Strategic Plan

Our Focus Areas and Goals

The five Focus Areas of our strategic plan reflect the interconnected nature of our work across BC. We chose the Nootka Rose to represent them as a plant with deep roots in this place, long used by Indigenous communities in food, drink, medicine, and ceremony, and known for its ability to grow and thrive almost anywhere.

For each Focus Area, we have identified key initiatives that guide where we direct our energy and resources. This is not an exhaustive list. Our work continues to grow and evolve as we find new ways to support the communities we serve.

Lifting Up Indigenous Justice Revitalization and Justice System Transformation

Goal: Indigenous law and justice initiatives, and initiatives to address the TRC Call to Action, MMIWG Call for Justice and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act – as prioritized by Indigenous communities – are strongly and urgently supported.

Key Initiatives: 

• Establish and support the Indigenous Advisory Circle as a reciprocal and accountable space for dialogue about the Law Foundation’s policies and work. 
• Through a new multi-year grants stream and ongoing grants, support work on Indigenous legal orders and Indigenous Justice. 
• Support grants for justice system transformation and the implementation of UNDRIP and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Strengthening Structural Inclusion and Systemic Access to Justice

Goal: Access to justice is expanded for underserved and equity-denied groups.

Key Initiatives:

• Launch further grant opportunities focused on advancing Racial Justice.
• Prioritize the expertise of Indigenous, racialized and equity-denied people in funding decisions. 
• Support grantees’ capacity-building activities, including work to reduce power imbalances and improve access and equity of services.

Enabling Networked, Effective, and Accessible Legal and Advocacy Services

Goal: Low-income people and underserved and equity-denied groups are able to access and receive effective, networked, appropriate, culturally-sensitive and creative legal and advocacy services.

Key Initiatives:

• Add capacity, supports, and infrastructure to direct legal service programs to build the resilience of service delivery. 
• Design and deploy an updated model for legal advocate education and training. 
• Complete and respond to an evaluation of new legal clinic services and family law advocacy services.

Advancing the Public Interest Through Justice Initiatives

Goal: Public interest in access to justice is advanced through the development of and support for justice initiatives, legal education, research, and law library services that meet current and emerging needs.

Key Initiatives: 

• Support the evaluation and review of the Law Foundation’s approach to funding public legal education and information, and other areas.
• Launch new grants calls to support work advancing access to justice and law reform. 
• Continue work to promote the development of the public interest legal sector through support for clinical legal education and early-career public interest law positions.
• Deliver impactful grant and wrap-around support programs that sustain work advancing the Law Foundation’s purposes and mission. 

Building a Thriving Foundation

Goal: The Law Foundation of BC is strong, pro-active, inclusive, innovative and financially stable.

Key Initiatives:

• Continue to restructure the Law Foundation and its systems and policies so that it has the capacity to carry out its work in a sustainable, inclusive and anti-racist way. 
• Engage in evaluation, learning and communications in ways that build trust, understanding, and capacity for transformative action. 
• Support the Law Foundation through the process of reform of the Legal Profession Act.
• Maximize revenues flowing to the Law Foundation, including the interest on legal profession mixed trust accounts, in order to maximize funding for grantmaking. 
• Support the wellness of staff, board members and advisors.

Artwork by Arianna Augustine