Hudson Valley Justice Center Inc

Overview

Mission

Hudson valley justice center provides free, high quality civil legal counsel to individuals who cannot afford a private attorney. Hvjc prioritizes matters where basic human needs are at stake including individual, class action and impact cases. Hvjc represents and advises clients regardless of immigration status, and advocates for policy changes that benefit the hudson valley's most vulnerable residents.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hudson valley justice center (hvjc) provided free legal representation and advice to hundreds of low-income hudson valley households. Hvjc assisted its clients with a variety of legal matters including housing, immigration and family matters. Hvjc conducted community legal education sessions and coordinated with community partners to expand access to representation and legal information and advice. In 2025, hvjc closed 1,475 cases and assisted approximately 4,425 households members who otherwise would not have access to legal services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471511792
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Headquarters
White Plains, NY, USA
Phone
9143083490
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $89.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 11 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 annual filings from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JASON MAYS (EXECUTIVE D): $199,199 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA TEJEDA (DEPUTY EXECU): $186,553 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE LECCE (ATTORNEY): $168,829 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2025.