The Iowa Supreme Court announced in a news release that it has approved $870,244 in grants to nonprofit programs that provide legal assistance to low-income Iowans with civil legal problems. The court awarded grants to 13 organizations throughout Iowa, including Iowa Legal Aid, the Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and Iowa Center for Children’s Justice in Des Moines. The grants are funded by the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program (IOLTA), which are generated entirely from interest earned on certain pooled trust accounts held by Iowa lawyers. Lawyers practicing law in Iowa are required to deposit clients’ funds that the lawyers hold in interest-bearing accounts. When the funds involved are so small in amount or held for such a brief period that it is not possible for the funds to economically benefit the individual client, court rules require that lawyers deposit the funds in pooled interest-bearing trust accounts. A seven-member commission reviews grant applications and makes recommendations to the Supreme Court. Grants do not support criminal legal defense.