Grant Requests
LiRN is funded through a levy placed on lawyer licence fees by the Law Society of Ontario and is accountable for ensuring that the funds are used as intended: to provide law library services and programs to lawyers in Ontario. We are also charged with creating guidelines, standards, policies and priorities for the network. To do so, LiRN must have a solid understanding of how grant moneys are spent. This requires both grant applications and regular financial reporting.
Grant Request Package, Instructions, and Templates
Grant Process and Timing
Education
Chart of Accounts
Printer / Scanners from Ricoh
Questions
Required Financial Reporting
LiRN’s grant from the Law Society of Ontario is a restricted fund that must be used for its purposes as set out in LSO By-Law 13, Part II (including our operations and providing Law Associations funding to pay for the operation of libraries). The grants LiRN provides to Law Associations are also restricted funds that must be used for library purposes.
Law Associations are accountable to LiRN for how grant moneys are spent and LiRN is accountable to the LSO in turn. In accordance with advice from LiRN’s Treasurer, our auditor and accounting best practices for non-profits, LiRN requires quarterly financial reports to meet this obligation, as set out in the Grant Administration Policy.
Quarterly Reports – Trial Balance and Budget-to-Actual
Due Dates for Financial Reports
Excess Fund Balances
A fund balance develops when grant funding received exceeds spending on operating the library.
LiRN’s Board of Directors approved a Grant Administration Policy (GAP) in 2021 on the advice of its auditor, which caps the amount of fund balance an association can hold for library purposes at 10% of their annual grant from LiRN.
LiRN will calculate and notify Associations of any EFB in Q2. Proposals for use of EFBs may be submitted as part of the budget process, with business cases for these proposals due at the same time as other business cases required for the budget process, as outlined above. More information can be found in the 2026 LiRN Grant Request Package Instructions and Information.