Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Overview

Mission

The asian american legal defense and education fund (aaldef), founded in 1974, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of asian americans through litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing.

What it reported doing in 2024

Economic justice program - seeks to ensure that asian americans are treated fairly in the workplace and provides legal representation to low-wage immigrant workers asserting their rights to minimum wage, overtime pay, and safe working conditions. Educational equity program - provides advocacy and litigation support to asian americans seeking equal opportunity in education.housing and environmental justice program - provides legal support and advocacy to asian immigrant communities seeking to defend and maintain affordable and sustainable neighborhoods. Other programs - legal access project, access to health care, and leadership development.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132855641
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2129665932
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -96.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.3; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.1%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $237K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER WENG (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $237,202 total reported compensation
  • YASMIN KHAN (FORMER DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $227,264 total reported compensation
  • BETHANY LI (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $223,836 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.