Supporting and Growing Communities

Advocating for funding on behalf of nonprofits that serve the disadvantaged in our communities has been a vital part of Fredrikson’s pro bono work by members of the Government Relations Group for several years.

In collaboration with other key stakeholder groups, Government Relations Specialist Cody Holliday worked on behalf of REACH for Resources in securing a reimbursement rate increase for outpatient behavioral health services and ongoing annual increases tied to inflation. REACH for Resources believes it is important that the state continues to provide adequate funding for these services as they are community based and help meet people where they are at.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. Established by Congress in 1974, LSC promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans. LSC distributes more than 90 percent of its total funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices across the country, including those in Minnesota. The grants do not, however, provide enough funds to support the needs of the local offices. And the needs are great: it is estimated that legal aid can only assist 20 percent of individuals who qualify for help. Raising funds is vital to ensure justice for all. This past year, Senior Government Relations Specialist Andy Pomroy lobbied on behalf of the Minnesota Civil Legal Services Coalition to obtain an 84.4 percent increase in state funding. This is the largest increase in history and begins to change the landscape for Legal Aid in Minnesota to better recruit and retain attorneys. Starting salaries of Legal Aid attorneys will be increased to be better aligned with the market, which will allow legal aid offices across the state to hire more staff and attorneys and expand services for more eligible Minnesotans.