws, legislation or for candidates.
I & R Grants: Our “I&R” Grants target projects and programs that are both innovative and replicable. We support these grants to allow legal services leaders to test new models that have the potential to help their individual organizations and when replicated, to help their peer organizations.
Organizational Development Grants: We support project and programs that seek to improve the delivery of services to clients, organizational effectiveness and the leadership development.
Rapid Organizational Development Grants: Organizational Development Grants for amounts under $5,000. Unlike the larger OD grants which a reviewd twice a year, these rapid response grants are reviewed within 30 days of submission.
General Operating Support Grants:
General Operating Support Grants are made only to organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants for general operations are generally made to organizations who provide unique services within their communities. This includes funding to legal service providers who are based in “legal deserts”.
Additional Guidelines for CYSTEM Grants
Additional Guidelines for Perspector Grants
We primarily fund in the San Francisco Bay Area. National and California Statewide organizations may apply for grants for the following types of programs: Fellows programs, programs to support increased Access to Justice funding and leadership development programs.
Sector Supporting Grants:
Recruitment and Retention Grants: In an effort to support the legal services sector and ensure a strong and consistent pipeline of new legal services staff, we support grants that focus on recruitment and retention of legal services attorneys. Examples of such grants include:
Public Services Loan Forgiveness Programs
Loan Assistance Repayment Programs
Fellowships
Staff Well-Being
Advocacy Grants: In an effort to help improve Access to Justice, we fund efforts to support to the legal service sector. However, do not fund lobbying efforts on new laws, legislation or for candidates.
I & R Grants: Our “I&R” Grants target projects and programs that are both innovative and replicable. We support these grants to allow legal services leaders to test new models that have the potential to help their individual organizations and when replicated, to help their peer organizations.
Organizational Development Grants: We support project and programs that seek to improve the delivery of services to clients, organizational effectiveness and the leadership development.
Rapid Organizational Development Grants: Organizational Development Grants for amounts under $5,000. Unlike the larger OD grants which a reviewd twice a year, these rapid response grants are reviewed within 30 days of submission.
General Operating Support Grants:
General Operating Support Grants are made only to organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grants for general operations are generally made to organizations who provide unique services within their communities. This includes funding to legal service providers who are based in “legal deserts”.