The BALIF Foundation was founded to complement the great work BALIF has achieved over 35 years.  As many of you know, BALIF was originally founded to increase the number of LGBTQI judges on the bench.  Today, BALIF offers a wide range of programming to support its LGBTQI member judges, public servants, private attorneys, and law students.  The Foundation was created to serve as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for BALIF and is dedicated to increasing the number of LGBTQI judges on the bench through educational programming, supporting LGBTQI community organizations, and providing scholarships, summer stipends, and fellowships for LGBTQI law students and young attorneys seeking to help the LGBTQI community through legal work.  Although our community has achieved great strides in improving LGBTQI civil rights, there is still so much work to accomplish.  Today, we still see much discrimination to LGBTQI youth, especially those who are transgender and/or people of color.