Donate To SFF Online!

You can now visit our online donation page to donate to SFF! You must use the code '301479' in the "Other Area" field.

2010 Fellowships

The 2010 SFF Application is now available and is due by Friday, February 12, 2010. Click here for more information.

SFF Statement

SFF's Summer 2009 Statement on funding and applications can be found by clicking here.

Mission

Student Funded Fellowships (SFF) is a student organization that raises money to provide grants to University of Michigan Law School students who take unpaid or low-paying public-interest summer internships. SFF defines "public interest" jobs as those that provide legal services to underserved or disadvantaged people or causes. This broad concept includes positions with non-profit organizations, public sector agencies, and certain government organizations in the U.S. and overseas.

Service

From Midtown Manhattan to rural Appalachia, from London to Phnom Penh, our fellows span the country and the globe in using the law to serve the public interest and to provide access to legal services for those without advocates. SFF-funded students have helped draft legislation to protect women from domestic violence in Cambodia, researched racial profiling in Detroit, provided counsel for indigent prisoners in New York City, documented WW II war crimes for the Justice Department in the nation's capital, and fought for clean waterways in Northern California. Through these experiences, SFF fellows gain hands-on experience in the day-to-day practice of law that complements their formal law school training. Under the supervision of a practicing attorney, SFF fellows interview clients, prepare witnesses, write legal briefs, draft contracts, and appear in court. The organization's efforts help to make these students better lawyers and well-rounded graduates. Yet, as valuable as these experiences are to the student, SFF fellows also provide a sorely needed resource to the organizations they serve. As public interest institutions, many of these organizations operate with limited budgets and are unable to provide a stipend for summer public interest positions. SFF answers this need and makes it possible for law students to work at these organizations. As a result of SFF fellowships, a broad range of non-profit and governmental organizations are provided with the resources needed to advance the rights of children, women, racial minorities, gays & lesbians, individuals with disabilities, immigrants, victims of crime, the poor, and the disenfranchised.