What we do fund:

• Grants are made in the general areas of social & environmental justice, human and civil rights and poverty. We are particularly interested in receiving applications addressing systemic deprivations of constitutional or statutory rights in the following areas:
  • Post 9/11 cases involving denial of rights under the guise of "Homeland Security."
  • Criminal Justice and Immigration
  • Education Access and Equity
• Grants are made to private attorneys, small legal firms or nonprofit legal entities that do not have sufficient access to funding sources.
• Grants are awarded to cases that could not be effectively prosecuted, and/or in which financial hardship would occur to the applicant, if supplementary funding were not available.
• Grants are awarded to cover reasonable costs and out-of-pocket expenses (including non-recoverable costs), such as: deposition expenses, expert fees, investigation expenses and the like.
• Grantees are expected to explore alternative or supplementary sources of funds, including cost sharing with co-counsel. When a grantee is working with a substantial private law firm, grants may be made on a matching basis (i.e. the firm will be expected to match the grant in providing costs or other litigation expenses.)
• Grant applicants must be qualified to litigate the matter, and be committed to the successful completion of the case. The Impact Fund may condition a grant upon retention of appropriate co-counsel, or other steps that will ensure vigorous and effective litigation.
• If a recovery of costs or fees is made, the grantee is required to reimburse The Impact Fund at the completion of the case, along with interest. In the event of a partial recovery of cost or fees, The Impact Fund has the discretion to waive interest and/or portion of the reimbursement.
  
  

What we do NOT fund:

• Grants for general program costs, overhead or attorney fees.
• In rare cases, grants may cover necessary staffing costs (including, as appropriate, stipend to cover attorney and paralegal salaries) that are directly attributable to the case. In these instances, the grant applicant must show that without such coverage, the case could not be brought.
• International claims, unless they involve United States government or corporate conduct.

Grant Eligibility
All grant applicants must be either private attorneys or firms, duly licensed to practice in the appropriate jurisdiction, or non-profit entities that act as plaintiff or retain counsel in litigation.

Supplemental Grants
Supplemental grants are considered only if there has been a significant change of circumstance from the initial grant, such as unanticipated expenses or issues.

Grant Notification
Upon review of the Grant Proposal, The Impact Fund will notify each applicant of the grant outcome within one week following our quarterly scheduled Board meetings. All applicants will be notified via mail.

If your grant request has been approved, The Impact Fund will mail you three documents:

Please complete all forms and return them to us by mail. We will issue the grant check after receipt of these materials.

Grantee Requirements:

Status Reports
Status Reports are required annually by all grantees, until the grant is closed. Upon closure of the Grant, a Final Report will be due.

All Status/Final Reports should include the following information: (Please limit the Report to two pages, maximum)

• Case name, docket # and court or agency
• Citation of any published decision on the case
• Name of Firm/Organization
• Date grant was issued
• Current Status Number
• Breakdown of expenditures made from grant funds
• If the case was concluded, include:
  • Date and type of results achieved
  • Breakdown of recovery of fees and/or costs
  • Settlement documents (if applicable).
• Any current press releases on the case. Originals or Xerox-quality reproductions are appreciated. Please do NOT send poor quality or faxed reproductions.

  All Status Reports should be sent to:
  Brad Seligman
  Executive Director
  The Impact Fund
  125 University Avenue, Suite 102
  Berkeley, CA 94710
  Email: bseligman@impactfund.org
  Fax: (510) 845-3654

Closing a Grant
Upon closure of a case, Final Reports (see Status Reports above) will be required from all firms/organizations.

• If the case is successful and costs are recovered, the principal award amount plus interest (7%) must be returned to The Impact Fund, to be used to support new cases. The Executive Director has the discretion to waive grant payments and interest.
• A copy of the settlement agreement, decree or judgment, and any press on the case should be submitted with the final status report in a timely fashion.
• The Impact Fund will calculate the interest due on the grant. Please contact the Associate Director for any questions in regards to this.
• Final Status Reports are mandatory, regardless of the outcome of the case.