Purpose in Every Action
Annual Report FY24-25
From the CEO & Board President
Dear Friends and Supporters,
This year has reminded us, in powerful and sometimes painful ways, why our work matters. Every day, more neighbors in our community face urgent legal problems like being pushed out of their homes, being denied critical health care, or having to struggle to stay safe as immigrants or members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
As the region’s nonprofit law office, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley has responded proactively. Shifting federal policies—from immigration enforcement to cuts in Medi-Cal and food assistance—are stripping away vital support systems. Here in Santa Clara County, eviction filings are 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with 480 cases for every one housing attorney, the largest gap in the Bay Area.
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In the face of these challenges, we have stayed true to our mission: advancing the rights and dignity of every person, no exceptions. As we have done for more than 50 years, we monitor federal, state, and regional actions closely and develop strategies to protect our low-income neighbors.
Thanks to you, our attorneys, social workers, and advocates, together with pro bono volunteers, helped more than 15,000 people last year, including thousands of children and young adults.
In this report, you will learn how we launched family preparedness clinics for immigrant families, working one-on-one with clients to create personalized plans in case a parent or other family member is suddenly deported. And as laws and policies increasingly target unhoused people, you’ll learn how we are getting to the root causes and protecting their rights—and why it matters for everyone. But this just scratches the surface of all we have accomplished, together, over the past year.
Each story in this report reflects our shared belief that justice should not depend on income, background, or circumstance. You help us show up for our neighbors when it matters most, making justice accessible to everyone. Thank you for standing with us and our clients.
With your continued support, we will meet the challenges ahead and ensure that every person in our community can access justice and opportunity.
With gratitude,
Alison Brunner, Esq.
CEO
Calise Cheng
Board President
Our Mission
Advance the rights of under-represented individuals and families in our diverse community through legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach.
We listen to, advise, and advocate for our clients to ensure their voices are heard and their rights are protected. We provide free legal assistance and advocacy to support children and youth in the foster care system, those seeking stable caregiving arrangements, facing education challenges like expulsion, and so much more.
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Areas of Expertise:
Child Abuse & Neglect
Domestic Violence
Education Rights & School Discipline
Family Law
Guardianships
Identity Theft
Immigration
Medical-Legal Partnership
Transition-Age Foster Youth
Victims of Crime
Every day, tenants facing housing challenges access free support and advocacy to help them stay in their homes. Low-income families and individuals, most from communities of color, receive legal services ranging from eviction defense to fighting housing discrimination. In addition to representing individual clients, we leverage our legal skills and expertise to support tenant and mobile home resident associations, along with local affordable housing policy coalitions.
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Areas of Expertise:
Disability Access & Modifications
Eviction Defense
Homelessness Prevention
Housing Benefits & Subsidies
Housing Discrimination
Tenants’ Rights
Unhoused Advocacy
For individuals with health issues, we assist clients with accessing and maintaining public benefits, ensuring greater economic stability. We also provide advocacy services for mental health consumers, including advocating for incarcerated individuals and protecting the rights of patients who are involuntarily committed to behavioral health facilities.
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Areas of Expertise:
Access to healthcare and mental health services
Appeals for public benefit denials, including SSI, Social Security Disability Insurance, Medi-Cal, VA, GA, and food assistance
Assistance on other public benefit issues like reductions, overpayments, work requirements
Representation of individuals held involuntarily at due process and medication capacity hearings
Monitoring inpatient mental health facilities and addressing complaints
Disability reasonable accommodation requests
We leverage the talent of attorneys, law students, and staff from law firms and corporate legal departments to help more clients than we would with just our in-house attorneys. Our pro bono attorney volunteers dedicate their time and expertise to provide high-quality legal services. Our non-attorney pro bono volunteers provide a wide variety of services like paralegal support, website and graphic design, forensics, and data analysis.
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Current Pro Bono Projects Include:
Name and Gender Marker Correction
Security Deposit Recovery
Guardianships
School Discipline
Foster Youth Financial Stability & Empowerment
Co-Counsel Opportunities
Research Projects
Our Vision
To achieve social justice in Silicon Valley and beyond through vigorous legal advocacy.
Responding Locally to Shifts in Federal Priorities
Federal policy shifts have created ripple effects for communities across Silicon Valley, particularly for those who are low-income, undocumented, LGBTQIA+, or experiencing housing instability. The Law Foundation not only tracks these changes but translates them into local action that protects families, preserves rights, and ensures access to essential services.
As federal immigration enforcement intensified, we expanded our Family Preparedness Clinics, helping families create personalized plans to safeguard children and critical documents in case a parent faces detention. These one-on-one sessions, led by pro bono attorneys, link directly to our broader immigration programs that provide legal representation and advocacy, ensuring families are not navigating fear and uncertainty alone.
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Federal funding threats to healthcare and nutrition programs directly impact the families we serve. Our team provides legal assistance to help clients maintain access to Medi-Cal, food assistance, and other essential benefits even as shifting federal policies put their eligibility at risk.
Since the election in November 2024, we have seen a chilling effect: community members are less likely to reach out for our advice and services, afraid that seeking help could expose them to government targeting. We address this fear and share information about legal rights when we can but cannot provide a promise of total safety. We continue to monitor the frequent changes in laws, policies, and actions to best meet the needs of our clients.
Whether addressing federal shifts in immigration, homelessness, or social services, the Law Foundation’s approach is consistent: identify the threat, connect it to our local programs, and act to protect the people most affected. By translating national policies into community-based solutions—and responding to the fear these policies create—we ensure that Silicon Valley’s most vulnerable residents are not left behind.
The Law Foundation advances the legal rights of children and youth, empowering them to lead healthy and productive lives.
Immigration: Defending Our Community in a Time of Fear
We believe that everyone deserves equity, dignity, and fairness. As federal immigration enforcement becomes more aggressive and punitive, our commitment to defending the rights of under-represented individuals and families remains steadfast.
Federal actions and enforcement are increasing locally. Our neighbors feel fear, families are being separated, and the core values of justice and due process are being challenged. Children are left especially vulnerable as the federal administration has significantly reduced funding for legal services provided to unaccompanied migrant children.
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In response, we are actively working to support our community by:
Helping families prepare for possible detention or deportation, including care plans for children
Providing legal representation to unaccompanied minors in immigration cases
Educating low-income tenants about their housing rights to prevent exploitation based on immigration status
Advising individuals on eligibility for state and federal benefits, like healthcare and food assistance, amid changing policies and increasing fear to engage with government programs
Partnering with communities to raise their voices and influence decisions
A Journey to Safety and Stability
Earlier this year, a 22-year-old mother of twin infants from Honduras received her green card, marking the culmination of five years of support from the Law Foundation. She came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor, fleeing sexual assault and threats in her home country, and seeking safety after witnessing domestic violence as a child.
We provided comprehensive support, helping her navigate complex immigration laws while also assisting with personal challenges, including transferring schools and finding employment. Our attorneys and social workers guided her through every step of the legal process, ensuring she could reunite with her mother and establish a safe life for herself and her children.
Today, she has achieved security and stability in the United States—a milestone made possible through persistent legal advocacy and holistic support that addresses both the legal and human needs of those we serve.
Our Impact
by the Numbers
15,205
Total number of people served
4,756
Number of clients served ages infancy - 25
1,130
Number of current & former foster youth served
3,833
Number of people
receiving housing services
$1.2 million
Total amount of money saved for housing clients
$2.7 million
Dollar value of donated pro bono services
Defending people from unfair eviction from their homes helps people avoid homelessness and improves the regional housing crisis.
Standing with our Unhoused Neighbors
The Law Foundation supports people and families who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability through legal services, policy advocacy, and community education.
Every day we work to ensure that our neighbors can access safe, stable housing. Yet, the City of San José’s latest budget shifts focus away from long-term solutions, favoring encampment sweeps, fines, and vehicle impoundments over investments in deeply affordable housing and supportive services.
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Our Unhoused Advocacy Project’s services include:
Educating unhoused individuals about their legal rights regarding public spaces, shelters, and housing programs.
Distributing legal guides and hosting workshops on how to navigate sweeps, police interactions, or housing applications.
Observing or challenging sweeps of encampments where unhoused people live.
Helping clients apply for public benefits (like disability benefits, housing support, or food assistance) that promote financial stability.
Coordinating with social workers or case managers to ensure unhoused clients can access health care, mental health services, employment support, and housing resources.
Advocating for policies that protect unhoused individuals, such as limits on encampment sweeps or improved access to shelters.
When we help our unhoused neighbors, we all benefit. Through stable housing, legal protections, and essential services, we ease the strain on emergency services and create safer, healthier neighborhoods. Families gain stability, unhoused children can thrive in school, and adults can participate fully in the workforce and community life.
Decades of evidence show that punitive responses do not reduce homelessness; they make it harder for individuals to rebuild their lives. Instead, we must prioritize strategies that are effective, humane, and economically sound: permanent housing, rental assistance, and services that address the root causes of housing instability.
Twice Displaced, Finally Safe
Our client came to the Law Foundation while living on the streets, facing both physical and mental health disabilities, and carrying the weight of daily uncertainty. He applied for federal disability benefits (SSI), and we agreed to represent him at his hearing, fighting for his right to a stable income.
While waiting for that, his world was shaken: he was swept from his encampment twice, losing his belongings in the process. Each removal was more than an inconvenience—it was a reminder of how harshly the system treats unhoused people, especially those with disabilities.
But hope won out. At his hearing, he was approved for SSI benefits. For the first time in years, he has a predictable monthly income, enough to secure housing, access regular health care, and take steps toward stability.
Education Rights for All Students
For decades, the Law Foundation has been a leading voice for educational equity in Santa Clara County. Education is a powerful driver of social justice. When young people receive equitable access to education, the benefits extend across communities—promoting economic mobility, health stability, and civic participation.
We champion the rights of low-income children and students with disabilities to ensure they receive the services and support they need to thrive. Our attorneys and advocates represent students in school discipline cases and ensure those requiring Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or accommodations get access to the education they are entitled to by law.
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Yet too many families face barriers. Many don’t know their rights until their child has fallen behind. This year, cuts to Title I and special education funding, staff layoffs, and reduced oversight have made it even harder for students, particularly students of color, to access essential services and their federally guaranteed right to a free appropriate public education.
This year we:
Received 484 referrals for special education cases from Santa Clara County. Of these, we represented 108 students and provided comprehensive advocacy. The remaining families received vital guidance and resources.
Filed multiple due process lawsuits that resulted in favorable outcomes for students across Silicon Valley, providing our young clients with additional educational support to make up for instruction or services they were entitled to but didn’t receive.
Prioritized each student's unique needs to ensure that families could focus on what matters most: their education and future.
Protecting a Student’s Right to Learn
When a local student with disabilities faced expulsion, the Law Foundation stepped in. The school district had ruled that the student’s behavior wasn’t related to their disability: a decision that could have derailed the student’s education and caused lasting harm.
Our attorneys advocated for a fair review, which prompted a full reconsideration. After our intervention, the district reversed its expulsion recommendation, acknowledged that the student's behavior was linked to their disability, and agreed to provide additional services to better support the student's needs. This outcome not only kept the student in school but also strengthened the district’s accountability: ensuring that students with disabilities receive the education and support they deserve.
Financial Overview
Unaudited figures for fiscal year 2025
| Revenue & Support | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Government Contracts | $9,053,105 |
| Contributions In-Kind* | $3,013,588 |
| Corporations | $1,787,918 |
| Foundations | $916,367 |
| Individuals | $666,852 |
| Interest Income & Other | $494,455 |
| Special Events | $411,015 |
| Attorney Fees/Cy Pres Awards | $163,310 |
| Total Revenue & Support | $16,506,611 |
| Expenses | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Programs | $12,732,359 |
| General & Administrative | $1,917,925 |
| Fundraising | $1,171,326 |
| Total Expenses | $15,821,611 |
| Change in Net Assets | $685,000 |
| Assets | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | $11,763,295 |
| Accounts Receivable | $2,413,820 |
| Total Other Assets | $4,235,270 |
| Total Fixed Assets | $168,359 |
| Cash Held in Trust | $2,522 |
| Total Assets | $18,583,266 |
| Liabilities | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Long-Term Liabilities | $4,245,397 |
| Other Liabilities | $1,803,936 |
| Accounts Payable | $167,940 |
| Total Liabilities | $6,217,273 |
| Net Assets | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Without Donor Restrictions | $9,323,114 |
| With Donor Restrictions | $3,042,879 |
| Total Net Assets | $12,365,993 |
*In-Kind: Pro bono volunteers donated 4,000 hours of services valued at $2,369,909, representing most of this amount.
Pro Bono Partner Spotlight: Name & Gender Marker Change Project
Across the U.S., harmful laws and rhetoric targeting the transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex (TGI) community are on the rise. This year, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley partnered with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for the second year in a row during Pride Month, to host a name and gender marker change legal clinic. The clinic supported clients in petitioning for a name and gender marker change court order, which can then be used to update a person’s critical identity documents, such as driver’s licenses, passports, and Social Security records.
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Join us in helping members of our community receive court orders so they can correct identity documents that ensure access and protect personal safety. Pro Bono volunteer opportunities are available for both attorneys and non-attorney legal staff. Visit lawfoundation.org/volunteer.
Thank You
to Our Supporters
Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts
John Mohme Foundation
