American Bar Endowment

Overview

Mission

To provide high quality insurance for Bar Association Members that makes a difference within the larger legal community.

What it reported doing in 2024

To further its mission, the organization makes general operating support grants to 501(c)(3) organizations that are also public charities described in either 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) of the internal revenue code, and that generally support the advancement of legal study and research or promotion of the administration of judicial decisions throughout the united states.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362384321
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
1-800-621-8981
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some related-organization disclosures are missing and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $164.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 53.1%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.71; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.1% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $11.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $301K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 36 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 32 filed related-organization links
  • 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

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DANA HILL (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $301,469 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL WOLTERINK (DATA PROCESSING MANAGER): $114,766 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.