How to Apply

Annual Grant Cycle
LTF awards grants on an annual, calendar year basis. Grants have been awarded for 2025 and that application process is now closed. The application opportunity for 2026 will open in July 2025.

Annual Grant Guidelines
For more information about LTF’s grantmaking and the process for applying for a grant, please read the Grant Guidelines and Instructions for CY 2025. If you have any questions about LTF’s grant guidelines and priorities, please contact Deputy Executive Director for Grants & Legal Affairs David Holtermann at 312-938-3076 or via email.

LTF Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for grant funding from LTF, applicants must meet the following requirements:

  • Be an Illinois-based non-profit organization that is tax-exempt under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
  • Serve Illinois residents who cannot afford to hire private legal counsel, which is generally defined as having incomes below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines.
  • Provide services without charge to the client. [Note: This does not mean applicants cannot charge sliding-scale fees to clients with incomes above 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, nor does it mean that grantees cannot require clients to pay court costs or related expenses that cannot be waived. However, LTF funds can only be used to support free services.]
  • Employ at least one (1) paid, full-time equivalent staff attorney who has been licensed to practice for a minimum of three years at the time the application is due. (Applicants who do not meet this requirement may consider requesting a temporary, one-time waiver of this requirement. See the next paragraph for more details about making a request.)

Waiver of One-Attorney Requirement
Emerging organizations or legal aid programs based in under-resourced communities (with a special emphasis on those led and/or governed by members of historically marginalized groups) may seek a temporary, one-year waiver of the one-attorney requirement from the LTF board through the process described on pages 9 and 10 of the Grant Guidelines. Waiver decisions will be granted based on multiple factors, as well as the overall availability of funds, and will be made at the sole discretion of the LTF board of directors. For LTF’s purposes, an “emerging organization or legal aid program” is generally defined as a non-profit organization or legal aid program of a non-profit organization created within three years of the application due date and/or with an annual budget of under $300,000 as of the application due date.

How to Apply for a Grant
Interested organizations must use LTF’s online application portal to apply for a grant.The application for 2026 grants will be available through the portal in July 2025.

Applicant Support
Quick links to the guidelines, user guide, data collection instructions, and other materials are available on the Applicant Support webpage.

If you have questions about completing the application and supplying the requested data, please contact Deputy Executive Director for Grants & Legal Affairs David Holtermann at 312-938-3076 or via email; or Program Officer for Legal Services Nebula Li at 312-938-2106 or via email.

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