In December 2023, The Florida Bar Foundation changed its name to FFLA. Posts prior to this date contain our former name.

The Florida Bar Foundation has paid off its loan from The Florida Bar 22 months early. The $6 million loan, approved by the Bar’s Board of Governors in 2014, helped the Foundation continue its mission of providing greater access to justice at a time when Foundation reserves had been depleted after years of historically low and stagnant IOTA revenues.

Hala Sandridge

“The Foundation is grateful for the Bar’s commitment to civil legal aid and its trust in the Foundation to be a responsible steward of the loan,” Hala Sandridge, the Foundation’s president, said. “We are delighted to be in a position that allowed us to repay the loan early.“

The terms of the loan required the Foundation to use two million dollars of the loan to fund the startup of the Florida Justice Technology Center and other technology projects, resulting in the development of several statewide websites and technology products such as FloridaNameChange.org, Turning18.org, FloridaLawHelp.org, and FLARE (Florida Legal Assistance at Reduced Expenses).  The other four million dollars were used to support existing grant programs. With the final payment of all principal and interest due on the loan, the Foundation effectively reduced its multi-year obligations/total assets ratio from 12.8% to 2%.