Happy New Year to all! 

In July 2025, I began my term as President of the Idaho Law Foundation, taking over from Sunrise Ayers. We owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude for her service. Sunrise has been a driving force in ensuring access to justice in both her professional life with Idaho Legal Aid, and through her work on the Foundation. Her platform was for the Foundation to be a positive force for upholding and reaffirming the rule of law. To that end, she is actively working on cy pres rules in Idaho, to ensure that residual class action funds are routed to the Foundation to be used for our mission: increasing access to legal services and enhancing public understanding of the law.

Did you know that as an Idaho Bar member, you are automatically a member of the Foundation? As President, my goal is to increase understanding of the Foundation, its scope, and to advocate for pledges to The Future Fund.

First, what are those programs? Well, among our many achievements, we are proud to highlight the following:

• The Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program (IVLP) processed 5,000 requests for pro bono legal services, opened 859 cases and provided legal services for 950 individuals and families.
• 781 volunteers served 6,282 volunteer hours.
• Additionally, IVLP expanded advice and counsel clinics across Idaho, serving approximately 775 people statewide.
• Law-Related Education co-hosted the annual Constitution Day celebration featuring Neil Siegel. The presentation “The Supreme Court Under Threat; Early Lessons in Judicial Self-Protection” was attended by 891 people, including 141 attorneys, 16 community members and 734 students from 28 schools.
• Law-Related Education hosted 41 teams in regional competitions and 16 teams at the state competition and provided opportunities for courtroom journalism and courtroom artists to compete as well.
• IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) provided $900,000 in grants to provide legal aid to the poor, support law-related education programs for the public, offer scholarships and improve the administration of justice. This was a $300,000 increase in our 2025 grant funding. We are thankful to Justice Colleen Zahn and the IOLTA Committee for the time and effort spent reviewing grant requests and making thoughtful recommendations. The Law Foundation also increased the IOLTA reserve fund, so that funding levels will stay level in times of economic uncertainty.

I remain in awe of the voluntarism and generosity of our Idaho attorneys. None of these accomplishments would be possible without your dedication and support.

And speaking of support, what is the Future Fund? Last year, 589 donors gave $118,300 to the Foundation and our programs. Unless specifically designated to go to other funds, donations of $1,000 or more are allocated to our Endowment Fund.

The Future Fund dedicates contributions to the ILF Endowment. The Endowment provides sustainable, long-term funding for Foundation programs, positively impacting our community in the areas of civic education and access to justice.

Currently, our Endowment Fund is valued at approximately $650,000. The goal of the Future Fund is to increase the Endowment to $1,000,000, raising $350,000 in donations ($70,000 a year through annual pledges), paid out over five years from attorneys, law firms, and other legal organizations. Pledge levels range from Associate at $1250 ($21/month over 5 years) to Legacy level at $5000 or more ($83/month over 5 years).[1]

With a strong endowment, we can continue to support the necessary and valuable programs made possible by the Idaho Law Foundation.

I extend our deepest gratitude to our members, volunteers, donors, and partners. As we embark on another year of service, we invite you to join us—whether through volunteering, donating to our programs, or supporting our mission in other ways.

Together, we can continue to strengthen Idaho’s legal community, ensuring all citizens have an understanding of the rule of law and access to justice, fairness, and opportunity for all.

Kimberlee Bratcher is a deputy prosecutor in her hometown of Payette, Idaho. A life-long Idahoan,  she graduated with a BA from the College of Idaho and her JD from the University of Idaho College of Law. (Go, Vandals!) She clerked for the Hon. Sergio A. Gutierrez in the Third District after law school. Kimberlee received a Professionalism Award from the Idaho State Bar in 2021.  In her spare time, she travels the world to watch Hamilton, the musical. Having run over 300 half marathons and over a dozen marathons in 40 states and three foreign countries, her goal is to stay injury-free in 2026.

[1] Learn more about the Future Fund on our website: https://ilf.idaho.gov/future-fund/.