Public Interest/Pro Bono

Public Interest Auction

The Public Interest Fellowship Program (PIFP) at the Villanova University School of Law provides financial support to students who commit their summers to public service legal work.  PIFP fundraises for its student fellowships through a variety of creative endeavors.  The ultimate highlight of the fundraising efforts, however, is the PIFP Auction, held each spring at Villanova, which raises money by selling items tirelessly solicited by students (and faculty) throughout the school year.  This year PIFP celebrates its Tenth Anniversary!  The first auction, in April, 1998, raised $19,000 and awarded six fellowships.  As a symbol of PIFP growth and continued success, last year’s auction raised over $60,000, providing ten students with summer fellowships in the amount of $4500, as well as funding PIFP’s first ever post-graduate fellowship. 

Since its inception, PIFP has raised over $365,000 and has awarded a total of 86 summer fellowships.  Prior fellowship recipients have worked at organizations throughout the world, including Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center, Women Against Abuse Legal Center, Greater Boston Legal Services, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the California Appellate Project, the Homeless Advocacy Project, Pennsylvania Health Law Project, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as various district attorney’s offices throughout the country.

The Tenth Annual PIFP Auction will be held on March 30, 2007 at Villanova Law School.

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