Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Bar Foundation (VBF) has launched the Vermont IOLTA Leadership Circle, a voluntary initiative designed to strengthen and stabilize funding for civil legal aid by recognizing financial institutions that demonstrate leadership through competitive interest rates on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA).
IOLTA funding plays a vital role in supporting civil legal services and justice initiatives across Vermont. Interest earned on lawyers’ trust accounts helps fund legal assistance for Vermonters facing housing instability, domestic violence, immigration challenges, and other serious legal matters. Because interest rates vary by institution, banking practices directly affect the amount of funding available to support this work.
“Reliable funding is essential to meeting Vermont’s growing civil legal needs,” said Hannah King, Executive Director of the Vermont Bar Foundation. “The IOLTA Leadership Circle is an important step toward creating greater stability in IOLTA funding and supporting the organizations that provide critical legal services to Vermonters statewide.”
“We are excited to launch the IOLTA Leadership Circle as a way to modernize Vermont’s IOLTA program and bring it in closer alignment with best practices in peer states,” said Dave Gurtman, Chair of the Vermont Bar Foundation’s IOLTA Committee. “By encouraging and recognizing financial institutions that commit to meaningful interest rates on IOLTA funds, we strengthen the foundation of sustainable support for the Vermont Bar Foundation and the critical civil legal aid organizations it funds. Stable and predictable IOLTA revenue ensures that low-income Vermonters have access to justice when they need it most—whether for housing stability, protection from domestic violence, or access to benefits.”
Under the Leadership Circle framework, participating financial institutions commit to offering interest rates on IOLTA accounts that meaningfully support civil legal aid in Vermont. To qualify, institutions must offer an interest rate at or above 65 percent of the low end of the Federal Funds Target Rate, along with a minimum floor rate of 1 percent that applies if the Federal Funds Target Rate falls below that level. This structure helps ensure consistent and reliable funding for legal services, even during periods of declining or fluctuating interest rates.
In the coming weeks, members of the Vermont Bar Foundation’s IOLTA Committee will continue outreach to banks and credit unions across the state to introduce the Leadership Circle and invite voluntary participation. Participating institutions receive public recognition and program materials, including documentation that may be used to support Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities.
Banks, credit unions, members of the legal community, and other interested parties can learn more about the Vermont IOLTA Leadership Circle at https://vtbarfoundation.org/programs/iolta/ or by contacting the Vermont Bar Foundation directly.
About the Vermont Bar Foundation
The Vermont Bar Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing access to justice in Vermont. Through grantmaking, partnerships, and innovative funding initiatives, the Foundation supports civil legal aid and justice programs serving individuals and families statewide.
1.22.2026. BURLINGTON, VT — The Vermont Bar Foundation. For more information, visit https://vtbarfoundation.org/
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