About Indiana Bar Foundation
The Indiana Bar Foundation inspires and leads change to improve civic education and legal assistance for all Hoosiers.
Focus Areas
Civic educationCivil legal assistanceEviction prevention and housing stabilityIOLTA-funded legal servicesLaw student scholarshipsLoan repayment assistancePro bono coordination
Funding Style
direct servicevolunteer mobilizationservice delivery capacity
Topics
pro bono legal assistancecivil legal aid
About Indiana Bar Foundation
The Indiana Bar Foundation’s recent giving is anchored by large, repeated investments in pro bono legal assistance, especially through Pro Bono Indiana Inc. and Indiana Legal Services Inc. Those awards sit alongside a wider network of grants that support legal aid organizations, community legal clinics, and access-to-justice services across Indiana. The foundation’s role is not limited to one channel: it also administers scholarships and loan repayment assistance for law students and graduates entering civil legal aid work, and it backs programs that help people find free or low-cost legal help. Its grant list shows a mix of high-dollar operating support and smaller targeted awards to organizations serving distinct legal needs, from disability legal services to victim advocacy and domestic violence-related legal support. In practice, the foundation funds the infrastructure of civil legal assistance as well as the workforce pipeline behind it. The repeated appearance of Indiana-based legal aid providers suggests a steady commitment to keeping legal help available through local institutions rather than one-off projects. Across the portfolio, the throughline is access to justice for Hoosiers.
What Indiana Bar Foundation Funds
Civil legal aid is the clearest theme in the foundation’s recent grantmaking. It gave $2,280,840 to Indiana Legal Services Inc. for pro bono legal assistance and $900,411 to Indianapolis Legal Aid Society for the same purpose. It also supported Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic with $523,725 and Legal Aid Corp of Tippecanoe County with $96,011, both for pro bono legal assistance. The foundation also funds specialized legal support. Disability Legal Services of Indiana received $147,177 for pro bono legal assistance, while Center for Victim and Human Rights received $96,895 for the same purpose. Workforce development is another visible strand. The Scholarships & Loan Repayment Assistance Program supports law students and graduates who enter qualifying Indiana civil legal aid programs, and the Helling Scholarship supports young attorneys in Indiana attending the Indiana State Bar Association’s annual meeting. Civic education appears through the Mock Trial Diversity Initiative, which supports diversity in mock trial.
How Indiana Bar Foundation Gives
Typical grants fall between $29,035 at the 25th percentile and $256,538 at the 75th percentile, with a median of $79,612. The recent list includes both very large awards and many smaller grants, suggesting a tiered approach to supporting core providers and narrower programs. The pattern also shows recurrence: several recipients appear in both 2023 and 2025, including Pro Bono Indiana Inc., Indiana Legal Services Inc., Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, Legal Aid Corp of Tippecanoe County, and Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. That indicates ongoing support rather than isolated awards. The foundation is a regular funder, not a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals directly.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$9.1M
Total Assets
$24.6M
Total Revenue
$15.5M
Total Expenses
$11.6M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $29K and $257K, with a median of $80K.
25th Percentile
$29K
Median
$80K
75th Percentile
$257K
Geographic Reach
Local4 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
CHARLES DUNLAP
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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