The Montana Justice Foundation is a non-profit organization that was first created, under the name of the Montana Law Foundation, as a program of the Montana State Bar in 1979. The Montana Law Foundation made its first grant, $85,000 generated from voluntary IOLTA revenues, to Montana Legal Services Association. The Montana Law Foundation continued to make grants and promote pro-bono services. It operated as part of the Montana State Bar until 1997 when the organization's board of directors made it an independent organization and gave it a new name, the Montana Justice Foundation. Since then, MJF has continued to act as the charitable arm of Montana's legal community by making grants, monies comprised of IOLTA revenue, and, increasingly, individual funding. Today, MJF continues its work of achieving access to justice for all and, to date, has distributed more than $5.9 million to Montana's legal aid community.