Special Grants

LFW’s Special Grants provide targeted funding for strategic responses to critical issues. Recent examples include:

  • Washington Immigrant Relief Fund: In 2020, LFW partnered with immigrant-led community organizations, the Governor’s office, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to administer more than $60 million in economic relief to individuals and families significantly impacted by COVID-19 but ineligible for federal stimulus funds or unemployment benefits because of their immigration status. Learn more.
  • COVID-19 Response Grants: Throughout the pandemic, LFW has worked with the State of Washington’s Office of Civil Legal Aid and King County to provide more than $3 million in emergency funding to civil legal aid programs on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, including grants for unemployment services, eviction defense, domestic violence protection, and legal aid for nonprofits and microenterprises.
  • Cy Pres Awards: LFW occasionally receives undistributed funds from class action lawsuits to award to organizations that specialize in providing civil legal aid to particular communities, such as undocumented people, formerly incarcerated people, and LGBTQ+ people.

Special Grants also support summer internships for law students at the Laurel Rubin Farmworker Justice Project, helping to expand the delivery of civil legal aid to marginalized communities in rural areas, and enhance the advocacy and intake operations of the Northwest Justice Project, Washington’s largest publicly funded legal aid program and centralized point of access for clients seeking free legal help.

In addition, LFW has an annual letter of intent process for One-Year Special Grants to support the wide range of civil justice organizations serving low-income people in Washington.

Grant amount: $25,000 to $100,000 for One-Year Special Grants; other Special Grant opportunities vary.

How to apply: Organizations interested in applying for a One-Year Special Grant can submit a Letter of Intent by August 15. See the recording of the informational webinar at the bottom of the page for more information. 

In 2021, LFW awarded $150,000 in One-Year Special Grants:

Colectiva Legal del Pueblo
Empowering migrant communities through advocacy, trainings, and education, including leadership development and legal defense, by and for undocumented immigrants.

Communities Rise
Fostering movements in communities impacted by systemic oppression through cross-sector collaboration, capacity building, and legal services for nonprofits and microenterprises.

Fair Work Center
Advancing the rights of low-wage, essential, and immigrant workers experiencing workplace abuses and hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lavender Rights Project
Providing pro bono legal services by and for LGBTQ+ people and preparing low-income queer and trans people to establish reliable, community-led systems of peer-to-peer legal advocacy.

Questions or feedback? Contact LFW Grants Coordinator Arielle Handforth by email.