MSBF helps nonprofits improve the justice system throughout Michigan. The grants listed below are project grants awarded in the past and do not include annual operating grants.
Recipient
Amount
Date
Purpose
Wayne State University Law School
$6,000
November 2024
The Law School will be hosting an expungement fair and these funds will assist in developing a curriculum for undergraduate students to be trained to assist attendees in navigating the expungement process.
The Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
$30,000
November 2024
Funds to migrate to a new case management system that will interface with the statewide triage and referral system.
Siena Literacy Center
$26,390
November 2024
Funding to provide legal information and advice, in collaboration with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, to refugees through resource navigation and attorney led workshops.
Lakeshore Legal Aid
$94,200
November 2024
A three year grant to support a statewide project to enhance a knowledgebase product that will interface with the statewide triage and referral system and case management system utilized by most legal aid organizations throughout Michigan.
Henry Ford Learning Institute
$19,950
June 2024
Funds to support the Ford Law Career Academy 2024 Detroit Summer Clerkship program.
Michigan Indian Legal Services
$100,000
June 2024
Partnering with the Little River Band of Ottawa to develop a pilot project to address attorney shortages in tribal courts.
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
$35,000
March 2024
Surviving Trauma and Reaching Success (STARS) Program
Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services – Michigan Legal Help
$100,000
November 2023
Updating the Do-It-Yourself Document Assembly on michiganlegalhelp.org .
Wayne State University Law School Clinic Program
$6,000
June 2023
Funds to support the Wayne Law Expungement Fair.
Justice for Our Neighbors
$15,000
June 2023
Hiring a Legal Intake Coordinator to centralize intake and provide a single point of access for clients.
Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services- Michigan Legal Help
$30,000
June 2023
Producing updated outreach materials for redesigned Michigan Legal Help website.
Detroit Justice Center
$45,000
March 2023
Providing civil legal services for Core City residents as part of a wrap-around support center project focused on economic justice.
Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
$23,000
March 2023
Recruiting and training pro bono attorneys to help survivors of domestic and sexual violence when sued for defamation or other torts (generally called strategic lawsuits against public participation “SLAPP”)
Michigan Indian Legal Services
$6,000
November 2022
Updating and producing new outreach materials.
Michigan Poverty Law Program
$27,526
June 2022
Building a prototype to help educate intake staff with migrating to the new statewide case management software.
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
$75,000
November 2021
Hiring a pro bono coordinator to work with Afghan arrivals with legal issues.
Justice For All Commission
$125,000
September 2021
Supporting projects related to the JFA Commission’s goals and strategic plan.
Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
$70,000
September 2021
Hiring a statewide coordinator to address the unmet needs of residents accessing unemployment insurance benefits. In addition to providing direct services to UIA claimants, the coordinator will lead an initiative to share and exchange information among the UIA providers, including pro bono attorneys, and advocate for system improvements.
Accounting Aid Society
$30,000
June 2021
Updating the case management system utilized for the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic to more efficiently meet the increased needs for individuals facing tax controversies.
Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
$20,000
February 2021
Educating Michigan’s unemployed and low-wage workers on their legal rights during the COVID pandemic by creating a user-friendly manual and a series of videos informing workers of their legal rights to benefits.
Michigan Poverty Law Program
$100,000
February 2021
Providing statewide support to legal aid programs throughout Michigan as the programs transition to a new case management database.
Avalon Healing Center
$15,000
February 2021
Provide trainings to representatives from the justice and healthcare system, hospitability, and community-based organizations to increase awareness and educate participants about the rights of victims of sexual assault and human trafficking.
University of Detroit Mercy – Veterans Law Clinic
$18,000
June 2020
Expand the Veterans Law Clinic by adding an attorney to handle discharge upgrades and Court of Appeal cases for veterans.
Michigan Community Resources
$21,500
June 2020
Create a COVID-19 Small Business and Nonprofit Virtual Legal Clinic, which will include webinar series and toolkit packages for re-opening and moving forward for non-profits.
Detroit Justice Center
$20,000
June 2020
Expand the community legal worker to help low-income Detroit residence avoid tax foreclosure, avoid water shut offs and have access to getting state/municipal identification.
Michigan Center for Civic Education
$7,000
February 2020
Expanding education and outreach for the mock trial program.
Alliance for Housing
$13,500
February 2020
Expand Street Democracy’s work in Oakland County to implement functional sentencing. Functional sentencing turns sentencing into an opportunity to help an individual permanently exit the criminal justice system by replacing fines and costs with targeted interventions that address root causes of an individual’s offense.
Southwest Economic Solutions
$20,831
June 2019
Partnering with Lakeshore Legal Aid, Southwest Economic Solutions will create webinars to help train staff at their Adult Learning Labs on identifying legal issues.
Justice for Our Neighbors
$3,000
June 2019
Help the statewide JFON programs merge into one database.
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
$16,500
June 2019
The medical-legal partnership [MLP} between Legal Services of Eastern Michigan and Great Lakes Bay Health Centers addressing health-harming legal needs of the health centers clients.
The Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
$15,000
Feb. 2019
Producing a 60 minute video documentary of the history of the court.
Michigan Indian Legal Services
$13,439.77
Feb. 2019
Helping tribal victims of domestic violence by educating them on their tribal rights with the production of tribal codes, fillable court forms along with the instructions, and “Know Your Rights” brochures specific for each tribe.
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
$20,000
Feb. 2019
“#ATJ Taking Project Clean Slate Project” helping low-income residents in Northern rural Michigan complete expungement petitions.
Recipient
Amount
Date
Purpose
Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center
$2,500
June 2018
Producing an electronic appointment and schedule reminder system for persons involved in the Community Court Program.
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
$16,438
Nov. 2017
Creating a “Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic” in partnership with the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.
Legal Aid of Western Michigan
$23,624
Jun. 2017
LAWM working as a partner with Cherry Health of West Michigan to help assist low-income families with legal problems that are adversely affecting their health.
CASA for Kids, Inc.
$12,000
Jun. 2017
Granted matching funds to help expand CASA into Ingham County to advocate for the best interest and permanency of children in foster care.
State Appellate Defender Office
$24,300
Jun. 2017
Enhancing, redesigning and updating SADO’s outdated website to help criminal defense attorneys access current resources to effectively serve their indigent clients.
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
$20,000
Feb. 2017
Supporting law students that work at the Housing Law Clinic located in the 36th District Court.
