82 FR 8767 - Request for Letters of Intent To Apply for 2017 Pro Bono Innovation Fund Grants

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 18 (January 30, 2017)

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice describing the conditions under which Letters of Intent to Apply for 2017 funding will be received for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund. This notice and application information are posted at www.lsc.gov/ pbifgrants.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8767-8770]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01906]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION


Request for Letters of Intent To Apply for 2017 Pro Bono 
Innovation Fund Grants

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice 
describing the conditions under which Letters of Intent to Apply for 
2017 funding will be received for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund. This 
notice and application information are posted at www.lsc.gov/pbifgrants.

DATES: Letters of Intent must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 
on Wednesday, March 29, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent must be submitted electronically at http://lscgrants.lsc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information about current Pro 
Bono Innovation Fund projects, please contact Mytrang Nguyen, Program 
Counsel, (202) 295-1564 or [email protected]. For general questions about 
the Pro Bono Innovation Fund application process, please email 
[email protected]. For technical questions or issues with the 
LSC Grants online application system, please email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues 
this Notice describing the conditions for submitting a Letter of Intent 
to Apply (LOI) for 2017 Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants. This notice 
and application information are posted at www.lsc.gov/pbifgrants.

I. Introduction

    Congress annually appropriates funds to LSC ``for a Pro Bono 
Innovation Fund.'' See, e.g., Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, 
Public Law 114-113, 129 Stat. 2242, 2321 (2015). LSC requested these 
funds for grants to ``develop, test, and replicate innovative pro bono 
efforts that can enable LSC grantees to expand clients' access to high 
quality legal assistance.'' LSC Budget Request, Fiscal Year 2014 at 26 
(2013). The grants must involve innovations that are either ``new 
ideas'' or ``new applications of existing best practices.'' Id. Each 
grant would ``either serve as a model for other legal services 
providers to follow or effectively replicate a prior innovation. Id. 
The Senate Appropriations Committee explained that these funds ``will 
support innovative projects that promote and enhance pro initiatives 
throughout the Nation,'' and the House Appropriations Committee 
directed LSC ``to increase the involvement of private attorneys in the 
delivery of legal services to [LSC-eligible] clients.'' Senate Report 
114-239 at 123 (2016), House Report 113-448 at 85 (2014). LSC sought 
these funds based on the 2012 recommendation of the LSC Pro Bono Task 
Force. In its first three years, the Pro Bono Innovation Fund advanced 
LSC's goal of increasing the quantity and quality of legal services by 
funding projects that more efficiently and effectively involve pro bono 
volunteers in serving the critical unmet legal needs of LSC-eligible 
clients. For 2017, LSC will build on these successes by dividing the 
grants into three categories to better focus on innovations serving 
unmet and well-defined client needs (Project Grants), on building 
comprehensive and effective pro bono projects through new applications 
of existing best practices (Transformation Grants), and on providing 
continued development support for the most promising innovations 
(Sustainability Grants).

[[Page 8768]]

II. New Pro Bono Innovation Fund Tracks for FY 2017

A. Background and Rationale for New Funding Tracks

    Each year, LSC staff reviews Pro Bono Innovation Fund application 
data and engages with grantees to inform our grant making. In addition 
to analyzing successful and unsuccessful applications, LSC surveys our 
applicants and current Pro Bono Innovation Fund grantees to improve our 
program.
    Since 2014, there has been significant interest in and competition 
for Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants. In 2015 and 2016, the total 
average amount requested for Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants was $12.1 
million for the $3.8 million available in direct grants. From our 
three-year review of the Pro Bono Innovation Fund applications and 
data, LSC staff also noted that that a number of grantees have been 
repeatedly unsuccessful in obtaining a grant or have never applied for 
a Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant. At the same time, several 2014 Pro 
Bono Innovation Fund grantees submitted Letters of Intent to apply for 
a second Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant, even as their currently-funded 
projects were still underway.
    For FY 2017, LSC will divide the grants into three categories to 
better implement the innovation, development, and replication goals of 
this program.
    We believe that offering three types of different grant 
opportunities with our available FY 2017 Pro Bono Innovation Fund 
appropriation affords more options for LSC grantees to seek funding for 
what they most need to strengthen their pro bono program and increase 
the effective involvement of pro bono volunteers in their delivery of 
legal services to clients. It also allows LSC to continue to fund the 
highest-quality projects with the most potential for learning, 
replication, and impact.

III. Funding Opportunities Information

A. Pro Bono Innovation Fund Purpose and Key Goals

    Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants develop, test, and replicate 
innovative pro bono efforts that can enable LSC grantees to use pro 
bono volunteers to serve larger numbers of low-income clients and 
improve the quality and effectiveness of the services provided. The key 
goals of the Pro Bono Innovation Fund are to:
    1. Address gaps in the delivery of legal services to low-income 
people.
    2. Engage more lawyers and other volunteers in pro bono service.
    3. Develop, test, and replicate innovative pro bono efforts.

B. Project Grants

    The goal of Pro Bono Innovation Fund Project Grants is to leverage 
volunteers to meet a critical, unmet and well-defined client needs. LSC 
welcomes applications for Project Grants in a wide variety of areas; 
there are no specific areas of interest. Consistent with the key goals 
of the Pro Bono Innovation Fund, however, applicants are encouraged to 
focus on engaging volunteers to increase free civil legal aid for low-
income Americans by proposing new, replicable ideas. Past funded 
projects include efforts to integrate pro bono volunteers into medical-
legal partnerships, to engage retired and transitioning attorneys in 
legal aid, to leverage transactional pro bono attorneys to serve low-
income micro-entrepreneurs, and to use technology and web-based systems 
to allow metropolitan pro bono attorneys to serve rural clients in more 
remote parts of the state. Project Grants can be either 18 or 24-
months.

C. Transformation Grants

    The goal of Pro Bono Innovation Fund Transformation Grants is to 
support LSC grantees in comprehensive assessment and restructuring of 
pro bono programs through new applications of existing best practices 
in pro bono delivery. Each Transformation Grant will support a rigorous 
and extensive assessment of an LSC grantee's pro bono program, the 
identification of best practices in pro bono delivery that are best 
suited to that grantee's needs and circumstances, and the development 
and implementation of new applications of those best practices to 
restructuring its pro bono program through short- and long-term 
improvements to organizational policies, management, and operations.
    Transformation Grants are 24 months and targeted towards LSC 
grantees whose leadership is committed to restructuring an entire pro 
bono program and incorporating pro bono best practices into core, high-
priority client services with an urgency to create a high-impact pro 
bono program. This funding opportunity is open to all LSC grantees, but 
is primarily intended for LSC grantees who have been unsuccessful with 
Project Grants or who have never applied for a Pro Bono Innovation Fund 
grant in the past.

D. Sustainability Grants

    Pro Bono Innovation Fund Sustainability Grants are available to 
current or former Pro Bono Innovation Fund grantees who were funded in 
either FY 2014 or FY 2015. The goal of Sustainability Grants is to 
support further development of the most promising and replicable Pro 
Bono Innovation Fund projects with an additional 24 months of funding 
so grantees can leverage new sources of revenue for the project, 
collect meaningful data to demonstrate the project's results and 
outcomes for clients and volunteers, and quantify the return on LSC's 
investment of Pro Bono Innovation Fund dollars. Applicants for 
Sustainability Grants will be required to propose an ambitious match 
requirement, tied to realistic goals that reduce the Pro Bono 
Innovation Fund contribution to the project over the grant term.

E. Available Funds for FY 2017

    The availability of Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants for FY 2017 
depends on LSC's receipt of a full fiscal year appropriation. LSC is 
currently operating under a Continuing Resolution for FY 2017 which 
funds the federal government through April 28, 2017. The Continuing 
Resolution maintains funding at FY 2016 levels, but with an across-the-
board reduction of 0.19 percent. In FY 2016, LSC received an 
appropriation of $4 million, of which $3.8 million was available for 
direct grants to support Pro Bono Innovation Fund projects. A .19 
percent rescission for all of FY17 would result in a $7,600 decrease in 
the Pro Bono Innovation Fund's appropriation. In 2016, eleven Pro Bono 
Innovation Fund Projects received funding with a median funding amount 
of $345,455. There is no maximum amount for Pro Bono Innovation Fund 
requests that are within the total funding available.
    Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant decisions for FY 2017 will be made 
in late August 2017. LSC anticipates knowing the total amount available 
for Pro Bono Innovation Fund grants before August and will communicate 
this information to all applicants as soon as LSC receives our final 
appropriation for the full fiscal year.
    LSC will not designate fixed or estimated amounts for the three 
different funding tracks and will make grant awards for the three 
funding tracks.

F. Project and Grant Term

    Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant awards will cover an 18- to 24-month 
project period. Applicants for Project Grants can apply for either an 
18- or a 24-month project. Applicants for Transformation Grants and 
Sustainability Grants apply for a 24-month grant only. Applicants' 
proposals

[[Page 8769]]

should cover the full term for which a grant award is requested. The 
grant term is expected to commence on October 1, 2017.

IV. Grant Application Process and Letter of Intent To Apply 
Instructions

A. Pro Bono Innovation Fund Grant Application Process

    LSC is committed to reviewing all Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant 
applications in a timely and thorough manner. Applicants must first 
submit a Letter of Intent to Apply for Funding to LSC to be considered 
for a grant. LSC staff will review the LOIs and notify applicants by 
early May 2017 if their LOI is selected to proceed to the next round of 
the application process. Applicants whose LOIs are selected will be 
asked to submit a detailed, full application due to LSC in late June or 
July depending on the funding track. Once LSC has received a full 
application from a selected applicant, the application will undergo a 
rigorous review by LSC staff and external subject matter experts. LSC's 
President makes the final decision on funding for the Pro Bono 
Innovation Fund.

B. Letters of Intent To Apply for Funding Requirements and Format

    The LOI should succinctly summarize the information requested for 
the funding track(s) for which an applicant seeks funding. A complete 
LOI consists of (1) a narrative that responds to the questions for the 
funding track and (2) a budget form.
    Applicants must submit the LOI electronically using the LSC Grants 
online system found at http://lscgrants.lsc.gov.
    The system will be live for applicants in early March 2017.
    The LOI narrative should be a Word or PDF document submitted in the 
LSC Grants system. The narrative must not exceed 5 double-spaced pages 
or approximately 1,300 words in Times New Roman, 12-point font. The 
budget form is an online form that is submitted in LSC Grants. 
Applicants may submit multiple LOIs under the same or different funding 
tracks. If applying for multiple grants, applicants should submit a 
separate LOI in LSC Grants for each funding request.
1. Project Grants
    The LOI Narrative for Project Grants should respond to the 
following questions.
    a. Project Description. Please provide a brief description of the 
proposed project that includes:
     The specific client need and challenge or opportunity in 
the pro bono delivery system that the project will address.
     The goals and objectives of the project, the activities 
that make up the project, and how those activities will link to and 
achieve the stated goals and objectives.
     Strong indication of volunteer interest in and support for 
the project.
     The expected impact of the project. This should include a 
brief explanation of the changes and outcomes that will be created as a 
result of the project.
     The proposed strategies that are innovative or the best 
practices being replicated, including a brief discussion of how these 
innovation and/or replicable strategies were identified.
    b. Project Staff, Organizational Capacity, and Project Partners. 
Please briefly identify and describe the project team and project 
partners including:
     The qualifications and relevant experience of the proposed 
project team, any proposed partner organizations, and your 
organization.
     The role of your organization's executive management in 
the design and implementation of the project.
    c. Budget and Timeline. Please state whether you are proposing an 
18- or 24-month project and provide the following information about the 
estimated project costs:
     Estimated total project cost. This includes the estimate 
for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund requested amount and other in-kind or 
cash contributions to support the project. Your narrative should 
provide a breakdown of the major project expenses including, but not 
limited to, personnel, project expenses, contracts or sub-grants, etc., 
and how each expense supports the project design.
     For expenses related to personnel, please indicate how 
many and which positions will be fully or partially funded by the 
proposed grant.
     A list of any anticipated contributions, both in-kind and 
monetary, from all partners involved in the project.
     List of key partners who will receive Pro Bono Innovation 
Fund funding, including their roles and the estimated dollar amount or 
percent of budget assigned to each partner.
2. Transformation Grants
    The LOI Narrative for Transformation Grants should respond to the 
following questions.
    a. Transformation Strategy: Please explain why are you seeking a 
Transformation Grant for your pro bono program at this time. In your 
response, please include:
     An honest assessment of the challenges with your 
organization's current pro bono efforts that inhibit your ability to 
test, develop, and replicate innovations, and the reasons for them.
     At least three specific and ambitious improvements to your 
organization's pro bono program that you would like to achieve in the 
first 6-9 months of a two-year Transformation Grant.
    b. Guiding Coalition: Please describe the core team who would be 
responsible for the pro bono transformation effort in your 
organization. In your response, please state:
     The qualifications and relevant experience of each 
proposed team member.
     Whether a majority your executive and senior managers 
agree that your organization's pro bono program needs significant 
improvements.
     The role your organization's executive director and/or 
senior managers would play in a pro bono transformation effort.
    c. Budget. Please describe what you would like the Transformation 
Grant to fund over the 24-month grant period. In your response, please 
be sure to provide the following information about the anticipated 
costs associated with a transformation effort for your pro bono 
program:
     The estimated total cost and a clear description of what 
the grant will fund. Your narrative should provide a breakdown of the 
major expenses including, but not limited to, personnel, project 
expenses, contracts or sub-grants, etc., and how each expense supports 
the transformation effort to improve your pro bono program.
     For expenses related to personnel, please indicate how 
many and which positions will be fully or partially funded by the 
proposed grant.
     For contracts, please describe whether you intend to use 
consultants, implement new technology systems, conduct business process 
analysis, etc. and how this supports improvements to you pro bono 
program.
3. Sustainability Grants
    The LOI Narrative for Sustainability Grants should respond to the 
following questions.
    a. Justification for Sustaining the Pro Bono Innovation Project. 
Please describe why you are seeking Sustainability Grant. In your 
response, please discuss the following:
     The impact of the Pro Bono Innovation Fund project to 
date, supported by data and analysis as to whether the goals of the 
project were achieved.

[[Page 8770]]

     Evidence of ongoing client need and how you intend to make 
the project part of your core legal services.
     The level of engagement of pro bono volunteers/private bar 
and the best practices in pro bono delivery that can be replicated by 
others.
     How ongoing program evaluation and data collection will be 
incorporated into the project.
    b. Project Staff and Management Support. Please briefly identify 
and describe the project team and project partners. In your response, 
please include the following:
     The project staff that will be responsible for the 
sustainability phase of the project. Please include any additional 
staff, descriptions of new responsibilities for existing project staff 
and/or organizational changes that will be made.
     The role of your organization's executive management in 
the decision to seek this Sustainability Grant and recent examples of 
your organization's track record turning ``new'' or special projects 
into core legal services.
    c. Budget and Match Requirement. Please describe what you would 
like the Sustainability Grant to fund. In your response, please be sure 
to provide the following information:
     Estimated total project cost. This includes the estimate 
for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund requested amount and other in-kind or 
cash contributions to support the project. Your narrative should 
provide a breakdown of the major project expenses including, but not 
limited to, personnel, project expenses, etc., and how each expense 
supports the project design.
     A narrative proposing an ambitious match requirement that 
reduces the Pro Bono Innovation Fund contribution to the project for 
the grant term. LSC is not setting a specific percentage of required 
match for Sustainability grant applicants but will assess the two-year 
budget from the applicant's previously funded project with the grant 
amount proposed in the Sustainability LOI. LSC's expectation is that 
applicants will propose a meaningful shift from Pro Bono Innovation 
Fund support to other sources of support during the grant term.
     A narrative discussing the potential sources of funding 
that have been or will be cultivated. If the project has already 
received new financial support, please provide the source and amount 
committed and further describe the plans for ensuring continued 
financial support.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Mark F. Freedman,
Senior Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-01906 Filed 1-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P