Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133123753
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
8189862665
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$834,889
Expenses
$774,097
Assets
$444,889
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADRIENNE C WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT)
  • DARRICK J HOOKER (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LERON E ROGERS (CHAIRMAN)
  • ADRIENNE C WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT)
  • DARRICK J HOOKER (VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The black entertainment & sports lawyers association, inc. (besla) was formed to provide seminars, conferences and educational materials on topics of interest to attorneys and law students specializing in the entertainment and sports industries. Besla members are attorneys from leading law firms, in-house counsel from major entertainment, new media, amateur and professional sports organizations, solo practitioners, law school professors, business executives in the music, sports, cable and broadcast television, film, video game, touring, marketing and branding, and publishing industries, including financiers, agents, and managers. Membership is also extended to law students, and part of our programming is specifically targeted to their training and growth through seminars, mentoring and scholarship opportunities. The organization has a network of 2,000 supporters throughout the continental united states, europe and the caribbean.

What it reported doing in 2024

For more than 25 years, besla has awarded financial scholarships to deserving law students that are seeking careers in the entertainment and sports industries. The scholarship program recognizes at least one scholarship annually to students enrolled in one of the four historically black law schools: Florida a&m university school of law (orlando, fl), howard university (Washington, dc), North Carolina central university school of law (durham, nc), and thurgood marshall school of law (houston, tx). Besla also sponsors an annual essay competition available to all law students at such schools.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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. 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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.6%; rating input score 91; 39th 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.7% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $702K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 24 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.