Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141843628
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Kennewick, WA, USA
Phone
5092211824
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$294,679
Expenses
$290,640
Assets
$38,554
Liabilities
$4,688

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RUBY OCHOA (President)
  • DIANA GARCIA (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • BARBARA POTTER (Executive Dir.): $63,815 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 Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society provides legal assistance to Qualified Low-Income individuals who would otherwise be denied access to the Justice system because of the inability to pay for the cost of counsel.

What it reported doing in 2024

The benton franklin legal aid society arranged for legal counsel for qualified low income individuals that otherwise could not afford legal counsel. Thousands of hours of legal services were performed during the year by local attorneys and their staff. The total value of 1,978 legal service hours donated amounted to approximately $593,280. The society also teaches a family law class to assist individuals preparing their own forms. The society also provides court documents and forms.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.1%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.1% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $227K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $64K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.