About Legal Services of Northern California
To provide quality legal services that empower the poor to identify and defeat the causes and effects of poverty within their communities, efficiently utilizing all available resources.
Focus Areas
Housing (evictions, tenant rights, foreclosure, homelessness prevention)Government benefits (CalWORKs, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, CalFresh)Health (Medi-Cal, Medicare, health access)Civil legal services for low-income individualsSenior legal servicesConsumer and employment issues (wage claims, unemployment benefits)Education-related legal assistanceImmigrant services (naturalization petitions guidance)
Who They Fund
healthcare consumers/patients navigating the systemlow-income and underserved communities
About Legal Services of Northern California
Legal Services of Northern California’s recent giving is anchored by health consumer assistance and outreach, with the largest grant in the list going to Central California Legal Services for $379,346 in 2025. The foundation uses its resources to support legal services that help low-income people address the causes and effects of poverty within their communities, and its grants show that mission in practice through legal aid, outreach, and partnership-based work. One recurring recipient is National Health Law Program, which received $49,595 in 2025 after prior grants of $37,937 in 2024 and $36,549 in 2023, all for health consumer assistance and outreach. Another major recipient is Western Center on Law & Poverty, funded in both 2023 and 2025 for the same purpose. The pattern is centered on California legal service organizations and health-related legal access, with grants that support consumers navigating benefits, rights, and barriers tied to poverty. A Sacramento-area award to Healthy Community Forum for the Greater Sacramento Region also points to a local partnership emphasis in the foundation’s work.
What Legal Services of Northern California Funds
Health access is the clearest throughline in the grant list. Legal Services of Northern California gave $379,346 in 2025 and $55,642 in 2024 to Central California Legal Services for health consumer assistance and outreach, a large share of the public recent record. The foundation also supported the National Health Law Program with $49,595 in 2025, $37,937 in 2024, and $36,549 in 2023 for the same purpose, showing sustained attention to consumer-facing health legal work. Consumer legal advocacy appears as another recurring theme through grants to Western Center on Law & Poverty, including $141,075 in 2023 and $50,623 in 2025 for health consumer assistance and outreach. Partnership-based work is visible in the $75,000 grant to Healthy Community Forum for the Greater Sacramento Region to fund a medical-legal partnership.
How Legal Services of Northern California Gives
Typical grant size sits in a fairly tight band: p25 is $36,064, median is $37,243, and p75 is $78,561. The recent record also includes several larger awards, led by a $379,346 grant, alongside many grants in the mid-$30,000 range. Recipients appear across multiple years, including Central California Legal Services, National Health Law Program, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, and Legal Aid Society of San Diego, which points to recurring support rather than one-off funding. Legal Services of Northern California is a pure DAF provider and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$610K
Total Assets
$11.8M
Total Revenue
$19.3M
Total Expenses
$17.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $36K and $79K, with a median of $37K.
25th Percentile
$36K
Median
$37K
75th Percentile
$79K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
GARY SMITH
Unlock Deep Analysis
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeSee Similar Funders
Free Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeExplore related grant guides
Want a Personalized Pitch for Legal Services of Northern California?
Sign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Free plan available
No contracts
Cancel anytime