Author: Terri Bennett

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is six days away!

Now in its fourth year, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving on which people and communities around the world come together for one common purpose: to give.

We hope you’ll join millions of others just like you by taking part in #GivingTuesday by investing in Iowa Legal Aid. Join with our staff and volunteers as we help Iowans remove the barriers that keep them and their families in the cycle of poverty.

When Iowa Legal Aid assists low-income families solve their legal problems, they are able to be better parents, employees and community members. Your gift will allow Iowa Legal Aid to help more low-income Iowans who urgently need legal services, providing them with hope, dignity and justice.

We hope you’ll support Iowa Legal Aid with your most generous contribution on Tuesday, December 1st, to give back and make a difference.

Support from Principal Financial Group

Iowa Legal Aid is privileged to have the support of Principal Financial Group and the Principal Financial Group Foundation in its effort to provide critical civil legal assistance to low-income Iowans. The Foundation recently awarded Iowa Legal Aid a $25,000 grant to help support its Central Iowa Unified Intake Project and Legal Hotline for Older Iowans. Corporate attorneys from the Principal Financial Group also donate their time to conduct intake in Iowa Legal Aid’s Central Iowa Regional Office. A staff attorney had this to say about his work with one of the corporate attorneys: “A volunteer Principal attorney and I were assisting a woman whose housing was in jeopardy. She was living in a home she had inherited in a will, but she never had the will probated and it was too late to probate it, so the title to the property was in question. After doing some digging, we found an alternative legal theory to quiet title and to put the client on the title. Because of our perseverance in gathering facts and researching options we were able to find a solution for a client that desperately needed help when a solution wasn’t immediately apparent. Preserving housing for our clients is one of Iowa Legal Aid’s main goals and it was invigorating to work with a Principal attorney who didn’t want to give up on our client.”

ENDOW IOWA TAX CREDIT UPDATE

Update from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) on the status of the 2015 Endow Iowa tax credits:

The 2015 allocation approved by the legislative session is $6 million. To date, the number of 2015 Endow Iowa tax credits awarded is just over $5 million. This number includes the 2014 applications that have been carried over into 2015 and 2015 applications received to date. Donors who wish to qualify for the Endow Iowa tax credits should make their gifts as soon as possible, it is likely the credits will be exhausted earlier than originally expected.

The Endow Iowa Tax Credit report found on the IEDA website has been updated and will continue to be updated weekly on Wednesdays. It can be accessed via this link: www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/Community/Philanthropic.

If you have questions regarding the Endow Iowa tax credit, click here.

For more information on how to make donations to the Iowa Legal Aid Foundation, click here.

Support from Prairie Meadows

Iowa Legal Aid is grateful to Prairie Meadows for the $5,000 grant it received for its Language Access Project. These funds allowed Iowa Legal Aid to purchase interpretation and translation services from the Iowa International Center for its Arabic, Spanish, Bosnian, Nepali, Swahili and Vietnamese-speaking low-income clients. Thank you Prairie Meadows for your support of Iowa Legal Aid’s work on behalf of low-income Iowans!

Dave & Trudy Hurd inducted into Iowa Legal Aid Hall of Fame

The 2015 Equal Justice After Hours was held Thursday, March 26 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at The Temple for Performing Arts in downtown Des Moines. This year’s event featured the induction of Dave & Trudy Hurd into the Iowa Legal Aid Hall of Fame. The Master of Ceremonies for the program was Suku Radia, while Roxanne Conlin performed the induction ceremony. Click here to see photos from the event.

Thanks to the efforts of Bruce Walker, President-Elect of the ISBA, this year’s ISBA president challenge was structured a bit differently. It was a dollar-for-dollar challenge from Bruce Walker and individual members of the Board of Governors of the ISBA. Pledges from the Board of Governors totaled $5,800. The challenge raised $6,360 in donations and pledges from attendees and the ISBA Board of Governors.

Preliminary figures show that more than $145,000 was raised through sponsorships and donations.

Equal Justice After Hours 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015
5:00-7:00 p.m.

The Temple for Performing Arts
Des Moines

Featuring the Induction of Dave & Trudy Hurd into the Iowa Legal Aid Hall of Fame

Dave & Trudy are passionate and generous advocates of justice – including being long-time supporters of Iowa Legal Aid. They make Iowa a better place by providing leadership for many justice-related issues involving food security, immigrants, refugees, the environment, and the LGBT community. All of their accomplishments promote Iowa Legal Aid’s goal of providing Hope, Dignity and Justice to low-income Iowans.

Tickets: $50

Event sponsorships also available… Contact Terri Bennett at 515-243-2980 x 1611 or tbennett@iowalaw.org

*The Iowa Legal Aid Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Donations to the Iowa Legal Aid Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.