Louisiana Bar Foundation

What Louisiana Bar Foundation does

The Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) is a private nonprofit grant-making foundation, chartered in 1969 and reactivated in 1985, that operates as the largest state funder of free civil legal aid in Louisiana. Headquartered in New Orleans at 601 Poydras Street (Pan Am Building), the foundation channels financial resources to a network of more than 70 nonprofit partner organizations delivering civil legal services across all 64 of Louisiana's parishes. Its core 'product' is the annual grant cycle, funded primarily through IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts), individual donations, corporate sponsorships, government grants, and an annual Fellows Gala with sponsorship tiers ranging from $600 to $7,500. Since 1989, LBF has disbursed more than $162 million in grants, with $14.4 million awarded in fiscal year 2025-26 to address housing, family law, domestic violence, consumer protection, public benefits, veterans' issues, and other civil matters affecting low-income Louisianans.

LBF's product portfolio extends beyond core grant-making to include the Kids' Chance Scholarship Program for dependents of workers killed or disabled on the job, the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) offering forgivable loans up to $5,000 per year to public interest attorneys, the Justice Bus mobile clinic initiative, the Pop Up Tour visiting 9 cities annually with CLE credit, and the Speak Out for Justice! educational content program. The foundation also runs a recognition program featuring the Horn Blower Award, Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award, President's Award, and Calogero Justice Award, and commissions third-party Social Return on Investment studies that documented a 1,328% SROI (every $1 invested returning $13.28 in social benefits) for 2023-24.

LBF's business model is a hybrid donation and membership model. Revenue streams include IOLTA program income, individual and corporate donations, Fellows membership fees (recurring), and gala/event fundraising. Distribution is indirect: rather than serving end beneficiaries directly, LBF awards grants to 70+ grantee organizations (including Acadiana Legal Services Corporation, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, The Pro Bono Project, and Disability Rights Louisiana) that deliver services to the ultimate beneficiaries — low-income individuals, domestic violence survivors, children in care, people with disabilities, seniors, veterans, and disaster victims. The foundation partners formally with the Louisiana State Bar Association and all four Louisiana law schools, maintains nine Community Partnership Panels as regional chapters, and reports no proprietary technology platform, operating instead through conventional online grant applications and event-based community engagement.

Name

Louisiana Bar Foundation

Legal name

Louisiana Bar Foundation

Website

https://raisingthebar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Louisiana Bar Foundation is a nonprofit grant-making foundation that channels IOLTA funds, donations, and corporate sponsorships to a network of 70+ partner organizations delivering free civil legal aid across all 64 parishes of Louisiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Legal Aid Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Civil legal aid funding
• Nonprofit legal grants
• Access to justice
• IOLTA programs
• Legal aid philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: LBF receives funding from various sources including IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts), individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and government grants to fund civil legal aid programs across Louisiana.
2. Fellowship/Membership Fees: Attorneys can become Fellows of the Louisiana Bar Foundation through membership, contributing to the organization's sustainable funding base.
3. Gala and Event Fundraising: Annual Fellows Gala and other fundraising events generate revenue through ticket sales and corporate sponsorships at various levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Louisiana Bar Foundation is a grant-making nonprofit foundation that serves as the largest state funder of free civil legal aid in Louisiana. It channels funding to more than 70 nonprofit legal aid organizations across the state's 64 parishes and administers supplementary programs including the Kids' Chance Scholarship Program, Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), IOLTA, and the Speak Out for Justice awareness initiative.

Product overview

The Louisiana Bar Foundation is a grant-making foundation that serves as the largest state funder of free civil legal aid in Louisiana. Rather than a unified technology product, the organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs: core civil legal aid funding distributed through grants to over 70 partner organizations; scholarship and loan assistance programs (Kids' Chance and LRAP) supporting aspiring and practicing public interest attorneys; educational initiatives including the Speak Out for Justice content program; community outreach through the Justice Bus and Pop Up Tour events; and annual recognition programs (Gala, Boisfontaine Award, Horn Blower Award, President's Award, Calogero Justice Award). The foundation also produces Social Return on Investment reports measuring the impact of civil legal aid services statewide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Legal Aid Funding Program Primary grant-making program providing funding to over 70 nonprofit organizations delivering free civil legal aid services to low-income Louisianans across housing, family law, consumer protection, and domestic violence matters.
• Kids' Chance Scholarship Program Scholarship program administered as the Louisiana state chapter of a national organization, providing educational funding to dependents of Louisiana workers killed or permanently and totally disabled in work accidents.
• Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Program providing forgivable loans of up to $5,000 per year to attorneys working in public interest positions, disbursed quarterly and forgiven after 12 months of qualifying employment at a legal aid provider.
• IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) Program Program that supports civil legal aid through interest earned on lawyers' trust accounts, functioning as a partnership between banks and the legal community to generate sustainable funding.
• Justice Bus Program Mobile legal services initiative that brings civil legal resources and pop-up clinics to underserved communities across Louisiana, connecting local residents with legal aid providers.
• Speak Out for Justice! Focus on Civil Legal Aid Educational content program engaging multiple content creators to produce podcasts, articles, videos, and PSAs that raise public awareness about civil legal aid needs and measure program effectiveness.
• Building Capital Development Grants Capital grants for current LBF grantees of up to $50,000 on a 50% matching basis, supporting infrastructure and capacity-building investments at legal aid provider organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• For every $1 invested in Louisiana's civil legal aid services, programs deliver $13.28 in immediate and long-term consequential financial benefits (1,328% SROI)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Pro Bono ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBF partners with The Pro Bono Project, one of the key nonprofit organizations providing civil legal aid through volunteer attorneys in southeast Louisiana parishes.
• Louisiana State Bar AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBF partners with LSBA on various initiatives including the unique partnership advancing access to justice and the joint promotion of civil legal aid programs.
• Loyola Law School ClinicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBF partners with Loyola Law School clinics including the Child Welfare & Domestic Violence clinic where student practitioners represent children and domestic violence victims.
• All Louisiana Law SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBF partners with the four Louisiana Law Schools (Loyola, LSU, Tulane, Southern University) to create a pipeline of public service attorneys and fund law school clinics.
• Community Partnership PanelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNine Community Partnership Panels comprised of LBF Fellows act as regional chapters of the Foundation, identifying community needs and funding efforts to address them.
• Acadiana Legal Services Corporation (ALSC)coreOthersPrimary grantee providing free civil legal services to low-income individuals in southwest and central Louisiana; offices in Alexandria, Lafayette and Lake Charles.
• Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS)coreOthersPrimary grantee providing free civil legal assistance in civil cases to low-income individuals in southeast Louisiana; offices in Covington, Baton Rouge, Hammond, Marrero and New Orleans.
• Northeast Louisiana Bar FoundationcoreOthersGrantee providing legal assistance in civil matters for individuals in 14 parishes of Northeast Louisiana.
• Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO)coreOthersGrantee representing indigent, innocent prisoners serving life sentences across Louisiana and assisting with post-exoneration transition.
• Louisiana Center for Children's RightscoreOthersGrantee providing holistic legal representation and advocacy for young people in Louisiana's juvenile justice system.
• Disability Rights LouisianacoreOthersGrantee protecting and advocating for rights of people with disabilities and seniors across Louisiana.
• Lafayette Bar FoundationcoreOthersGrantee utilizing Lafayette Volunteer Lawyers pro bono program and maintaining a law library for pro se litigants in Lafayette Parish. Received 2026 Horn Blower Award.
• Baton Rouge Bar FoundationcoreOthersGrantee offering free legal services for the poor, law-related education events for children, and teen court for first-time misdemeanor offenders in Baton Rouge.
• Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New OrleanscoreOthersGrantee providing immigration legal services and Project SAVE domestic violence legal assistance in Orleans Parish.
• Community Services Analysis LLCminorOthersIndependent organization engaged by LBF to conduct Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis of civil legal aid programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Florida Bar Foundation: The largest state funder of civil legal aid in Florida, with a comparable IOLTA-driven grantmaking model, statewide grantee network, and Fellows membership program. Operates an almost identical mix of legal aid funding, LRAP-style programs, and statewide outreach events.
• Texas Access to Justice Foundation: Texas's state-level civil legal aid funder, structured similarly as an IOLTA- and donation-funded grantmaking foundation serving low-income Texans. Direct functional peer in mission, funding model, and grantee-based delivery.
• California Bar Foundation: The charitable arm of the State Bar of California, funding legal aid and access-to-justice programs across California. Comparable in its state bar affiliation, grantmaking focus, and donor/membership-driven revenue model.
• New York Bar Foundation: State bar charitable foundation funding civil legal aid, law-related education, and public interest law in New York. Operates with a similar combination of IOLTA, donations, and a Fellows membership program.

Broad incumbents

• Legal Services Corporation: The federally-established national funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. LSC is a far larger broad incumbent that distributes hundreds of millions in federal appropriations to legal aid providers, many of which are also LBF grantees.
• ABA Fund for Justice and Education: The American Bar Association's charitable arm, funding access-to-justice, legal education, and public service programs nationwide. A broader national peer operating at scale above the state-bar foundation level.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: Large nonprofit that combines civil rights litigation, advocacy, and grantmaking. Overlaps with LBF on civil legal aid funding and rights-based advocacy for vulnerable populations in the South.

Emerging players

• National Legal Aid & Defender Association: National membership and advocacy organization supporting civil legal aid and public defense organizations. An adjacent peer that intersects with LBF's mission by training, convening, and advocating for the same grantee ecosystem.

Regional players

• Baton Rouge Area Foundation: A regional community foundation in Louisiana where LBF President Edmund Giering IV serves as General Counsel. Comparable in grantmaking mechanics (endowment, donor-advised funds, competitive grants) and Louisiana footprint, though broader in mission than LBF's legal aid focus.

Others

• The Robin Hood Foundation: One of the largest U.S. poverty-fighting foundations, known for rigorous impact measurement and a similar donor+grantee model. Not a direct competitor but a useful benchmark for capital deployment efficiency and scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/LaBarFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/raisingthebar.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/louisiana-bar-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/louisiana_bar_foundation
• Xx.com/labarfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Louisiana Bar Foundation