Accesslex Institute
West Chester, PA · EIN 23-2719985. Reported 130 grants totalling $6,087,909 to 64 organizations across tax years 2021-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Accesslex Institute, the IRS classifies it under public & societal benefit rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE W60) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 64 distinct organizations, with 8% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 50% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 2 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 57% median for grantmaking charities -- noticeably lower than the 67% private foundations manage. Organizations like this one rotate more of their list each year, which is where an opening for a newcomer tends to be.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $28,768. Half of what it reported fell between $15,200 and $75,000; the smallest was $5,893 and the largest $250,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Bar of California | San Francisco, CA | $475,500 | 4 | 2 | 2023 |
| Law College Association of the University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $405,137 | 4 | 2 | 2023 |
| Association of American Law Schools Inc | Washington, DC | $375,000 | 8 | 3 | 2023 |
| Pennsylvania State University | Carlisle, PA | $375,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The Trustees of Indiana University | Detroit, MI | $311,250 | 6 | 3 | 2023 |
| American Bar Foundation | Chicago, IL | $293,571 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Legal Education Access Pipeline Inc | Pasadena, CA | $201,407 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago, IL | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Willamette University | Salem, OR | $180,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Dillard University | New Orleans, LA | $177,069 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Wisconsin | Madison, WI | $170,286 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Miami | Coral Gables, FL | $157,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois | Urbana, IL | $141,788 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | $140,832 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American University | Washington, DC | $131,398 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of St Thomas | St Paul, MN | $118,960 | 4 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Arkansas - Sppark Grant Agr | Fayetteville, AR | $108,656 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| District of Columbia School of Law Foundation | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| The Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction | Chicago, IL | $96,166 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| Arkansas State University System Foundation Inc | State Univ, AR | $94,076 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| UC Hastings College of the Law - Identifying Success Factors | San Francisco, CA | $93,051 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Western New England University | Springfield, MA | $92,875 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mcneese State University (eastern Washington University ) | Lake Charles, LA | $92,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Florida Atlantic University - Pre-Law University Services (plus) Expansion | Boca Raton, FL | $90,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Michigan State University College of Law - Michigan State University Colleg | East Lansing, MI | $90,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Center for State Courts | Williamsburg, VA | $90,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hofstra University | Hempstead, NY | $88,730 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| New York Law School | New York, NY | $83,333 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Behavioral Insights Institute | Cambridge, MA | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Northern Illinois University College of Law - Northern Illinois University | Dekalb, IL | $76,605 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Association of Academic Support Educators Inc | New York, NY | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Regents of the University of California at Berkeley | Riverside, CA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Touro University | New York, NY | $63,750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc | Athens, GA | $62,785 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| North Carolina Central University Foundation Inc | Durham, NC | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | $51,282 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of North Texas at Dallas Foundation | Dallas, TX | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of San Diego | San Diego, CA | $39,440 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | $38,082 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University System of New Hampshire | Concord, NH | $34,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Maine School of Law Foundation | Portland, ME | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Pepperdine University | Malibu, CA | $27,380 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Nalp Foundation for Law Career Research and Education | Concord, MA | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| New England Law Boston | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| President-Board of Trustees Santa Clara College | Santa Clara, CA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | $20,173 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Florida International Univ Board of Trustees | Miami, FL | $19,998 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Elon University | Elon, NC | $19,323 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Houston | Houston, TX | $18,750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Baylor University | Waco, TX | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Southwestern Law School | Los Angeles, CA | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of North Dakota School of Law - the Barriers and Interventions G | Grand Foks, ND | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Johns University New York | Jamaica, NY | $15,930 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | $15,200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Appalachian School of Law | Grundy, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Florida Agricultural & Mechanical Univ Foundation Inc | Tallahassee, FL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Golden Gate University | San Francisco, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Seattle University | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The City University of New York School of Law Foundation Inc | Long Island City, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thomas M Cooley Law School | Lansing, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Mississippi | University, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $8,733 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Southern Education Foundation Inc | Atlanta, GA | $5,893 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
35 of 64 (55%) received money in more than one year over the 3 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - ONE & DONE - Pennsylvania State University
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - ANTIRACIST DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FOR LAW SCHOOL - Willamette University
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF COHORT STRUCTURE ON FIRST-TIME B - The Association of American Law Schools (aals)
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - RESEARCH GRANT - Dillard University
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - LEGAL EDUCATION ADVANCING DIVERSITY - New York Law School
PROGRAM SUPPORT/RESEARCH - EVENING DISCUSSION BAR PASS RESEARCH PROJECT
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 45 of 64 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | $2,255,217 | $27,955 |
| 2022 | 42 | $1,758,934 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 38 | $2,073,758 | $30,942 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
16% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
Find more funders like Accesslex Institute
We read newly filed IRS returns and email you the grantmakers whose giving matches your state and cause, as they are published. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $28,768 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Accesslex Institute's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 3 returns (tax years 2021-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 38 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 10 North High Street Ste 400, West Chester, PA, 19380.
EIN 23-2719985 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your organization? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.