For Immediate Release: June 26, 2008

THE IMPACT FUND AWARDS $57,500 IN PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION GRANTS IN CIVIL RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND POVERTY CASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Contact: Brad Seligman (510) 845-3473 ext. 304

Impact Fund, the nation's only foundation devoted to funding complex public interest impact litigation, has awarded $57,500 in new grants to non-profit organizations and public interest law firms across the nation. Impact Fund, now in its fifteenth year, has granted over $4.5 million since its inception.

The new awards, which cover the expenses of the litigation are:

Human & Civil Rights

$12,000 to Centro Legal, Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota for its challenge to home-based raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.
Arias v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

$10,000 to the Community Justice Project of Pittsburgh for its challenge to the state special education funding formula, which results in less funding in poor urban districts.
C.G. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education and Geral Zahorchak.

$5,000 to Strindberg & Scholnick, LLC of Salt Lake City for its class action suit by employees discriminated against for filing worker's compensation claims.
Ammons v. La-Z-Boy.

$5,000 to attorney John R. Cosgrove of Menlo Park for his challenge to voting disenfranchisement of felons.
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children v. Bowen.

Environmental Justice

$12,000 to Legal Aid Service of Broward of Plantation, Florida for its mass tort action against the city for toxic exposure from a waste dump and incinerator.
Hinton v. City of Ft. Lauderdale.

$10,000 to the organization Aligning for Responsible Mining of Pine Ridge Indian, South Dakota for its challenge to toxic exposure from a uranium mine near Pine Ridge Reservation.
In Re CBR North Trend Expansion.

Poverty

$3,500 to North Carolina Justice Center of Raleigh, North Carolina for its challenge to a proposed "energy efficiency" program that would disproportionally affect poor customers.
In Re Application of Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC for Approval of Save-A-Watt.

"These innovative cases show how local communities and groups can fight back against discrimination and environmental degradation." explains Brad Seligman, executive director of the Impact Fund.

Impact Fund provides grants, technical support and counsel nationwide. Grants are made quarterly. Its most recent annual report and other information may be accessed at its web site: http://www.impactfund.org.