Applying for a PILA Grant:

What are PILA grants and who can apply?

PILA grants are intended to fund projects that serve the public interest and provide a tangible benefit to the community. Each year, PILA awards both full grants ($5,000) and partial grants ($2,500) to successful applicants. The number of grants awarded and the amount of each grant are determined by the success of PILA's fundraising efforts each year.

The PILA Grant Selection  Committee looks for projects that embody PILA's mission and that advance the concepts of justice, equity, and the public good on behalf underrepresented people and causes. Any University of Washington law student who has a job offer from a qualifying organization (see below) and who will have completed at least one year of law school by the time the proposed project begins is eligible to apply for a PILA grant. Students who are members of the Grant Selection Committee are ineligible.

Externship credit policy: Students who will receive academic credit for their project may not apply for a PILA Grant.

Which employers are considered "qualifying organizations?"

The types of sponsoring organizations that will generally qualify for PILA funding include legal services offices, public interest organizations, social service agencies, public defender offices, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies and tribal entities. Because of PILA's federal tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status, work on behalf of any political campaign or lobbying effort will not qualify for PILA funding. This no-lobbying/no-campaigning rule is strictly enforced.

How do I apply for a PILA grant?

1. Volunteer requirement. To become eligible for a PILA grant, interested students must volunteer five hours of volunteer work for PILA.

2. Complete an application.

If you missed the grant info session on February 6th, you can view the podcast and read the power point presentation.

Download the application.

If I receive a grant, what will be expected of me?

Full grants require 350 hours of work for the host organization and partial grants require 175 hours. Grant recipients will also be required to complete reporting and volunteering requirements after completion of their public interest work.

 

Past PILA Grantees: PILA sends grantees around the state and around the world to work on projects that serve the public interest. PILA gave out its first grant in 1995 and has continued to expand ever since. Please use the menu below to read about grantees from past years. Select a year... 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 PILA Profiles: Jeff Lane "With the assistance of my PILA grant, I was able to prepare a research study and travel to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to examine hospital accreditation and quality improvement systems in the region. My research focused on the legal and administrative systems that have been established to implement these programs. "Looking back, I can say that my research was a great success.  I was able to tour hospitals of all forms and interview officials about a variety of accreditation and quality improvement programs. My experience in East Africa was also extremely important to me personally. Overwhelmed and under-resourced health systems combined with sprawling poverty have left East Africa with some of the worst health statistics in the world. I have researched and written about these statistics for years, but this summer was the first time that I began to fully grasp the magnitude of the public health crisis in East Africa." Click here to learn more about Jeff's experiences.