Skip to content

Legal Empowerment Fund Announces First $2 Million in Grants

We’re excited to announce the first cohort of 49 Legal Empowerment Fund grantees!

Around the world, more than 5 billion people lack meaningful access to justice. The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF) is the first initiative dedicated solely to closing the global justice gap by investing in locally driven solutions and bringing community-level strategies to scale.

In January 2022, the LEF initiated its inaugural funding cycle with a month-long open call for proposals. We invited grassroots activists and organizations doing legal empowerment work anywhere in the world to apply for flexible funding.

The response was staggering. We received more than 4,800 applications from 153 countries. In all, groups requested more than $233 million in funding—a true testament to the overwhelming need for greater investment at the grassroots level.

Number of applications Received By Country

$0
Amount requested in funding

After a comprehensive review and participatory selection process, 49 groups were chosen to make up the LEF’s first-ever cohort of grantees. A second cohort will be announced later this year. The full list of grantees is available below (three grantees have not been identified because of security concerns).

The activists and organizations selected do not fit into one box. They come from 31 countries across the globe, from Argentina to Zambia. They represent more than a dozen different causes, from environmental justice to women’s rights. The common thread is that they are all using legal empowerment strategies to support their communities, tackle systemic injustices, and advocate for expanded protections under the law.

Keep reading to learn more about four incredible activists from the LEF’s first-ever cohort, and to see the full list of grantees.

Meet the activists

HER Internet
Uganda
 

HER Internet boosts women’s digital literacy education. The LEF grant helps them equip women, who face intense bias including on- and offline threats, to understand Ugandan internet laws and advocate for safe online spaces. 

herinternet.org

THEMIS
Brazil
 

Themis – Gênero, Justiça e Direitos Humanos (Gender, Justice and Human Rights) works to end violence against women and the discrimination they face when pursuing justice for abuse. LEF support is helping Themis train community leaders in proven anti-violence strategies. 

themis.org.br

Braveheart Foundation
Myanmar
 

Braveheart works to promote peace and democracy in Myanmar. The LEF gives their paralegal network greater resources to help people without legal identities and ethnic minorities secure citizenship and their rights to have a say in their country’s laws.  

braveheartfoundation.net

Association Nomad08
Tunisia
 

Nomad08 mobilizes communities whose livelihoods, cultures, and environments are threatened by industrial development. Thanks to the LEF, the group is fortifying community movements advocating for their right to clean water. 

watchwater.tn

Full List of LEF grantees

Listed alphabetically by country
Three organizations are not listed due to the nature of their work.

Argentina

Fundación para el Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables (FUNDEPS)

https://fundeps.org/
fundepsargentina
fundepsargentina
fundeps

Bangladesh

Badabon Sangho

https://badabonsangho.org/
badabonsangho

Bolivia

Fundación Microjusticia Bolivia

https://microjusticiabolivia.org/
fundacionmicrojusticiabolivia

Brazil

Instituto Preservar

Themis – Gênero, Justiça e Direitos Humanos

http://themis.org.br/
themis.org.br
themis.org.br

Colombia

Asociación de Autoridades Tradicionales y Cabildos U’wa (ASOU’WA)

asouwaoficial
nacionuwa

Centro Sociojurídico para la Defensa Territorial (SIEMBRA)

https://www.centrosiembra.org/
SiembraCentro
siembra_centro
Siembra_Centro

Ecuador

Corporación ECOLEX

https://www.ecolex-ec.org/
ecolexec
linea.verde.5

Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos (INREDH)

https://inredh.org/
inredh.derechoshumanos
inredh
inredh1

El Salvador

Asociación Comunicando y Capacitando a Mujeres Trans con VIH en El Salvador (COMCAVIS TRANS)

https://www.comcavis.org.sv/
comcavistrans
comcavistrans

France

Mission d’Intervention et de Sensibilisation contre la Traite des êtres humains (MIST)

http://mist-association.org/
associationmist

Guatemala

Asociación Sobrevivencia Cultural (Sobrevivencia Cultural)

SobrevivenciaCultural

Coordinadora de Asociaciones y Comunidades para el Desarrollo Integral de la Región Ch’orti’ (COMUNDICH)

https://comundich.org/
COMUNDICH

Honduras

Movimiento Ambientalista Santabarbarense (MAS Honduras)

mas.sb.hn

India

International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC)

https://pcvconline.org/
pcvc_2000

Kenya

Chepkitale Indigenous People Development Project (CIPDP)

https://chepkitale.org/

Pamoja Trust

https://pamojatrust.org/
PamojaTrustPage
pamoja_trust

Women Beyond Barriers Community Based Organization (WBB)

womenbeyondbarrier

Pema Kenya CBO (PEMA-K)

https://pemakenya.org/
pemakenya.org
pemakenya
pemakenya

Liberia

National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees (NUCFDCs)

Malaysia

Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA)

https://dhrramalaysia.org.my/
DHRRA
dhrramalaysia

Mexico

Centro de Atención a la Mujer Trabajadora de Chihuahua A.C. (CAMT Chihuahua)

https://camtac.org.mx/
Centro-de-Atenci%C3%B3n-a-la-Mujer-Trabajadora-AC

Centro Regional de Defensa de Derechos Humanos, “José Ma. Morelos y Pavón” A.C. (Centro Morelos)

Centro-de-Defensa-De-Los-Derechos-Humanos-Jose-Maria-Morelos-y-Pav

Interculturalidad, Salud y Derechos A.C. (INSADE)

https://insade.org
insade.a
insade_ac
insade_ac

Myanmar

Braveheart Foundation

https://braveheartfoundation.net/
braveheartmyanmar

Myanmar Legal Aid Network (MLAW)

Myanmar Lega Aid Network

Peace Point-Myanmar (PPM)

https://www.peacepointmyanmar.org/
peacepointmyanmar

North Macedonia

Association for Legal Education and Transparency (LET Station)

https://stanicapet.org.mk/en/
stanicapet

Pakistan

Insan Dost Association (IDA)

https://www.ida.org.pk/
Insan-Dost-Association

Peru

Central Distrital de las Rondas Campesinas de Nuñoa (CEDROCAN)

https://idecaperu.org/
ideca.peru
CEDROCAN

Republic of Congo

Association Les Amis des Enfants (AAE)

South Africa

Maokeng Advice And Resource Centre (MARC)

Mitchells Plain Community Advice and Development Project (MPCADP)

Mitchells-Plain-Community-Advice-and-Developement-Project

Spain

Asociación Pro Derechos de la Infancia (Pro.De.In)

https://vimeo.com/user12822802
jose.palazon.
PRODEINORG

US

Homes for All St. Louis

https://homesforall.org/
h4astl

Global Rights Advocacy

https://www.globalrightsadvocacy.org/
globalrightsadvocacy
advocacy_gra

Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP)

https://www.qdep.org/
queerdep

Zambia

Paralegal Alliance Network (PAN)

https://panzambia.org/
PANZambia
paralegalalliancenetworkzm/

Zambia Institute of Environmental Management (ZEIM)

http://www.zieminsititute.com/
ZIEMngo

We believe in a future where all people have equal access to justice. Learn more about the Legal Empowerment Fund.

Search