Funding for Post-Graduate Public Interest Positions

Most individuals are aware of the larger and more well-known funders such as Equal Justice Works and the Skadden Foundation. But, there are many other funders depending on the project or type of organization you seek. PSJD has a comprehensive list of funding options. Also WCL awards the JD Distinguished Fellowship to a select group of students who have secured public interest positions. If you’ve missed those deadlines or otherwise are looking for other funders, there are additional resources. First, if you’ve identified an organization you’d like to work with, speak to them about where they seek funding.

Besides working with the grant seekers at your organization, here are some additional suggestions. Along those lines, start with legal funders and go outwards. For example, the DC Bar Foundation has a grant program which may be helpful. It also has an LRAP program, so that may be some relief at least for student loans. Don't forget WCL has an LRAP program as well. You can find details on this and other financial support items at the Office of Public Interest website.

You may also use the SPIN and SMARTS tools for grantseekers. Comprehensive guides and information about how to use these tools can be found on the Office of Grant Administration and Program Development 's MyWCL page. In addition, the Office of Sponsored Programs' webpage describes these tools.

Another search tool that can be effective is a key word search - for instance "grant seeker information." You’ll find a good number of general foundations and gives you the sense for the specialized areas you can search (for instance grants for women or minorities or for a particular type of work). You'll see a number of government sites as well as the foundations.

Here are some additional sites:

Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs)

Loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) generally help defray the educational debt payments of graduates who go into qualifying public service. LRAPs can be offered by law schools, employers, states and at the Federal level. To learn more about LRAPs, visit these resources:

Federal Loan Repayment and Forgiveness Programs

Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is available for all federal student loans (graduate and undergraduate). Under IBR, monthly payments are capped at an amount intended to be affordable based on income and family size. The type of employment is not a factor in the calculation, only income and debt. For public sector employees, all federal loans must be in the federal direct loan program for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). For some graduates, their Grad PLUS loans are federally-guaranteed (FFEL) loans and must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation loan for PSLF. IBR is not available for private loans. Information can be found at: https://www.myedaccount.com/. Additional information available at: WCL Financial Aid Office.