ABA Fund for Justice and Education (FJE)

What it reported doing in 2024

Now entering its fourth decade of operations, ABA ROLI implements legal technical assistance programs in roughly 50 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, as well as non-region specific Global Programs. Over the course of a given year, ABA ROLI typically implements over 100 distinct programs, often more than one in a given country, most of which are concentrated in one or more of nine subject matter areas 1 Access to Justice 2 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity 3 Criminal Justice and Transnational Organized Crime 4 Judicial System Strengthening 5 Legal Education 6 Legal Profession Development 7 Gender and Social Inclusion 8 Commercial Law and 9 Human Rights. As a matter of best practice, the mixture of subject matter areas involved in a particular country Continued on Schedule O

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
• Program expense ratio: 79.8%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $93.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Fail
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Pass
  • Conducts site visits: Pass
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 71.6%; rating input score 72; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 97.7%; rating input score 98; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings