Our work

The Law Foundation of Ontario takes an active and engaging approach to our work in five broad areas to carry out our mandate of advancing access to justice.
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Madame Justice Thorburn volunteers with OJEN, helping young people better understand and relate to the justice system, and the people who work within it

The Law Foundation of Ontario takes an active and engaging approach to our work as a grantmaker and to carry out our mandate of advancing access to justice. Since our creation in 1974, we have worked with and given out over $2B in grants to hundreds of carefully selected grantees, class actions in the public interest, and to Legal Aid Ontario.

The Law Foundation of Ontario works in five broad areas:

Grantmaking

Manages a number of grant programs and makes grants to support a wide range of nonprofit organizations to help people understand the law and to use the law to improve their lives

Learn more

Funds to Legal Aid Ontario
Build and share knowledge
Guthrie Award
Class Proceedings Fund

What's new

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News

Close to $7M in core funding to eight leading access to justice organizations

October 9, 2025

The Foundation has approved 8 new Catalyst grants, representing $6.9M over 3 years.

Gerald, who has short black hair and dark glasses, and Bennett, a man with very short brown hair
News

Bennett Jensen Guthrie Award celebration

November 26, 2025

We gathered on November 6, 2025 to present Bennett Jensen with the Guthrie Award, the Foundation’s signature award to recognize exceptional access to justice champions.

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News

$1.5M grant to Community Foundations of Canada to support access to justice in rural, remote, and northern communities

November 25, 2025

The Foundation approved a $1.5M Strategic Partnership grant to the Community Foundations of Canada.