Leadership and Funding for Justice in Florida

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Today in Florida, thousands of low-income individuals and families are trying to deal with difficult legal problems alone. For them, access to justice often is elusive, or worse, unattainable. The problems faced by the poor are very real. Those who FFLA helps include:

Civil legal aid removes barriers to stable and productive lives — and when the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors are improved, all Floridians benefit.

The Florida Bar Board of Governors brought The Florida Bar Foundation into existence in 1956 as a nonprofit corporation chartered to foster law-related public interest programs on behalf of Florida’s legal profession. In 2023, the Foundation changed its name to FFLA. The name describes our primary function – Funding Florida Legal Aid.

FFLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase access to the justice system for people of limited means by funding legal services, developing innovative tools and programs, and support legal aid providers and the courts. Through strategic grantmaking, FFLA funds local and statewide civil legal aid organizations and projects to improve the administration of justice and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the legal aid delivery system. FFLA engages in catalytic philanthropy by investing in training, technology, technical assistance, assessment and capacity-building for legal aid and works to develop and expand innovative pro bono initiatives.

While principal support for FFLA’s charitable activities comes from the Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) Program implemented by the Florida Supreme Court in 1981, FFLA grants also are supported by gifts from Florida attorneys, law firms, corporations, foundations and other individuals.

We offer help, but we also count on yours.

 

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Mission

To increase access to the justice system for people of limited means, FFLA funds legal services, develops innovative tools and programs, and supports legal aid providers and the courts.

FFLA accomplishes its mission through grant programs and initiatives that:

 

Expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters.

Improve the fair and effective administration of justice.

Promote public service among lawyers by making it an integral component of the law school experience.

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Membership and Governance

Membership

Membership is open to all persons interested in supporting the charitable purposes of FFLA. Members are eligible to hold office and serve as directors of FFLA. Participants in Florida’s Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) program, administered by FFLA, automatically are entitled to membership. Membership also is available through annual FFLA dues, including reduced-rate dues for law students, and through our Fellows program.

Governance

FFLA, formerly known as The Florida Bar Foundation, is a not-for-profit Florida corporation established in 1956 by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar to foster law-related public interest programs on behalf of Florida’s legal profession.

FFLA is governed by a 33-member board of directors, which meets quarterly. The board conducts its work through standing and ad hoc committees. The board comprises the officers of FFLA, six directors by designation (two judicial officers appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, the current president of The Florida Bar or his/her/their delegate, current Florida Bar president-elect or his/her/their delegate, and immediate past president of The Florida Bar or his/her/their delegate, and the current president of Florida Legal Services), at least two but not more than four public members and 18 at-large directors. At-large directors serve a maximum of two, three-year terms, with one-third selected by the board of governors of The Florida Bar, one-third by the board of directors of FFLA, and one-third by the Florida Supreme Court. Committees are appointed annually by the board of directors at the request of the president, and include FFLA directors, members of the Bar generally, and the lay public. An executive committee appointed annually by the board meets between meetings of the board.

Bylaws

Articles of Incorporation