New Leaf Illinois Network Grant Program

The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation is accepting applications for its New Leaf Illinois Network Grant Program to support initiatives to increase Illinois residents’ access to the legal system. Illinois Equal Justice Foundation provides grants to nonprofit legal aid providers through three distinct state appropriations housed in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Donor Name: Illinois Equal Justice Foundation

State: Illinois

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/08/2022

Details:

Purposes

The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation will make grants in four categories:

Telephone Advice & Referral Services
Legal Services
Community Outreach
Technical Assistance

An organization may apply for funds in more than one category. Organizations seeking support for more than one of the four purposes must submit a separate application for each category.

Limitations

Funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly, including funds distributed by the IEJF, may not be spent on a sectarian purpose.
Said funds may not be used for the purpose of lobbying; encouraging political activities, labor or anti-labor activities, boycotts, picketing, strikes or demonstrations; or investigative or legal compliance activities related to a pending dispute.
A recipient may not use funds received under the Illinois Equal Justice Act to file an individual action or class action under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act or other labor laws.
Organizations may not deny services on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, heritage, race, religion, or citizenship.
No more than 10% of grants awarded by the IEJF can be used for overhead costs. Failure to abide by this may jeopardize future funding from the IEJF.

Eligibility Criteria

Organizations are eligible to apply for a grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation if they:

Are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
Provide services to Illinois residents in one or more of the four areas set forth in the “Purposes” section.
Provide free legal representation or advice to low-income clients seeking expungement of cannabis convictions under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
Adhere to income guidelines that includes people whose households have an income of up to 80% of the current Chicago Area Median Income (AMI). The City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development update AMI calculations annually.
Engage in a network model for service delivery. This requires organizations to take and make referrals from other organizations via secure electronic portal, share data, collaborate, and report on activities using standardized methods.
Demonstrate expertise in providing services to individuals with arrest or conviction records through criminal records legal relief or legal education efforts.

General Evaluation Criteria

Applicant’s experience in providing said service, as indicated by the experience levels and qualifications of key staff and the numbers of persons served through criminal records relief in prior years.
Understanding of disproportionate racial and economic impacts of the criminal system, and responses to barriers in reaching most-impacted populations through collaboration or targeted outreach.
Location of applicant’s service-delivery and alignment with disproportionately-impacted areas designated by the Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3) Board by data provided through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA).
Performance under previous Illinois Equal Justice Foundation grants. For organizations that received grants in previous fiscal years, information on how the grant is being used, what services are being provided and if/how the funds increased the capacity of the organization.
Efficient service delivery, which takes into consideration factors such as the relative costs of the applicant’s services; cooperation and coordination with other entities to avoid duplication of effort; the use of volunteers; and the use of technology to increase access to services and to maximize productivity.
Sound organizational management, including indices such as the fiscal health of the sponsoring organization; realistic income and expense budgets for the project; evidence of active involvement and oversight by a qualified advisory board and/or board of directors; and demonstrated technical efficiencies and protection of client data.
Use of evaluative and measurement techniques that measure success, effectiveness and efficiency as it relates to organizational mission and that are used for learning and improvement.

Some non-exhaustive examples

Goal: Increase access to justice for individuals seeking cannabis expungement.
- Objective: During the grant period, file 100 Motions to Vacate and Expunge eligible cannabis convictions on behalf of individuals in our service area.
- Objective: During the first six months of the grant period, secure cannabis expungement relief for 50 individuals.
- Outcome measurements: Number of convictions vacated and expunged, client satisfaction and quality of life improvements.
Goal: Increase the knowledge and understanding of individuals about their rights and eligibility under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
- Objective: Mobilize volunteer attorneys to create know-your-rights materials on relief for cannabis conviction expungement, producing comprehensive and accessible materials for the public within two months.
- Objective: Host six know-your-rights forums and distribute 500 copies of the know-your-rights materials to individuals in the service area from July to September.
- Outcome measurements: Increase in knowledge/understanding/confidence in eligibility for expungement relief, increased use of network model by recipients to request assistance from individuals that now understand their rights regarding cannabis expungement.