Ascend Justice

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363647731
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3129715932
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,085,230
Expenses
$4,787,322
Assets
$3,127,907
Liabilities
$1,605,841

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NATHAN JENKS (PRESIDENT)
  • SHANNON QUINN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KAREN MUNOZ (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • MARGARET DUVAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARGARET DUVAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,480 total reported compensation
  • ASHLEY OLSEN (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR): $103,700 total reported compensation
  • DANIELLE PARISI RUFFATTO (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $102,637 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to empower individuals and families impacted by gender-based violence or the child welfare system to achieve safety and stability through holistic legal advocacy and systemic reform. We are working toward strong communities where people have the power to navigate fair systems and overcome violence.

What it reported doing in 2024

In our most recently completed fiscal year, ascend justice provided legal representation or advice to approximately 1,000 victims of gender based violence seeking orders of protection, domestic relations cases in which they seek divorce, support or custody of their children, immigration proceedings involving u-visa or vawa relief, family defense & economic justice cases, and civil legal services for incarcerated survivors. Almost all of our clients are living in poverty, and our free, high quality legal services are a crucial tool for breaking the cycle of violence and keeping their families safe.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 66% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.5%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 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: 5.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.5% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 25 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.