Illinois Legal Aid Online Annual Report FY22

The future of justice begins with… Working together towards a common goal

One of the basic tenets of usability is ‘you are not your user’. Designing and evaluating tools and services for over 20 years has taught us to be humble, to test our assumptions, and to engage the experts—people without lawyers who have civil legal problems in Illinois. Therefore, ILAO will transform and co-create products and services directly with people for whom the legal system was not designed to better meet their needs. Although we provide help to people throughout a legal problem’s phases—before, during and after—less than 20% of the people ILAO currently serves return for help. In light of this, ILAO will expand opportunities for people to partner with ILAO along the length of their legal journey through strategic engagement and more frequent and effective communication. Strategic Planning Between November and June of 2022, ILAO’s stakeholders—staff, Board, volunteers, donors, funders, community partners, and clients—help to craft a vision and goals for the next 5 years. All told, more than 1100 people participated in ILAO’s strategic planning process. Our stakeholders openly shared their experiences, ideas, opportunities, and challenges to help make the future of justice more equitable, collaborative, and effective. The plan that emerged from our months-long process focuses on three crucial initiatives. Working together, we will: REFINE AND GROW SERVICES. With input and partnership from those served, further simplify, enhance existing and create new, relevant tools and services to optimally, equitably, adaptively, and effectively meet their needs. “I’m just getting started but your input helped me to feel more confident.”

EXPAND VISIBILITY . Promote ILAO’s visibility and equity focus with primary audiences to broaden brand awareness, strengthen marketing return on investment, and grow revenue with an emphasis on diversifying and enhancing the donor base. “This should be advertised more. You are doing a great service that could change thousands of people’s lives. God bless you all.” As a provider of free 24/7 help that can be accessed anonymously, we open opportunities for justice… as long as people know about us. ILAO should no longer be a best kept secret. We want everyone who can benefit from ILAO to know we exist. To

do this, we will refine our brand identity and increase brand awareness. We

will develop and invest in a proactive marketing plan that encompasses primary audiences and expands visibility.

We want those, like you, who support equitable justice to know about and contribute to ILAO. We will develop concise message points that articulate and promote ILAO’s unique value proposition to our primary audiences. ILAO’s plans inspire investors and drive new partnership and revenue opportunities.

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We open opportunities for people to get justice

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