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In the fall of 2014, the MLRI Board of Trustees initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process for MLRI.

A seasoned strategic planning facilitator was retained to guide the process. The process included input from MLRI staff and Board members. In addition, input was provided by a large number of key stakeholders in Massachusetts through in-person meetings with regional legal aid programs; meetings with key members of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission and the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation; meetings with non-legal services community leaders and anti-poverty advocates who work closely with MLRI; and a poll sent to all Massachusetts civil legal aid staff who work closely with MLRI and with low income people and communities.

The Strategic Plan adopted by the Board on June 29, 2016 sets forth four goals:
  1. To build on the strengths of MLRI’s nationally-recognized impact advocacy;
  2. To provide leadership and support as the statewide poverty law and policy center to the community of Massachusetts advocates who work with low income people and communities;
  3. To create internal structures and operations that support the organization’s mission;
  4. To ensure that the organization has the resources necessary to sustain its advocacy, withstand unexpected long- and short-term fluctuations in legal services funding, and plan for organizational growth and expansion.
In addition, the strategic blueprint emphasizes three over-arching advocacy frameworks to guide MLRI’s ongoing efforts:
  • Addressing & Combating Poverty
  • Ensuring Access to Justice
  • Advancing Racial Equity

These frameworks recognize MLRI’s roots as an anti-poverty organization and underscore the interrelatedness of poverty reduction, access to justice, and racial equity as the foundations of a truly just society.

To review the Executive Summary of MLRI’s strategic plan, click here.