Published on May 31, 2024

FurtherJustice Awards $400,000+ to 2024 Legal Ecosystem Grantees

FurtherJustice is thrilled to announce that it has awarded a total of $400,000+ in general operating grants to 24 exceptional organizations through its Legal Ecosystem Grant Program. Each grantee works to make it easier for low-income and underserved communities across New York State to get the best possible legal information, representation and/or empowerment in civil law matters. They accomplish that goal by using a myriad of tools and multi-disciplinary approaches that deepen the impact of their local legal ecosystems.

Among the 2024 Legal Ecosystem Grantees are organizations that:

• facilitate crucial Know Your Rights workshops;
• provide deep technical assistance, mentorship and incubation for legal providers and justice workers;
• develop accessible legal empowerment materials and legal technology for self-represented individuals and community advocates;
• build coalitions and campaigns calling for equitable access to legal representation and justice; and
• holistically represent communities in ways that provide comprehensive care and multi-faceted support.

These organizations work with a range of underrepresented communities, including the families of those incarcerated, youth, domestic violence survivors, and those facing serious illness. They offer a variety of civil legal services, including immigration, housing, family law, economic justice, and re-entry. Together, these organizations are working alongside and outside of traditional service models to dismantle barriers to legal empowerment within New York’s civil justice system.

FurtherJustice 2024 Legal Ecosystem Grantees:

• Advocacy Institute
  legislative and advocacy support to social justice organizations
  

• Alliance of Families for Justice
  human rights support and empowerment for incarcerated individuals and their families
  

• ASISTA Immigration Assistance
  immigration training and technical support for legal providers and advocates
  

• Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project
  legal empowerment and member-led advocacy for asylum seekers

• Co-Counsel NYC
  immigration training, co-counseling and technical support for legal providers and advocates

• Communities Resist
  collective tenant representation and mobilization in housing cases

• Equal Justice Works
  recruits, cultivates and mobilizes public interest lawyers

• Family Justice Law Center
  strategic impact litigation for families mistreated by the child welfare system

• Family Legal Care
  legal guidance and technology for unrepresented individuals in Family Court

• Immigrant ARC
  immigration law training and policy institute for immigration legal providers

• Immigrant Defense Project
  technical support and impact litigation focused on criminal/immigration intersections

• Immigrant Justice Corps
  recruits, cultivates and mobilizes immigration lawyers

• Justicia Lab
  digital technology for immigrant justice and workers’ rights

• LatinoJustice PRLDEF
  civil rights support and empowerment for Latinxs

• Legal Action Center
  civil rights and re-entry support, advocacy and mobilization

• Make the Road New York
  legal representation, empowerment and member-led advocacy for immigrants and workers

• New Economy Project
  advocacy, coalition-building and legal support rooted in economic and housing justice

• New York Immigration Coalition
  advocacy and coalition-building for immigrant and refugee rights groups

• The Door
  wrap-around support and empowerment for youth

• The Family Center
  wrap-around services for individuals impacted by serious illnesses or disability

• Right to Counsel NYC Coalition
  tenant-led coalition to expand and defend access to representation in housing cases

• Rural Law Center of New York
  legal representation and accessible guidance for rural NY residents

• Sanctuary for Families
  wrap-around support and empowerment for survivors of abuse

• Urban Justice Center
  incubator of civil legal service and social justice programs

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In addition to its Legal Ecosystem Grant Program, through its multi-year Legal Accelerator Grant Program, FurtherJustice supports the launch of client-centered civil legal services programs within community-based organizations.