Leaving a Legacy for Justice

A gift in your will can have a tremendous impact.

You are passionate about making sure that all of us, including poor and vulnerable Mainers, have access to the civil justice system. Helping Mainers get legal services and support when they need it means:

  • A family can keep its home
  • Children can remain with their parents
  • A veteran can access the services he or she needs
  • An immigrant seeking asylum can start a new life in Maine

The Maine Justice Foundation: A trusted partner in philanthropy for legal aid for 30 years.

Our mission is to ensure that poor and vulnerable Mainers have access to the justice system by funding Maine’s providers of civil legal aid. Founded in 1983, the Foundation has a long track record of prudent and successful financial management. We have administered Maine’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) program for more than 30 years, managing over $27 million for legal aid and other initiatives to improve access to justice here in Maine.

The need is great. Your legacy can be great.

Maine’s civil legal aid providers serve over 30,000 Mainers each year – and even that is only about 20% of the people who need but have no money for a lawyer. You can help us close the justice gap with a bequest.

With gifts from private individuals, the foundation also manages funds and builds endowments. From our investment income, we make grants to support civil legal aid in Maine. The foundation is one of the 20 biggest grantmakers in the state, with grants of $1.5 million in 2017. We have assets of nearly $6 million. We administer annual giving efforts such as the Campaign for Justice and the Coffin Family Law Fellowship Program, which each year raise about $600,000 and $150,000 respectively. We provide staff support to Maine’s Civil Legal Services Fund Commission and take part in the Justice Action Group.

A gift in your will to the Maine Justice Foundation will have a lasting impact for thousands of Maine families.

Start your legacy today.

Leaving a gift in your will is easier than you think. You can make a bequest to the foundation simply by inserting the following language into your will or adding it as a codicil.

“I give and bequeath to the Maine Justice Foundation, a nonprofit corporation (EIN # 22-2559133), located at 124 State Street, Suite 2, Augusta, Maine 04330, or its successor [a sum of money, percentage of my estate, or description of the gift].

  • To make a gift of unrestricted support: “I place no restrictions on the Maine Justice Foundation’s use of this gift.”
  • To add to an existing fund at the Maine Justice Foundation: “I request that this gift be added to the [name of fund] Fund.”

The Maine Justice Foundation accepts bequests and a variety of other gifts that result from estate planning to support our mission. To learn more or to have a confidential conversation, please contact our office at (207) 622-3477.

Leaving A Legacy for Justice

I’ve always believed in the promise of "liberty and justice for all." As our country’s economic gap widens, so does our “justice gap”-- denying justice to too many. As a proud founder of the Maine Justice Foundation, the Lawyer of the Day, IOLTA, and the Campaign for Justice, I have dedicated time and resources to closing the justice gap, but more is needed. That is why my husband and I have included the Foundation in our estate plans. By making a gift in our wills we can have an impact into the future with the aim of someday fulfilling the promise of “liberty and justice for all.”

Mary Schendel

Become a Member of the Maine Justice Legacy Circle

Many other champions for justice have already indicated their intention to make a gift in their will because of their passion for providing justice to all. We’re delighted to recognize them as members of the Maine Justice Legacy Circle. Will you join them?