At the heart of the Foundation's grantmaking activities is the IOLTA Grants Program. The MBF is one of three charitable entities in the state charged with distributing the Massachusetts Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account (IOLTA) funds, receiving 26 percent of the total interest earned on IOLTA accounts.

The MBF’s Legal Intern Fellowship Program was established in 1996 to give talented law students the experience necessary to pursue careers in public interest law while also providing legal aid organizations with much-needed additional staff capacity for the summer.

The Chief Justice Gants Judicial Scholarship Program was conceived in memory of the late Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants to give Massachusetts law students with limited financial means the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the judicial system.

From time to time, and as finances permit, the MBF considers funding requests that fall outside the eligibility requirements of the IOLTA Grants Program or outside the traditional grant cycle, but are consistent with the MBF’s overall mission of increasing access to civil legal aid, improving the administration of justice, or promoting an understanding of the law.