Grant Application Process | Legal Services
Grant Guidelines
Grantee Eligibility:
All potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a public entity.
What We Don't Fund:
BFF does not fund individuals, direct scholarships or capital campaigns.
Geographical Limitations:
We primarily fund in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Fellows programs, -
programs to support increased Access to Justice funding -
leadership development programs.
Grant Amounts:
Most of our legal services grants are in the $10,000-30,000 range. A small number of grants exceed this amount.
Deadlines:
Decision notification: November 2020
Grant Eligibilty By Budget Size:
Organizations with Operating Budget Under $1M:
Organizations with operating budgets less than $1M are welcome to request general operating support and are not eligible to receive program/project support.
Organizations with Operating Budgets Over $5M:
Organizations with operating budgets over $5M are welcome to request support for new/pilot programs or projects. These organizations are not eligible to receive funding for existing programs/projects or general operating support.
Legal Service Programs Within Organizations 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.
Organizations with Operating Budgets Between $1M-$5M:
Organizations with operating budgets over $1M or less than $5M are welcome to request programmatic or general operating support. There are no eligibilty restriction, based on budget size, for these organizations.
Grant Types: Legal Services
Letter of Inquiry for Legal Services
Once you've reviewed the type of grants we provide and their guidelines, we invite you to submit a Letter of Inquiry. We accept LOI's for our legal services grants on the following schedule:
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January 2, 2021 - February 8, 2021 for consideration in the foundation's 2021 Spring Grant Cycle
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June 1, 2021 - July 15, 2021 for consideration in the foundation's 2021 Fall Grant Cycle
LOIs will be reviewed at the conclusion of each open submission period. Once reviewed, feedback will be provided and invitations to submit complete grant applications will be sent, if applicable.
Grant Application for Legal Services
An invitation is required to submit a grant application. If you are not a current BFF grantee, we require you submit a LOI during timeframes detailed above. We accept grant applications (from invited organizations) for legal services grants on the following schedule:
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February 15, 2021 - March 22, 2021 for consideration in the foundation's 2021 Spring Grant Cycle
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July 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021 for consideration in the foundation's 2021 Fall Grant Cycle
Grant applications will be reviewed at the conclusion of each open submission period. Once reviewed, we will email the contact person identified in the application regarding next steps. Grant applications will be submitted through our online grantee portal.
Reporting on Your Grant
If approved for funding, within 6-8 months of the grant's distribution, you will be required to submit a report on the status of the funded project or the impact general operating support has had on your organization's work.