Philadelphia VIP
Philadelphia Bar Foundation Grant Impact
Grant support from the Philadelphia Bar Foundation provides flexibility, credibility, and stability for Philadelphia VIP, and meaningfully helps advance the organization's work. Because the grants VIP recieves from the Bar Foundation are for general operating support, rather than project-specific funding, they enable VIP to be nimble and innovative in response to emerging legal needs. Receiving a grant from the Bar Foundation imparts an important seal of approval in Philadelphia’s legal community, and enhances VIP’s credibility when seeking new volunteers and financial support from local law firms. As VIP continues to navigate a shifting funding landscape, the organzation is especially grateful for the ongoing and significant financial support from the Bar Foundation.
Summary List of Programs and Services
VIP provides referrals for pro bono legal representation in cases from adoption to zoning. Focus is on areas of critical legal need for low-income Philadelphians; to maintain or increase income, to stabilize families, to prevent homelessness and to support community economic development.
VIP’s LawWorks Project provides referrals for pro bono representation for eligible nonprofit organizations and small businesses that benefit low-income communities and low-income homeowners seeking clear title to their homes.
Summary List of Priorities for Client Intake
VIP provides legal services through referrals to volunteer counsel in non-fee generating civil matters, including:
- Family Stability: Adoption, Custody, Divorce, Support, Guardianship
- Preventing Homelessness: Civil Forfeiture, Landlord/Tenant, Probate, Real Estate Litigation (Quiet Title – adverse possession, lease/purchase, fraudulent conveyance), Real Estate Transactions (deed transfers),
- Mortgage Foreclosure
- Maintaining Income: Tax, Name Change/Birth Certificate Amendment, Auto Accident Defense, Tort Defense, Expungement
- Community Economic Development: Transactional legal services for nonprofits and small businesses