Legal Empowerment Fund

Founded in 2019, Legal Empowerment Fund is a grant-making foundation based in Salisbury, United Kingdom working on justice & legal aid, human rights, democracy & civil society +4 more.

The Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF) is a program hosted by the Fund for Global Human Rights, a UK registered charity and US 501 tax-exempt organisation. The LEF provides flexible, unrestricted funding and strategic support to grassroots legal empowerment groups, helping communities to know, use and shape the law. Its grantee partners educate community members on their legal rights, provide legal aid, and pursue advocacy, campaigning and strategic litigation on issues such as land and environmental justice, gender justice, LGBTQ rights and the rights of marginalised groups. Funding is allocated through a participatory grantmaking process, with decisions made by a Grants Selection Committee of legal empowerment practitioners and grantee partners. The LEF also fosters peer-led networks, including the Grassroots Justice Network, and works across regions worldwide, with offices in London and Washington. It was established in 2019.