Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund

The Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund is managed by The Denver Foundation in partnership with a community advisory board that includes representatives from the Denver Mayor's Office, Denver City Council, Colorado Lawyers Committee, immigrant rights groups, and The Denver Foundation. The Denver Foundation established the fund in 2018 as a special project fund in partnership with the City and County of Denver, following Executive Order 142, which called for the creation of a legal services fund. The fund seeks to increase access to legal services for Denver's immigrant community through grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. Funding supports four principal areas of work. Category 1 supports removal defense for individuals detained at the Aurora Detention Facility and people released from that facility who have cases pending in Denver Immigration Court, including high-quality representation throughout immigration court proceedings. Category 2 supports affirmative relief for people who are not in detention, including legal screening, consultation, and representation for individuals eligible for an immigration benefit. Category 3 supports capacity building for direct legal representation, including expanding the pool of pro-bono and low-bono immigration attorneys, using law school clinics and law students, and developing other innovative projects that increase legal representation for immigrants. Category 4 supports legal resources, scholarships for legal fees, filing fees, and other representation-related application fees. Requests for these costs must be proportionate to the cases proposed for representation. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or organizations with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, and they must be in good standing with the IRS and the State of Colorado. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of Denver's immigrant community, particularly populations vulnerable to immigration enforcement, and strong relationships with a diverse network of community-based organizations, legal service providers, and faith-based institutions serving immigrants and refugees. Applicants must also demonstrate previous experience and capacity to collaborate with legal service providers, law firms, bar associations, private attorneys, and other key partners. Category 1 applicants have additional requirements involving a strong record of removal defense, appropriately licensed professionals, immigration law expertise, and the ability to consult with and represent clients in the Aurora Detention Center. Category 2 and Category 3 applicants must demonstrate a history of working with prioritized populations, with priority given to organizations that have provided similar services. Grant-supported services may only assist qualifying individuals. Eligible clients must be residents of the City and County of Denver, defined for this fund as individuals living in Colorado who can verify their presence in the City and County of Denver for at least 60 days, and their household income may not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Clients must have viable claims, need advice of counsel, receive removal defense representation without an initial relief-eligibility screening, seek affirmative relief or removal defense, face actual or potential removal proceedings, have been arrested or detained by immigration officials, have a final removal order, and/or seek immigration benefits such as work authorization, as applicable to the services being provided. Applications are submitted online through The Denver Foundation's grant application portal. Applicants must register on the portal before completing the online application. The opportunity opens August 24, 2026 and closes October 5, 2026. The stated typical grant range is $25,000 to $200,000. The source does not state a required matching contribution, total program funding amount, anticipated number of awards, award notification date, or a recurring application schedule. Previous grant awards do not guarantee future awards. The review process is expected to take approximately four to six weeks. The Denver Foundation initially screens proposals for completeness and eligibility, and incomplete applications are not considered. Foundation staff may contact applicants for additional information when needed. The Denver Immigrant Legal Services Advisory Board recommends final selections. Funded organizations must submit a short mid-year report six months after the award and a final report one year after the award, with reporting requiring a high degree of detail in tracking and documenting clients. Questions about the grant process may be directed to dilsf@denverfoundation.org. The Denver Foundation's general office telephone number is 303.300.1790.

Ensure strong documentation of partnerships and demonstrate measurable capacity to deliver legal services; align proposal clearly with one of the four funding categories; provide detailed case projections and proportional budgeting