The Legal Services Corp. said Thursday it is handing out more than $4.3 million in “pro bono innovation grants” for projects supporting low-income clients, including more than $500,000 to Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

Congress created the LSC in 1974 through the Legal Services Corporation Act, whose board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. LSC president Jim Sandman thanked Congress in a statement Thursday for establishing and increasing support for its pro bono innovation fund.

“These grants stimulate more participation by pro bono volunteers,” Sandman said. “They enhance public-private partnerships, leverage the federal investment in civil legal aid, and allow our grantees to reach more people in need of civil legal assistance.”

A total of 14 legal aid organizations will receive the grants across 13 states and D.C. In the metropolitan Washington area, Legal Services of Northern Virginia will receive $232,400 and will deploy the grant for its veterans law pro bono project. LSC said Legal Services of Northern Virginia will use the money for “legal checkups by law students, review of records by pro bono volunteers, civil legal aid assistance, and individual pro bono case placements.”

Legal Services of Northern Virginia previously received an LSC grant of $290,283 in 2017, according to LSC.

In D.C., LSC awarded $285,596 to the Neighborhood Legal Services Program of the District of Columbia. LSC said the grant will be used for the group’s “housing cooperative preservation initiative” that services low equity cooperatives. LSC said there are more than 100 low equity cooperatives in D.C. that provide more than 3,000 units of affordable housing to area residents.

In other states, the grants will go toward the recruitment of pro bono attorneys, training of pro bono attorneys, and other ventures aimed at meeting the needs of legal aid clients.