Powerful Communities Grant
The Powerful Communities Grant aims to amplify communities who are denied justice due to systemic oppression, advance the WSBA’s mission and purposes outlined in General Rule 12.2, encourage public service by WSBA members, and implement the State Plan for the Coordinated Delivery of Legal Aid to Low-Income People and the WSBA Equity and Justice Action Plan. Funded by private donations to the Washington State Bar Foundation and administered by the WSBA, organizations can apply for small grants to help them jumpstart new community-based projects and/or expand existing programs that help advance a fair, inclusive, effective and accessible legal system for all including communities who have been historically marginalized and continue to face barriers to accessing justice.
Vision for success
Our vision for success is that grantee organizations will help advance a fair, inclusive, effective and accessible legal system for all including communities who have been historically marginalized and continue to face barriers to accessing justice.
2026 Grantees
Benton Franklin Legal Aid*. Benton-Franklin Legal Aid (BFLA) provides legal assistance to qualified low-income individuals who would otherwise be denied access to the Justice system because of the inability to pay for the cost of counsel. Through this grant, BFLA aims to enhance its immigration programs to support the migrant population in Benton and Franklin Counties. Our organization is committed to advancing race equality and justice in our work and in our communities. We recognize that racism is a systemic and structural problem that pervades every aspect of our society and that we have a responsibility to challenge and dismantle it.
Central Washington Legal Aid*. Central Washington Legal Aid will use the Powerful Communities Grant to provide stipends for community the DOJ Accredited Representative training cohort. This will allow them to expand access to free immigration legal services in rural Central Washington.
Chiapas Education Project*. Through Strengthening Our Relatives, we support migrant communities by helping community members become public notaries and access Power of Attorney documents. This work allows families who may be afraid to enter public spaces to receive support within the safety of their own homes. By building language-accessible, community-led support systems, we are increasing legal preparedness and protecting families from separation. Our approach centers trust, cultural connection, and meeting people where they are.
Corrections to Connections*. Corrections to Connections helps people returning from incarceration reconnect with the community by guiding them through legal barriers that often prevent successful re-entry. The organization connects individuals with legal resources for record issues, identification, housing barriers, employment rights, and restoring important civil rights. By helping people navigate these legal challenges, Corrections to Connections reduces recidivism and strengthens safer, more stable communities.
Dhugaa Community Services*. Dhugaa Community Services is a South King County–based nonprofit that amplifies the voices of underserved East African immigrant and refugee communities, including Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali, and Kenyan populations, through multilingual and culturally responsive programming. Our work supports newcomers, asylum seekers, and unhoused individuals through community education, workforce development, legal rights education, environmental stewardship, and civic engagement.
Our 2026 program focuses on producing accessible educational video content on immigrant rights, grounded in the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments. These videos, created in Oromo and Amharic, equip immigrants, undocumented individuals, and asylum seekers with practical knowledge on how to respond during encounters with ICE or law enforcement. By sharing this content across social media platforms, we aim to increase awareness and empower marginalized communities with critical constitutional and human rights information.
Entre Hermanos*. Entre Hermanos’ Immigration Department aims to achieve the rights of immigrants through direct legal services. Without appropriate legal assistance, members of the LGBTQ Latino community find it difficult to obtain legal immigration status.
Families Shoulder to Shoulder. Families Shoulder to Shoulder is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to empowering individuals and their families throughout various stages of the legal process. Utilizing the Participatory Defense model, they engage families in their loved ones' defense during arraignments, bail hearings, trials, resentencing, and efforts toward early release through court proceedings, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB), and Clemency and Pardon hearings.
Legal Immigration Services of Olympia*. Legal Immigration Services of Olympia (LISO) stands beside our neighbors when they need it most. We provide free legal defense to immigrants detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, fighting to reunite families and restore hope. Our small, determined team works inside one of the most challenging corners of the immigration system where representation can mean the difference between a multi-year separation and home. Every case is a family, a future, and a community that refuses to give up. Together with volunteers, advocates, and supporters, we are bringing our neighbors home.
Oasis Youth Center*. Oasis Youth Center has been dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 11 and 24 for more than four decades. As the only organization in Pierce County solely focused on serving this population, Oasis fills a critical gap in services for LGBTQ+ young people. Oasis will use the Powerful Communities Grant to fund the Name Change Clinic.
QLaw Foundation of Washington*. QLaw Foundation of Washington promotes the dignity and respect of 2SLGBTQIA+ Washingtonians within the legal system through advocacy, education, and legal assistance. QLaw Foundation's legal programs provides free, identity-affirming legal support to 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals statewide, many of whom are low-income, BIPOC, transgender, nonbinary, disabled, or living in rural areas with little or no access to affirming legal aid.
Sandy Williams Justice Center of the Carl Maxey Center of Spokane*. The Sandy Williams Justice Center (SWJC) is a program of The Carl Maxey Center located in East Central Spokane, focusing on providing access to limited civil legal aid services to marginalized and disproportionately impacted community members, primarily people of color and those living in poverty. SWJC provides limited civil legal aid services to assist unrepresented individuals in representing themselves. In addition to one-on-one appointments through their AOC Pilot Self Help Center program, SWJC, a Qualified Legal Service Provider, hosts regular free legal information and advice clinics where community members can talk with legal professionals regarding their matters, providing pro bono service opportunities for volunteer attorneys.
The Way to Justice*. The Way to Justice is a community based nonprofit organization led by and for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color impacted by the legal and justice systems. The funds will be used to sustain the operation budget and fund the stipends of advisory board members.
Contact Us
For general questions about the Powerful Communities Project, please email publicservice@wsba.org. For donation inquiries, please email Laura Sanford at the Washington State Bar Foundation.
*All of these organizations offer pro bono volunteer opportunities. For more information, please click on their respective hyperlinks.
Previous Grantees
More information regarding previous grantees.
