IICJ Legal Services Grants, CBF's primary grant program, combines Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts/Interest on Trust Accounts (IOLTA/IOTA); Court Fee Grants-in-Aid (CFGIA); and Judicial Branch Grants-in-Aid (JBGIA). This funding supports programs that help people access basic needs, support those struggling with housing, protect victims of domestic violence, help families struggling with crises, and more.

A portion of IOLTA/IOTA funds are used for financial-need based law school scholarships and are distributed to the three law schools in Connecticut: Quinnipiac University School of Law, UConn School of Law, and Yale Law School.

CBF is committed to ensuring the continued success and sustainability of the system of civil legal services for Connecticut’s most vulnerable populations. To support emerging funding challenges, it has authorized funds that current grantees can request for additional funding in 2025-2027.

In January 2022, Connecticut became the second state in the country to launch a statewide Right to Counsel (RTC) program to make attorneys available to eligible tenants at risk of eviction. CBF administers the program and works with the state’s legal service providers across eight municipalities. Attorneys at Connecticut Legal Services, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, and New Haven Legal Assistance Association represent tenants while Statewide Legal Services staffs a hotline to screen for eligibility and provide referrals.

Connecticut Bar Foundation is proud to administer the RTC-Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) program, funded by the Connecticut General Assembly since 2021. The program funds three legal service providers, which provide free legal counsel to low-income persons in need of TROs. Legal Representation through the TRO Program has significantly improved the safety, stability, and well-being of individuals seeking protection and it has shown to be a crucial tool in safeguarding victims of domestic violence, harassment, and abuse in Connecticut.

The Pels Fund was established in June 2019 to benefit low-income tenants facing the threat of homelessness in Connecticut. The Fund was founded by attorneys at Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc. to honor the exemplary career and contributions of Attorney David A. Pels, one of the pioneers of landlord-tenant law in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Innocence Fund was created to assist exonerees who have been recently released from prison based on proof of actual innocence. The funds provide monetary advances to assist newly-released exonerees with immediate financial needs prior to awards of compensation from the State of Connecticut. The advances are loans that are repaid out of the exonerees’ compensation awards to replenish the fund.

The partners of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP established the Fitzgerald Fund for Excellence to honor Tony Fitzgerald on the occasion of his retirement from the practice of law. CBF draws on the fund annually to present the Fitzgerald Award for Excellence, which recognizes the dedicated service and outstanding achievements of a CT nonprofit civil legal service provider or legal aid attorney(s).

This law school scholarship program established in his name honors Judge Warren Eginton's legacy of mentoring others in the legal profession.

Cy pres are funds in class action cases that, for a variety of reasons, cannot be distributed to class members or beneficiaries who were the intended recipients. Under the cy pres doctrine, courts can distribute these residual funds to appropriate charitable causes. *If you are a lawyer involved in a class action case and unable to distribute all the funds, we encourage you to name CBF as a cy pres recipient so the funds may be used to ensure low-income Connecticut residents can access civil legal aid. Contact ctbf@ctbarfdn.org for more information.