Brooklyn Bar Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
111503886
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
7186240675
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$899,101
Expenses
$958,000
Assets
$261,488
Liabilities
$491,860

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Anthony Vaughn Jr (Immediate Past President)
  • Daniel W Antonelli (President-Elect)
  • Angelicque Moreno (First Vice President)
  • Christina Golkin (President)
  • Bruno Codispoti (Second Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Andrea Caruso (Trustee)
  • Michael Farkas (Trustee)
  • Jason Friedman (Trustee)

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

Furtherance of the legal profession through sponsorship of Continuing Legal Education programs, networking opportunities and a Lawyer Referral Service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lawyer Referral Service: The Brooklyn Bar Lawyers Referral Service remains committed to the Brooklyn community by referring thousands of callers to available pro bono services attorneys as well as other government agencies and community resources. It is the only referral service in Brooklyn certified by the American Bar Association. The BBA has over 150 prescreened lawyers with expertise in virtually all areas of the law.

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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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 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: -6.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.88; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 66.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $640K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 25 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.