Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice

Legal name: Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice

Overview

Mission

Advancing economic justice for and with the people of Hawaiʻi.

What it reported doing in 2024

Economic justice - Hawaii appleseed conducts research and develops policy recommendations on ways to improve systems and policies to provide opportunities for greater economic stability to Hawaii's low-income households, particularly in the areas of taxation and wages. We have published a number of policy papers, and we work with state and county leaders and local coalitions to advocate for and implement identified solutions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% 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.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760748976
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Honolulu, HI, US
Phone
(808) 587-7605
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services N.E.C.

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.8%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.5%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.8% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 annual filings from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GAVIN THORNTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TILL 12/31/24): $120,575 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM WHITE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FROM 1/1/25): $105,716 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.