Removing legal barriers to strengthen families, workforce participation, and rural communities

For many Iowans, the most important legal challenges they face don’t happen in criminal courtrooms. They happen quietly, when a family is at risk of losing their home, when a survivor seeks safety, or when a missed paycheck puts everything in jeopardy.

In those moments, there is no guaranteed right to an attorney. That gap is where Iowa Legal Aid steps in. 

“We are the only statewide provider of civil legal services for low-income Iowans,” said Nick Smithberg, Executive Director of Iowa Legal Aid. 

Serving all 99 counties, the organization focuses on the issues that form the foundation of stability. “If you took a hierarchy of needs, we’re at the very bottom of the pyramid — safety, shelter, food. Basic needs,” Nick said.

In 2025 alone, Iowa Legal Aid closed 14,133 cases, helping 34,394 people, including 14,200 children, navigate housing challenges, domestic violence protections, and access to income and benefits. 

“We secured $9.6 million in financial benefits for our clients,” Nick said. These are resources that strengthen families and local economies, but at its core, the work is about opening doors.

“We’re not giving people a handout. We’re giving them a tool,” Nick said. “We’re giving people access to workforce, access to resources, access to opportunity.”

Most clients are already working to build better futures.  “The overwhelming majority fall into one or more of three categories: they work, they’re seniors, or they’re disabled,” he said. 

When legal barriers are removed, families can move forward with greater stability and confidence.

“You help a kid in third grade,” Nick said, “you’ve just set the table for a multigenerational success story.”

That momentum is strengthened through partnership with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. Since its first grant, CFNEIA has awarded more than $200,000 to support Iowa Legal Aid’s work in the region. Support has helped fund initiatives such as an expungement clinic, opening doors to employment and economic mobility.

In 2025, Iowa Legal Aid also established the Iowa Legal Aid Endowment Fund with CFNEIA, creating a permanent resource to sustain this work into the future. 

“We need something we can control, and that is not dependent on the winds of the moment,” Nick said. “A community is not going to be thriving unless there’s a place to bring everyone along,” he adds.

Through partnership with CFNEIA and its donors, Iowa Legal Aid is expanding access, strengthening families, and creating the conditions for individuals and communities across our region to move forward.