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Fairness & Justice Fund (Fairness and Justice Alliance)
fairness and justicecivil justicesocial justice+1 more
Who can apply: Membership-based; page does not specify grant applicant eligibility.
About Maine Justice Foundation
To sustain, promote, and partner with legal aid providers and social justice organizations to inspire and support fairness and access to civil justice for low-income and vulnerable Mainers.
Focus Areas
Civil legal aidRacial justice and equityLGBTQ+ justiceFamily law/public interest fellowshipsAccess to benefits and housing stabilityElder legal servicesImmigrant legal servicesPro bono and volunteer lawyer programs
Who They Fund
low-income residents of Maineolder adults (age 60+) with low income or vulnerabilitylow-income immigrants in Mainesurvivors of domestic violence
About Maine Justice Foundation
A defining feature of Maine Justice Foundation is its steady support for core civil legal aid providers, with the largest recent grant going to Volunteer Lawyers Project in Portland at $878,241 in 2025. That award sits alongside similarly large support for Pine Tree Legal Assistance and Legal Services for the Elderly, showing a funding pattern built around sustaining organizations that deliver legal help to low-income and vulnerable Mainers. The foundation’s public purpose centers on fairness and access to civil justice, and its recent grants show that mission in practice through legal representation, pro bono coordination, and systems-level advocacy. Its portfolio also reaches beyond direct legal aid into related justice work. Maine Equal Justice Project received $448,586 in 2025, while Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project received $350,985 in 2025. The foundation also supports fellowships and clinics tied to legal training and supervised representation, including the Frank M. Coffin Family Law Public Interest Fellowship and Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic. Smaller grants extend the same civil-rights lens into racial justice and LGBTQ+ justice, indicating a structure that combines large operating support with targeted, issue-specific funding. Across those grant types, the foundation’s work is tightly tied to Maine residents and Maine-based organizations.
What Maine Justice Foundation Funds
Civil legal aid is the clearest throughline in the foundation’s grantmaking. In 2023, it gave $324,808 to Volunteer Lawyers Project to promote and coordinate pro bono efforts by private Maine attorneys for low-income residents with civil legal problems. Pine Tree Legal Assistance also received $283,918 in 2023 to support civil legal aid for residents facing domestic violence, housing, employment, or government mistakes. The foundation also funds legal services for older adults. Legal Services for the Elderly received $230,657 in 2023 for legal representation, advocacy, and training for Maine residents age 60 and older who have low income or are vulnerable. For immigrant communities, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project received $159,790 in 2023 to support civil legal services and advocacy for low-income immigrants in Maine. Its justice work extends to civil rights and identity-based advocacy as well. In 2025, Maine Inside Out received $10,000 through the Racial Justice Fund, and several 2024 LGBTQ grants supported organizations such as Out Maine, Maine Transnet, and Equality Maine Foundation.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.8M
Total Assets
$9.7M
Total Revenue
$4.1M
Total Expenses
$4.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $331K, with a median of $194K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$194K
75th Percentile
$331K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MICHELLE G DRAEGER
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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