Alberta Law Foundation Logo

General Information

Project Grant

Operating Grant

 
About usAnnual ReportGrants AwardedHow to ApplyContact usLinks


General Information


FUNDING POLICIES

The Alberta Law Foundation was established by amendments to the Legal Profession Act which became effective on April 1, 1973. The Foundation is the recipient of the interest which banks, credit unions, trust companies, and treasury branches must pay on clients' funds held in lawyers' general trust accounts. This does not include interest paid on specific trust investments held for individual clients. The interest is made available by the Foundation to organizations engaged in activities which are considered to be in keeping with the Foundation's objectives.

The objectives of the Foundation are:

(i) conducting research into and recommending reform of law and the administration of justice.
(ii) establishing, maintaining and operating law libraries.
(iii) contributing to the legal education and knowledge of the people of Alberta and providing programs and facilities for those purposes.
(iv) providing assistance to native people's legal programs, student legal aid programs and programs of like nature.
(v) contributing to the costs incurred by the Legal Aid Society of Alberta to administer a plan to provide legal aid. (This contribution has been legislated to be 25% of the revenue from general trust accounts).

Your program or project must fall within these objectives as interpreted by the Foundation's Board of Directors. Grants will not be made to an individual or for the support of a commercial venture. Funds are not available for fellowships, sabbatical leave support, endowments, building funds, etc. The Foundation expects that major publications will be self-supporting with respect to direct costs such as printing and distribution.

As a condition of funding, organizations may be required to provide audited financial reports for all program or project grants. All internally prepared or review level engagement reports require the signature of two senior officers of the organization that are familiar with that program or project.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The application process begins with a discussion of your program or project idea with the executive director. This will be followed by an exchange of drafts during the development of the application.

Assemble your finalized application and submit it for review at a Board of Directors meeting. Discuss with the executive director whether you should attend the meeting. Meeting dates and application deadlines are available from the office. Remember that staff can assist with the application process but the funding decision rests with the Board of Directors.

If your program or project is funded, arrange for a disbursement schedule and submit all reports at agreed intervals. At the end of the grant period, submit a final report together with a financial statement and a refund of any surplus funds due to the Foundation.

Any departure from the stated objectives or budget during the period of the grant must be discussed in advance with the Foundation's executive director and may require the approval of the Board of Directors.

CONTENTS OF THE APPLICATION

Assemble the application material in the following order: cover letter and executive summary (optional), grant application form, budget, budget analysis, general financial information, program or project details, and supporting documents. Type directly on the application form or complete and print the on-line version of the form.

Submit a signed original plus seven double-sided copies of the entire application package. Applications are to be clipped only, not stapled, bound, or in binders. All material must be standard 8.5" x 11" size. Applications are due by noon on the day of the deadline.

Please note that faxed or electronically transmitted applications are not accepted. Remember that applications must be discussed with the executive director in advance of submission.

Application forms are available online for both Project Grants and Operating Grants.

July 2007