How to Respond to “Better”

By: Marty Ellin, Executive Director

Long before government officials confirmed that America was in a recession, the staff of AVLF knew. Before Congress debated bailouts, earlier than the foreclosure crisis grabbed the media’s attention, and prior to the dramatic jump in the unemployment rate, the number of phone calls to AVLF asking for help with urgent legal problems began to climb dramatically.

Anticipating that grants to the Foundation would be fewer, the AVLF Board nonetheless made a very conscious decision to sustain the breadth of our pro bono programs and to draw down our financial reserves as necessary to assure that there was no interruption to the services offered to our clients. Because of that decision, and because the Atlanta legal community increased its pro bono participation, we were able to maintain the core programs that provided legal support to those who otherwise had no access to counsel. Along the way, we did have to close certain non-core programs and reduce the size of and benefits to the staff. At the end of 2012, we had come close to spending all of the Foundation’s reserve.

And then, things got…better. Slowly, but noticeably. As the economy began to improve, funders began to start grant cycles again. As law firms and corporations moved away from the anxiety of the previous years, they became increasingly generous. Thus, in 2013 AVLF began to restore some of our reserve, and 2014 has started well.

What, then, do we do with “better”? Perhaps our Board President, Elizabeth Finn Johnson, put it best when she told us it was time to consider not just how to survive, but how to thrive. She and our rather extraordinary Board of Directors have encouraged a discussion that focuses not on limitation but on growth. We have begun to expand meaningful pro bono opportunities for the legal community and to broaden our development plans to return to a healthier financial position.

But amidst this optimism and the Foundation’s surging prospects, we are aware that the requests for legal assistance from those who cannot afford a lawyer have continued to grow. Perhaps it will surprise you to learn that the greatest demographic increase of the last years are formerly middle class people who have lost jobs, lost homes, and along the way have lost most of their hope.

At AVLF, we remain upbeat about our prospects for expanding service to those in our community with unmet civil legal needs. We remain optimistic about regaining a steady financial footing. But we remain very aware that although things are better for the Foundation, they remain frightening, Long before government officials confirmed that America was in a recession, the staff of AVLF knew. Before Congress debated bailouts, earlier than the foreclosure crisis grabbed the media’s attention, and prior to the dramatic jump in the unemployment rate, the number of phone calls to AVLF asking for help with urgent legal problems began to climb dramatically.

“Worse” meant “try harder.” As it turns out, so does “better.” Thank you for joining us in this effort.