Allegheny County Bar Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251383622
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4124026640
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,553,837
Expenses
$4,349,819
Assets
$7,935,095
Liabilities
$591,586

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL J SINCLAIR (PRESIDENT)
  • BRYAN S NEFT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KEITH E WHITSON (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID A BLANER (ACBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LORRIE K ALBERT (ACBF ASSOC. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • THOMAS C PETROPOULOS (ACBA ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID A BLANER (ACBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $344,014 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS C PETROPOULOS (ACBA ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $157,621 total reported compensation
  • RONALD SLAVONIC (FORMER DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $153,642 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the allegheny county bar foundation is to be a driving force in promoting justice for all and to improve the community through public service law-related programs as the charitable arm of the allegheny county bar association. To fulfill this mission, the foundation raises, manages, and distributes funds, encourages and assists lawyers to provide pro bono legal services, and develops and supports public information initiatives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pro bono center: the pro bono center's mission is to provide well trained attorney volunteers to help meet the legal needs of the indigent in allegheny county. In the current year, approximately 1,450 clients were served by volunteer attorneys. In collaboration with other organizations, the center recruits, trains, supports and recognizes attorney and non-attorney volunteers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 72% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd 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: 4.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 11 filed program accomplishments · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $344K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 21 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.